Impacts of Fish Trap Fisheries on Coral Reefs near Ko Mak and Ko Kut, Trat Province, Thailand
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
This study aims to enhance the knowledge of the operation of fish trap fisheries and their impacts on coral reefs through in situ underwater observation. A total of 82 fish traps were investigated during January-October 2016 near the islands of Ko Mak and Ko Kut, Trat Province, in the Eastern Gulf of Thailand. Approximately 24 % of the traps were in physical contact with juvenile corals and coral communities, particularly members of the family Fungiidae and Porites sp., resulting in physical damage of some corals. We found that the catch rates of fish traps ranged from 0.10 to 2.56 kg·trap-1·day-1 with a mean of 1.59 kg·trap-1·day-1. About 60 % of the total catch were target species, including groupers (Family Serranidae) and snappers (Family Lutjanidae), while the remaining 40 % were bycatch species. As many as 22 species were found in the bycatch, including 17 species of fish, four species of crustaceans and one species of sea cucumber. Based on functional groups, carnivorous fish were caught at the highest rate (mean CPUE = 1.34±0.79 kg·trap-1·day-1), while the mean CPUE of herbivorous fish was 0.19±0.17 kg·trap-1·day-1. In this study, six species of herbivorous fish were observed. Two of them were considered as corallivores: Scarus ghobban and Monacanthus chinensis. This study provides understanding of the interaction of fish trap fisheries and the coral reef ecosystem in terms of the physical damage to coral reefs and the loss of targeted and bycatch species, which may alter the overall ecological function of the coral reef ecosystem.
Article Details
References
Appeltans, W., P. Bouchet, G.A. Boxshall, K. Fauchald, D.P. Gordon, et al. 2020. World register of marine species. http://www.marinespecies.org. Cited 15 Nov 2019.
Ballesteros, L.V., J.L. Matthews and B.W. Hoeksema. 2018. Pollution and coral damage caused by derelict fishing gear on coral reefs around Koh Tao, Gulf of Thailand. Marine Pollution Bulletin 135: 1107-1116.
Bejarano, S., Y. Golbuu, T. Sapolu and P.J. Mumby. 2013. Ecological risk and the exploitation of herbivorous reef fish across Micronesia. Marine Ecology Progress Series 482: 197-215.
Berkes, F. 2007. Community-based conservation in a globalized world. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104(39): 15188-15193.
Bessell-Browne, P., A.P. Negri, R. Fisher, P.L. Clode, A. Duckworth and R. Jones. 2017. Impacts of turbidity on corals: The relative importance of light limitation and suspended sediments. Marine Pollution Bulletin 117(1): 161-170.
Boutson, A., K. Ebata, S. Ishikawa, K. Watanabe and T. Arimoto. 2016. Field Guides on Small-Scale Fisheries in Rayong, Thailand: Coastal Area-capability Enhancement in Southeast Asia Project. Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto. 73 pp.
Boutson, A., C. Mahasawasde, S. Mahasawasde, S. Tunkijjanukij and T. Arimoto. 2009. Use of escape vents to improve size and species selectivity of collapsible pot for blue swimming crab Portunus pelagicus in Thailand. Fisheries Science 75(1): 25-33.
Bozec, Y.M., S. O'Farrell, J.H. Bruggemann, B.E. Luckhurst and P.J. Mumby. 2016. Tradeoffs between fisheries harvest and the resilience of coral reefs. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 113(16): 4536-4541.
Butler, J.A. and G.L. Heinrich. 2007. The effectiveness of bycatch reduction devices on crab pots at reducing capture and mortality of diamondback terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin) in Florida. Estuaries and Coasts 30(1): 179-185.
Cheal, A.J., M.A. MacNeil, E. Cripps, M.J. Emslie, M. Jonker, B. Schaffelke and H. Sweatman. 2010. Coral-macroalgal phase shifts or reef resilience: links with diversity and functional roles of herbivorous fishes on the Great Barrier Reef. Coral Reefs 29(4): 1005-1015.
Chiappone, M., R.D. Sluka and K. Sealey. 2000. Groupers (Pisces: Serranidae) in fished and protected areas of the Florida Keys, Bahamas and northern Caribbean. Marine Ecology Progress Series 198: 261-272.
Chuenpagdee, R., L.E. Morgan, S.M. Maxwell, E.A. Norse and D. Pauly. 2003. Shifting gears: assessing collateral impacts of fishing methods in US waters. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 1(10): 517-524.
Cinner, J. 2014. Coral reef livelihoods. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 7: 65-71.
