Interrelationships Between Corals and Fisheries

Interrelationships Between Corals and Fisheries is derived from a workshop held by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council in Tampa, Florida in May 2013, where world authorities came together to discuss the current problems in managing tropical fisheries and offered suggestions for future directions for both researchers and environmental resource managers. This book addresses current and emerging threats as well as challenges and opportunities for managing corals and associated fisheries. It provides an information baseline toward a better understanding of how corals and the consequences of coral condition influence fish populations, especially as they relate to management of those populations. The book contains content from presentations modified as a result of interactions and discussions with colleagues and peer reviews by global experts in corals and fisheries. Many chapters include additional materials not presented in the workshop. There are also papers that were not presented at the workshop but contribute to the central theme of the book. Topics covered include:Global decline in coral reefs and impacts on fishery yieldsDistribution and diversity in the Gulf of MexicoImplementation of Coral Habitat Areas of Particular Concern (CHAPCs)Deepwater coral/sponge habitatsCoral populations on offshore platformsMangrove connectivity for sustaining coral reef fisheriesRestoring deepwater coral ecosystems and fisheries after the Deepwater Horizon oil spillPredictive mapping of coral reef fishCovering a range of subject matter, most of the chapters offer suggestions for future research on the interrelationships between corals and fisheries. In addition, the final chapter presents a summary on these interrelationships and discusses managing them for the future.

Introduction: The Need to Discern the Relationships between Corals and Fisheries. Addressing the Global Decline in Coral Reefs and Forthcoming Impacts on Fishery Yields. Distribution and Diversity of Coral Habitat, Fishes, and Associated Fisheries in U.S. Waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Implementation of Coral Habitat Areas of Particular Concern (CHAPCs): South Atlantic Fishery Management Council Process. Characterization and Interrelationships of Deepwater Coral/Sponge Habitats and Fish Communities Off Florida. Factors Affecting Coral Reef Fisheries in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico. Coral Community Development on Offshore Platforms in the Gulf of Mexico: What We Now Know. A Strategic Approach to Address Fisheries Impacts to Deep-Sea Coral Ecosystems. Restoring Deepwater Coral Ecosystems and Fisheries after the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Mangrove Connectivity Helps Sustain Coral Reef Fisheries under Global Climate Change. Augmented Catch-MSY Approach to Fishery Management in Coral-Associated Fisheries. Predictive Mapping of Coral Reef Fish Species and Communities. Progressing from Data to Information: Incorporating GIS into Coral and Fisheries Management. Connectivity in the Tropical Coastal Seascape: Implications for Marine Spatial Planning and Resource Management. Sustaining the Interrelationships between Corals and Fisheries: Managing for the Future.

Stephen A. Bortone, PhD, recently retired as executive director of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council and now serves as a principal in an environmental consulting firm (Osprey Aquatic Sciences, Inc.) specializing in fisheries and other aquatic sciences. For the past 45 years, he has conducted research on fisheries and the life history of aquatic organisms, especially fishes, chiefly in the southeastern United States and the Gulf of Mexico. He has published over 160 scientific articles on broad aspects of the aquatic sciences, but mostly on fisheries. In addition, he has edited four books on the aquatic sciences.