Coral List:

       As reqeusted by several, below is a summary of responses to my query
of Mar. 26, 1999.

                                            Gene Buck, gbuck@crs.loc.gov

Original query:

   I'm looking for a citable statistic relating coral reef habitat and marine fish
production -- anything along the line of "X% of marine species/commercial
marine species/fish/commercial fish/etc. rely on coral reefs at some stage of
their life history" or any variant thereof.  Can anyone give me a citation to
something useful in this vein?  Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Summary of Responses:

1)  Although the publications below are not exactly what you are looking for,
they demonstrate the importance of coral reef fisheries in American Samoa
(note that this excludes the 2 local tuna canneries here which land tuna
caught from distant waters far beyond our EEZ).  These fisheries are small but
locally important. 

     More recently, however, a new longline fishery for offshore albacore has
been developed, so albacore now dominate the total local catch.

     1. Craig, P., B. Ponwith, F. Aitaoto & D. Hamm. 1993. "The commercial,
recreational and subsistence fisheries of American Samoa." Marine Fisheries
Review  55:109-116.  In 1991, 80% of the catch and value of all fish and
invertebrates caught in the territory was from the coral reefs surrounding the
islands. (That high rate is not typical of later years.)

     2. Craig, P., J. Choat, L. Axe & S. Saucerman. 1997. "Population biology
and harvest of the coral reef surgeonfish Acanthurus lineatus in American
Samoa."  Fishery Bulletin 95:680-693.  In 1994, 35% of the catch of all fish
and invertebrates caught in the territory was from the coral reefs surrounding
the islands.  One species, the surgeonfish described in this paper equalled
39% of the coral reef catch.


2)  The coral reef ecosystem includes two other habitats; sea grass and red
mangrove.  Reef Relief of Florida puts out educational materials which states
90% of the reef fish taken by commercial reef fisheries depend directly on the
mangrove for some portion of their life cycle. 70% of the fish taken by sport
fishermen directly depend on mangroves for some portion of their life cycle.
Fish that do not depend directly on these areas for habitat often depend on
them for food sources.  Reef Relief can be contacted at reef@bellsouth.net.

We looked at local DNR stats for commercial and sport fish and our % were
even higher than Reef Relief's.  Looking at the coral reef itself is more
complicated..many fin fish migrate...complex trophic connections and
relationships.


3)  Not exactly what you're looking for but there are some data on the mean
yields of species from coral reefs.

The average figure is 4 tonnes per sq.km per year is quoted on page 63 of .....

King, M.G. 1995.  Fisheries biology, assessment, and management.  Fishing
News/Blackwell Scientific Books. Oxford, England. 341 p.

Working backwards, the 4 tonnes divided by the total catch of fish per sq km
(if both were fully exploited) would give a rough idea of the percentage of the
catch which depends on coral reefs in a given tropical country.


4)  An interesting question since I'm unconvinced there's data showing that live
coral is necessary for much of any reef fish species (except a very few
obligate corallivores, like some butterflyfish).  Reef habitat, yes, but for a while
at least, dead coral may serve that purpose just as well as live coral,  at least
until erosive processes degrade the skeletal structures to the point where they
can no longer provide habitat.


5)   See Reef's at Risk Report page 8; which briefly discusses a sustainable
catch level and the economic value of lost productivity...not the same
questions you raise.

Some more general recent references:

Have you seen the ISRS statement on Disease?  (Mar. 26 to Coral-List)

Did you see the ISRS statement on bleaching?  or the ICRI final results?

Check out the State Department web site for the international background
papers that were developed last September for the US Coral Reef Task Force:
http://www.state.gov/www/global/global_issues/coral_reefs/index.html

Do you have the papers from the Hawaii Second Meeting of the U.S. Coral
Reef Task Force?

6)  Good question.  As I'm sure you are aware, the percentage of
fish/commercially important fish that are reef dwellers at some stage in their
life cycle varies among country, regional or global scale (i.e. the percentage in
US differs from, say, that of the Philippines since the local market as well as
diversity is much higher in Phil.).

Here is one direct quotes...though I'm sure others will provided something
more concrete.  Good Luck!

Nicholas Polunin and Callum Roberts states that "the hundreds, or sometimes
thousands, of species of fish present on a coral reef make these as rich or
richer than any other environment for fish on earth."  Nicholas Polunin and
Callum Roberts (1996). Reef Fisheries. London: Chapman & Hall.