Clark, R., S.J. Pittman, T.A. Battista and C. Caldow. 2012. Survey and Impact Assessment of Derelict Fish Traps in St. Thomas and St. John, US Virgin Islands. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Maryland. 51 pp.
Comeros-Raynal, M.T., J.H. Choat, B.A. Polidoro, K.D. Clements, R. Abesamis, M.T. Craig, M.E. Lazuardi, J. McIlwain, A. Muljadi, R.F. Myers, C.L. Nañola Jr., S. Pardede, L.A. Rocha, B. Russell, J.C. Sanciangco, B. Stockwell, H. Harwell and K.E. Carpenter. 2012. The likelihood of extinction of iconic and dominant herbivores and detritivores of coral reefs: the parrotfishes and surgeonfishes. Plos One 7(7): e39825. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0039825.
Dale, J.J., C.G. Meyer and C.E. Clark. 2011. The ecology of coral reef top predators in the Papahānaumokuākea marine national monument. Journal of Marine Biology 2011: 725602. DOI: 10.1155/2011/725602.
Darling, E.S. and S. D'agata. 2017. Coral Reefs: Fishing for Sustainability. Current Biology 27(2): 65-68. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.12.005.
Department of Fisheries (DOF). 2019a. Marine Capture Production of Commercial Fishery 2018. Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Bangkok. 193 pp.
Department of Fisheries (DOF). 2019b. Statistics of Aquatic Animals Catch from Artisanal Fishing 2018. Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Bangkok. 117 pp.
Department of Fisheries (DOF). 2019c. Thai Fishing Vessels Statistics 2019. Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Bangkok. 211 pp.
Elliff, C.I. and R.K.P. Kikuchi. 2017. Ecosystem services provided by coral reefs in a Southwestern Atlantic Archipelago. Ocean and Coastal Management 136: 49-55.
Erftemeijer, P.L., B. Riegl, B.W. Hoeksema and P.A. Todd. 2012. Environmental impacts of dredging and other sediment disturbances on corals: A review. Marine Pollution Bulletin 64(9): 1737-1765.
Grasaelarb, T. 1997. Efficiency of the Size of Traps for Catching the Groupers (Epinephelus spp.). Master Thesis, Kasetsart University, Bangkok. 110 pp.
Hargreaves-Allen, V., S. Mourato and E.J. Milner-Gulland. 2011. A global evaluation of coral reef management performance: Are MPAs producing conservation and socio-economic improvements? Environmental Management 47(4): 684-700.
Hawkins, J.P., C.M. Roberts, F.R. Gell and C. Dytham. 2007. Effects of trap fishing on reef fish communities. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 17(2): 111-132.
Hoegh-Guldberg, O., L. Pendleton and A. Kaup. 2019. People and the changing nature of coral reefs. Regional Studies in Marine Science 30: 100699. DOI: 10.1016/j.rsma.2019.100699.
Hoeksema, B.W., 2004. Biodiversity and the natural resource management of coral reefs in Southeast Asia. In: Challenging Coasts: Transdisciplinary Excursions into Integrated Coastal Zone Development (ed. L.E. Visser), pp. 49-71. Amsterdam University Press, Amsterdam.
Houk, P., J. Cuetos-Bueno, A.M. Kerr and K. McCann. 2018. Linking fishing pressure with ecosystem thresholds and food web stability on coral reefs. Ecological Monographs 88(1): 109-119.
Hughes, T.P., M.L. Barnes, D.R. Bellwood, J.E. Cinner, G.S. Cumming, J.B.C. Jackson, J. Kleypas, I.A. van de Leemput, J.M. Lough, T.H. Morrison, S.R. Palumbi, E.H. van Nes and M. Scheffer. 2017. Coral reefs in the anthropocene. Nature 546: 82. DOI: 10.1038/nature22901.
Humanes, A., A. Fink, B.L. Willis, K.E. Fabricius, D. de Beer and A.P. Negri. 2017. Effects of suspended sediments and nutrient enrichment on juvenile corals. Marine Pollution Bulletin 125(1): 166-175.
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). 2016. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016. https://www.iucnredlist.org. Cited 5 Mar 2020.
Jennings, S. and N.V.C. Polunin. 1996. Impacts of fishing on tropical reef ecosystems. Ambio 25(1): 44-49.
Jones, R., R. Fisher and P. Bessell-Browne. 2019. Sediment deposition and coral smothering. Plos One 14(6): e0216248. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0216248.
