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  IUCN 6 Mar 07
Twenty coral reef fishes threatened with extinction
Twenty species of grouper, a globally important group of 162 coral reef food fishes, are threatened with extinction unless management or conservation measures are introduced.

This was the conclusion of a panel of twenty experts from 10 countries at a recent conservation summit convened to assess the status of groupers worldwide.

Groupers are the basis of the multi-million dollar live reef fish market of the sea food trade centred in Hong Kong, where consumers can pay up to US$50 per kg for this delicacy.

Groupers are also the most valuable commercial fishes in the fresh fish markets of the tropics and sub-tropics.

The workshop, held at the Department of Ecology & Biodiversity of the University of Hong Kong, is ground-breaking: "this is the first time that fishery data and population information for groupers have been globally and systematically assessed using IUCN criteria, with the worrying result that twenty species are threatened", said Dr. Yvonne Sadovy, Chair of the IUCN Grouper and Wrasse Specialist Group and Associate Professor at HKU, who organized the workshop.

"The results highlight the urgent need for better fishery management, more effective marine protected areas (MPAs) and more research on these important but vulnerable species" she added.

"The workshop forms part of a growing focus on the problems of overfishing, and conservation concerns for fishes in general, and will contribute to a massive new initiative, the Global Marine Species Assessment, led by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and Conservation International.

"We aim to examine the conservation status of all fishes, globally", says Kent Carpenter, of Old Dominion University, Virginia, USA.

The need to better protect outer and deep reef fish populations and habitats, and the spawning (reproductive) aggregations of these species, was identified as being particularly important for a number of the threatened grouper species assessed.

Outer and deep reef habitats are often not included in MPAs, and protection of spawning aggregations--critical to the maintenance of exploited populations of many threatened groupers are rarely incorporated in fishery management plans; they can rapidly eliminated by uncontrolled fishing.

The increasing international trade of these reef fishes poses a major threat because of the insatiable demand (and resulting high prices) for groupers.

The workshop outcome serves as yet another reminder of the logical need to limit exploitation levels to the speed with which fish populations reproduce.

The threatened groupers are naturally vulnerable to overfishing, and if fish populations continue to decline, this can threaten food security and livelihoods in source countries, as well as the species concerned.

The listing of these species as threatened also reflects the widespread failure to successfully manage fisheries associated with coral reefs.

"Groupers are some of the oldest fishes on coral reefs--some groupers may be more than 50 years old--and several do not reach maturity until late in life, making them particularly vulnerable to fishing before they are able to reproduce" says Matthew Craig of the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology.

Add to this the fishing pressure on the spawning aggregations of adults, the targeting of juveniles for food and for capture-based mariculture and the ongoing loss of reef habitat worldwide, and there seems little opportunity for unmanaged populations to be replenished.

As just one example, two species of coral trout grouper (Plectropomus areolatus and P. laevis), mainstays of the live reef food fish trade in Hong Kong, and both species that aggregate for spawning, were listed as Vulnerable based on the IUCN Red List criteria.

Although currently these species are seen in local Hong Kong markets, the heavy and unmanaged fishing pressure that they are exposed to is rapidly reducing populations and will continue to do so unless their fisheries are controlled.

Groupers are so prized in Hong Kong and southern China, and so depleted on many corals reefs of SE Asia, that they are imported alive by air or sea, from as far away as south Pacific and the Indian Ocean.

And it is not just the live fish trade that threatens grouper species. In North and South America, heavy fishing for these highly desired food fish also poses a significant threat.

As just one example, the Nassau grouper (Epinephelus striatus) is listed as Endangered; yet this was once one of the most commonly landed groupers in the islands of the western Atlantic.

While it has virtually disappeared from most Caribbean reefs, the species continues to be fished in many parts of its range and receives little effective management protection anywhere.

"Without conservation efforts, everybody loses: the loss of such species will affect not only fishermen and traders in source countries but also the local and international traders, and the people who like to eat them," said Dr. Sadovy.

Underwatertimes 21 Mar 07
Overfishing Cited as Twenty of World's 162 Grouper Species Threatened with Extinction

Arlington, Virginia (Mar 21, 2007 12:55 EST) The first comprehensive assessment of the world’s 162 species of grouper, a culinary favorite and important commercial fish, found that 20 are threatened with extinction unless proper management or conservation measures are introduced. Eight species previously were listed by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) as under extinction threat, and the new assessment proposes adding 12 more.

A panel of 20 experts from 10 nations determined the extinction threat facing groupers, which are the basis of the multimillion-dollar live reef food fish trade based in Hong Kong and comprise one of the most valuable groups of commercial fishes in chilled fish markets of the tropics and sub-tropics. Around the world, consumers pay up to $50 per kilogram for grouper.

“This shows that over-fishing could decimate another major food and economic resource for humans, similar to the loss of the cod stocks off New England and Canada that has put thousands of people out of work,” said Roger McManus, a senior director of Conservation International’s Marine Program.

The ground-breaking workshop at the Department of Ecology and Biodiversity of the University of Hong Kong was the first systematic assessment of the commercially important species, said Dr. Yvonne Sadovy, Chair of the IUCN Grouper and Wrasse Specialist Group and Associate Professor at HKU.

“The results are worrying and highlight the urgent need for fishery management, more effective marine protected areas (MPAs), and more sustainable eating habits for consumers of these fishes,” said Sadovy, who organized the workshop.

The workshop is part of a worldwide study of marine life called the Global Marine Species Assessment (GMSA) by IUCN, Conservation International and numerous other partners that provides scientists with baseline data for analyzing threats to ocean species.

“This assessment forms part of a growing focus on over-fishing and conservation concerns for fishes in general,” said GMSA Director Kent Carpenter.

The workshop identified the need to better protect outer reef areas and to manage spawning aggregations of many of the threatened grouper species. Outer reef areas are often not incorporated into MPAs, and spawning aggregations necessary for continued reproduction of many grouper species are rapidly eliminated by uncontrolled fishing. Increasing international trade to meet an insatiable demand for grouper poses a particularly major threat.

The workshop outcome serves as another reminder of the need for sustainable fishing and consumption of important fish species. The threatened groupers are naturally vulnerable to over-fishing, and the continued decline of fish populations can threaten food security and livelihoods in source countries.

Their pending inclusion on the IUCN Red List of threatened species also reflects the widespread failure to successfully manage fisheries associated with coral reefs.

Groupers are among the oldest fish on coral reefs, with some species reaching more than 50 years old. Several species only reach reproductive maturity later in life, making them particularly vulnerable to fishing before they mature. In addition, commercial fishing that targets reproductive gatherings of adults further hinders replenishment of unmanaged populations.

The threatened groupers include two species of coral trout grouper, which are mainstays of the live reef food fish trade in Hong Kong. Both can be found in Hong Kong fish markets, but they face heavy and unmanaged fishing pressure that is rapidly reducing their populations. In North and South America, heavy fishing of grouper for the chilled fish markets also poses a significant threat.

The Nassau grouper, once one of the most commonly landed groupers in the islands of the Western Atlantic Ocean, now is listed as Endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and has virtually disappeared from most Caribbean reefs.
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