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A Decade In, Have Australia’s No-Take Reserves
Protected Life on the Reef?
The expansion of no-take marine reserves (NTMRs) within
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef Marine Park more than a
decade ago is working to protect fish just as experts had
hoped it would, say researchers who have been
monitoring the reef via underwater surveys. The findings,
reported in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on
March 26, come as encouraging news for Australia’s
largest reef and for other, similar projects around the
world.
While the park reserves could not protect the reef directly
from extensive physical damage caused by Tropical
Cyclone Hamish in 2009, researchers say that the reserves surely have helped in the reef’s recovery.
“The sheer size of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park ensured there were adequate areas unaffected
by the cyclone that should serve as larval sources of fishes and coral to aid recovery in affected
areas,” says Michael Emslie of the Australian Institute of Marine Science.
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park includes a large-scale network of NTMRs that extends over 2,000
kilometers along the northeast coast of Australia, Emslie and his colleagues explain. In 2004, the notake reserves, which made up less than five percent of the park, were expanded to cover more than
one-third of the area.
In the new study, researchers from the Australian Institute of Marine Science and the Centre for
Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University relied on data collected by underwater
surveys over two time periods (2004 to 2012 and 1983 to 2012) from reefs spread over approximately
150,000 km2 of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. They investigated effects on fish numbers and
sizes, species diversity, and the impact of disturbance from the severe tropical cyclone.
The numbers and size of coral trout, the most commercially important fishery species in the area,
were consistently greater in NTMRs than on fished reefs over both the short and medium terms. At
the same time, there was no evidence that the expansion of NTMR area within the marine park had
hurt coral trout stocks on adjacent fished reefs, as fishers had to concentrate their effort on the
remaining open reefs.
The work to monitor the health of the Great Barrier Reef continues as part of the Australian Institute of
Marine Science’s Long Term Monitoring Program. But it is important to recognize that no-take
reserves alone will not be enough to keep the reefs safe.
“That the devastating effects of a severe tropical cyclone affected both NTMR and fished reefs equally
is a timely reminder that NTMRs are not, by themselves, the solution for the full range of threats
currently afflicting coral reefs,” says David Williamson of James Cook University. “Pollution,
sedimentation, coastal development, and the escalating effects of climate change all act at regional
and global scales. The establishment of highly connected networks of NTMRs can contribute to a
secure future for coral reefs, but effective measures to reduce land-based threats and to mitigate
climate change will also be essential.”
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Current Biology, Emslie et al.: “Expectations and outcomes of reserve network performance following
re-zoning of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.”
In online coverage, please mention the journal Current Biology and link to the paper
at http://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822(15)00137-2
To access a PDF of the paper proof or two reef photos with captions/credits, please visit this
Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ovvlbhco34ipwmp/AADYoZwGERPWnQFahvfD0cv2a?dl=0 or
e-mail Joseph Caputo at jcaputo@cell.com.
Author Contacts:
Mr. Mike Emslie
Australian Institute of Marine Science
m.emslie@aims.gov.au
+61 (0) 409 894 529
Dr. David Williamson
James Cook University
david.williamson@jcu.edu.au
+61 (0) 439 926 915
Media Contacts:
Dr. Hugh Sweatman
Australian Institute of Marine Science
h.sweatman@aims.gov.au
+61 (0) 419986746
Eleanor Gregory
James Cook University
eleanor.gregory@jcu.edu.au
Image Captions/Credit:
Image 01 – The common coral trout (Plectropomus leopardus, family Serranidae) is a
predator that uses ambush tactics to hunt its prey, which can be seen here schooling in the
background. Credit AIMS LTMP
Reef 22084 - The common coral trout (Plectropomus leopardus, family Serranidae) is an
important predatory fish found on the Great Barrier Reef. Here it is seen attempting to blend
in with the scenery as it stalks one of its potential prey, a small grey damselfish (Pomacentrus
lepidogenys), sitting above a coral colony in the bottom left of the frame. Credit AIMS
LTMP