Kalaya, C. 2007. Status Evaluation of Reef Fisheries in Phuket Province. Master Thesis, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok. 79 pp.
Kritsanapuntu, A. and N. Chaitanawisuti. 2000. A Comparitive Study of Efficiency of Small-Scale Fishing Gears in the Gulf of Thailand: Fish Trap in Coral Reefs. Chulalongkorn University. Bangkok. 27 pp.
Lachs, L. and J. Oñate-Casado. 2020. Fisheries and tourism: Social, economic, and ecological trade-offs in coral reef systems. In: YOUMARES 9 - The Oceans: Our research, our future: Proceedings of the 2018 conference for young marine researcher in Oldenburg, Germany (eds. S. Jungblut, V. Liebich and M. Bode-Dalby.), pp. 243-260. Springer International Publishing, Cham.
Lamb, J.B., J.D. True, S. Piromvaragorn and B.L. Willis. 2014. Scuba diving damage and intensity of tourist activities increases coral disease prevalence. Biological Conservation 178: 88-96.
Lewis, C.F., S.L. Slade, K.E. Maxwell and T.R. Matthews. 2009. Lobster trap impact on coral reefs: effects of wind-driven trap movement. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 43(1): 271-282.
Lusher, A., P. Hollman and J. Mendoza. 2017. Microplastics in Fisheries and Aquaculture: Status of Knowledge on Their Occurrence and Implications for Aquatic Organisms and Food Safety. Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome. 126 pp.
Major, R.N., D.I. Taylor, S. Connor, G. Connor and A.G. Jeffs. 2017. Factors affecting bycatch in a developing New Zealand scampi potting fishery. Fisheries Research 186: 55-64.
Mangi, S.C. and C.M. Roberts. 2006. Quantifying the environmental impacts of artisanal fishing gear on Kenya's coral reef ecosystems. Marine Pollution Bulletin 52(12): 1646-1660.
Matsuoka, T., T. Nakashima and N. Nagasawaa. 2005. A review of ghost fishing: scientific approaches to evaluation and solutions. Fisheries Science 71: 691-702.
McCauley, D.J., F. Micheli, H.S.Young, D.P. Tittensor, D.R. Brumbaugh, E.M.P. Madin, K.E. Holmes, J.E. Smith, H.K. Lotze, P.A. DeSalles, S.N. Arnold and B. Worm. 2010. Acute effects of removing large fish from a near-pristine coral reef. Marine Biology 157(12): 2739-2750.
Miller, S.L., M. Chiappone, L.M. Rutten and B.D. Keller. 2008. Large-Scale Assessment of Marine Debris and Benthic Coral Reef Organisms in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary: 2008 Quick Look Report and Data Summary. Center for Marine Science, University of North Carolina-Wilmington, Florida. 271 pp.
Mumby, P.J. 2016. Stratifying herbivore fisheries by habitat to avoid ecosystem overfishing of coral reefs. Fish and Fisheries 17(1): 266-278.
Mumby, P.J., A.R. Harborne and D.R. Brumbaugh. 2011. Grouper as a natural biocontrol of invasive lionfish. Plos One 6(6): e21510. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0021510.
Nateewathana, A. 2008a. Diversity of Island in Thailand. Department of Marine and Coastal Resources, Bangkok. 122 pp.
Nateewathana, A. 2008b. Marine Protected Areas in Thailand: The 2010/2012 Target under the Convention on Biological Diversity. Department of Marine and Coastal Resources, Bangkok. 239 pp.
Nelson, H.R., C.D. Kuempel and A.H. Altieri. 2016. The resilience of reef invertebrate biodiversity to coral mortality. Ecosphere 7(7): 1-14.
Noranarttragoon, P. 2014. Strategies for trawl fisheries bycatch management. Review of the marine fisheries in Trat Province, Thailand. http://repository.seafdec.or.th/handle/20.500.12067/1214. Cited 20 Jul 2020.
Pearse, A.R., R.J. Hamilton, J.H. Choat, J. Pita, G. Almany, N. Peterson, G.S. Hamilton and E.E. Peterson. 2018. Giant coral reef fishes display markedly different susceptibility to night spearfishing. Ecology and Evolution 8(20): 10247-10256.
Phongsuwan, N. and T. Yeemin. 2018. Contry profile: Thailand. https://www.icriforum.org/about-icri/members-networks/thailand. Cited 4 Feb 2020.
