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A cause for hope: largely intact coral-reef communities with high reef-fish biomass in a remote Indonesian island group
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

A cause for hope: largely intact coral-reef communities with high reef-fish biomass in a remote Indonesian island group

Gino V Limmon, Halwi Masdar, Dominic Muenzel, Tanika C Shalders, Cilun Djakiman, Maria Beger, Jamaludin Jompa and Maarten De Brauwer
Marine and freshwater research, Vol.74(6), pp.479-490
09/03/2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1071/MF22075
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Published (Version of record) Open Access CC BY V4.0
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Abstract

Biodiversity Conservation Coral Triangle Fisheries Indonesia Lucipara Oceanic Island Visual survey
Context: The health of coral reefs is declining rapidly across the world because of anthropogenic impacts. In the mega-diverse Coral Triangle, the consequences of chronic overfishing and human use are worst near coastal population centres. Aims: The remote islands and reefs in the centre of the Banda Sea (Indonesia) remain largely unstudied, but their distance from populated areas could provide protection from fishing. Methods: We conducted the first visual census surveys of coral-reef communities at the uninhabited Lucipara group in the Banda Sea. Key results: Sites showed medium to high coral cover and fish assemblages with high biomass, including abundant large predatory species. All sites exceeded the fish biomass conservation target of 1150 kg ha−1 proposed by McClanahan et al. (2015), by a factor of ~2–10. Benthic cover explained >50% of variance in fish abundance and diversity, with submassive corals, Dendrophyllia spp., and bare rock as key predictors. Conclusions: Our results suggested that Lucipara’s reefs are among the healthiest in Indonesia, likely owing to their remoteness. However, this remoteness might also hamper policing against destructive fishing practices, highlighting a conservation gap. Implications: Lucipara’s reef communities should be protected in a time of global coral-reef declines.

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