Banning or restricting the use of certain types of fishing gear could help the world’s coral reefs and their fish populations survive the onslaughts of climate change according to a study by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and other groups. The international team of scientists has proposed that bans on fishing gear – like spear guns, fish traps, and beach seine nets – could aid in the recovery of reefs and fish populations hard hit by coral bleaching events. Around the world corals have been dying at alarming rates, due to unusually warm water events resulting from global warming. Research carried out in Kenya and Papua New Guinea has shown that certain types of gear are more damaging to corals, to coral-dependent fish and to the key species of fish that are needed to help reefs recover from bleaching or storm damage. ‘This is creating a double jeopardy for both the corals and certain types of reef fish. They are already on the edge because of overfishing- and the additional impact caused by a bleaching can push them over Dr Cinner explains. The result […]