Pitcher, C.R., I.R. Poiner, B.J. Hill and C.Y. Burridge. 2000. Implications of the effects of trawling on sessile megazoobenthos on a tropical shelf in northeastern Australia. ICES Journal of Marine Science 57(5): 1359-1368.
Pollock, F.J., J.B. Lamb, S.N. Field, S.F. Heron, B. Schaffelke, G. Shedrawi, D.G. Bourne and B.L. Willis. 2014. Sediment and turbidity associated with offshore dredging increase coral disease prevalence on nearby reefs. Plos One 9(7): e102498. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0102498.
Putsa, S., A. Boutson and S. Tunkijjanukij. 2016. Comparison of ghost fishing impacts on collapsible crab trap between conventional and escape vents trap in Si Racha Bay, Chon Buri province. Agriculture and Natural Resources 50: 25-132.
Renchen, G.F., S.J. Pittman and M.E. Brandt. 2012. Investigating the behavioural responses of trapped fishes using underwater video surveillance. Journal of Fish Biology 81(5): 1611-1625.
Renchen, G.F., S.J. Pittman, R. Clark, C. Caldow, S. Gall, D. Olsen and R.L. Hill. 2014. Impact of derelict fish traps in Caribbean waters: an experimental approach. Bulletin of Marine Science 90(2): 551-563.
Ricardo, G.F., R.J. Jones, P.L. Clode, A. Humanes and A.P. Negri. 2015. Suspended sediments limit coral sperm availability. Scientific Reports 5(1): 18084. DOI: 10.1038/srep18084.
Rogers, A., J.L. Blanchard and P.J. Mumby. 2018. Fisheries productivity under progressive coral reef degradation. Journal of Applied Ecology 55(3): 1041-1049.
Russ, G.R. 1991. CHAPTER 20 - Coral reef fisheries: Effects and yields. In: The Ecology of Fishes on Coral Reefs (ed. P.F. Sale), pp. 601-635. Academic Press, San Diego.
Samoilys, M.A., K. Osuka, G.W. Maina and D. Obura. 2017. Artisanal fisheries on Kenya's coral reefs: Decadal trends reveal management needs. Fisheries Research 186: 177-191.
Sheridan, P., R. Hill, G. Matthews and R. Appeldoom. 2003. The effects of trap fishing in coralline habitats: What do we know? How do we learn more? Proceedings of the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute 2003: 1-12.
Sheridan, P., R. Hill, G. Matthews, R. Appeldoorn and B.T. Kojis Matthews. 2005. Does trap fishing impact coral reef ecosystems? An update. Proceedings of the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute 2005: 511-519.
Shester, G.G. and F. Micheli. 2011. Conservation challenges for small-scale fisheries: Bycatch and habitat impacts of traps and gillnets. Biological Conservation 144(5): 1673-1681.
Stephenson, F., A.C. Mill, C.L. Scott, N.V.C. Polunin and C. Fitzsimmons. 2017. Experimental potting impacts on common UK reef habitats in areas of high and low fishing pressure. ICES Journal of Marine Science 74(6): 1648-1659.
Suebpala, W., R. Chuenpagdee, C. Nitithamyong and T. Yeemin. 2017. Ecological Impacts of Fishing Gears in Thailand: Knowledge and Gaps. Asian Fisheries Science 30(4): 284-305.
Uhrin, A.V., T.R. Matthews and C. Lewis. 2014. Lobster trap debris in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary: distribution, abundance, density and patterns of accumulation. Marine and Coastal Fisheries 6(1): 20-32.
Vadziutsina, M. and R. Riera. 2020. Review of fish trap fisheries from tropical and subtropical reefs: Main features, threats and management solutions. Fisheries Research 223: 105432. DOI: 10.1016/j.fishres.2019.105432.
Van Der Knaap, M. 1993. Physical damage to corals caused by trap-fishing on reefs of Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles. Environmental Conservation 20(3): 265-267.
Watling, L. and E.A. Norse. 1998. Disturbance of the seabed by mobile fishing gear: A comparison to forest clearcutting. Conservation Biology 12(6): 1180-1197.
Wungkhahart, W., T. Reungprim and T. Supasiripong. 2000. Study on Efficiency of Different Sizes of Grouper Traps in Phang-Nga Bay. Andaman Sea Fisheries Development Center, Department of Fisheries, Phuket. 36 pp.
Yeemin, T., S. Pengsakun, M. Yucharoen, W. Klinthong, K. Sangmanee, and M. Sutthacheep. 2013. Long-term decline in Acropora species at Kut Island, Thailand, in relation to coral bleaching