Taiwanese marine biologists yesterday called for action to conserve mixed coral-algal reefs after new research suggested that juveniles of economically valuable fish depend on such environments.
A joint research team from Tunghai University and the Fisheries Research Institute presented the research at an event hosted at the Science Media Center Taiwan, saying that overlooking mixed reefs poses a danger to the sustainability of Taiwan’s seas.
Professor of life science at the university Wen Guo-zhang (溫國彰) said his team tracked grouper, snapper and parrotfish populations near Penghu County from 2013 to 2015, and in 2023 and last year.
Photo courtesy of Wen Guo-zhang
The fish population in the area decreased by 50 percent in the former period, and then increased marginally in the latter period, yet methodological differences meant the uptick in numbers could be illusory, he said.
More important, schools of fish residing in waters south of the islands display migratory behavior through their life stages, with juveniles favoring to live in algal-coral reefs before moving on to live in coral and cay reefs as adults, Wen said.
Juveniles of the species under observation mainly gathered in the seas near Dongyuping (東嶼坪) and Siyuping (西嶼坪), where mix reefs prevail, he said.
They move to live in the cay and coral reefs of Dongji Islet (東吉嶼) and Siyi Islet (西吉嶼) after reaching full maturity, Wen said.
However, the conservation zone of the South Penghu Marine National Park the government created in 2014 does not include algal-coral reefs, exposing fish at their most vulnerable stage to harmful human activity, he said.
The authorities should modify conservation policy to protect fish populations throughout their lifecycle to ensure the sustainable use of marine resources, Wen said.
Recreational fishing can be permitted and local economic needs satisfied so long as regulations are appropriate and effective, he said.
Marine National Park Headquarters official representative for the National Park Service Wu Tai-ying (吳岱穎) said that all of the South Penghu Marine National Park is deemed protected waters under the law.
The government has sufficient authority to redraw conservation zones and apply different types of restrictions according to new scientific discoveries, he said.
The study was published yesterday in the latest edition of Pacific Conservation Biology.
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