‘No-take’ marine reserves - where fishing is banned - can reverse the decline in the world’s coral reef shark populations caused by overfishing, according to an Australian study.
But University of Queensland, James Cook University (JCU) and University of Tasmania researchers found that existing marine reserves need to be much larger to be effective against overfishing.
UQ’s Dr Ross Dwyer said the study estimated that no-take reserves that extend between 10 and 50 kilometres along coral reefs can achieve significant improvements in shark populations.
“Existing protected areas on coral reefs would need to be enforced as strict no-take reserves and be up to five times larger to effectively conserve reef sharks,” Dr Dwyer said.
“Those in the Atlantic where reef sharks are generally less abundant would need to be on average 2.6 times larger than those in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.”
Read more at University of Queensland
Image: Caribbean reef shark. CREDIT: Andy Mann