Reef and lagoon fisheries yields in Moorea: A summary of data collected

International audienc

Effects of Coastline Modification on Coral Reef Fish Nurseries (Moorea, French Polynesia)

International audienc

Introduced mangroves in the Society Islands, French Polynesia (South Pacific): invasive species or novel ecosystem?

International audienc

Complexities and Uncertainties in Transitioning Small-Scale Coral Reef Fisheries

International audienceCoral reef fisheries support the development of local and national economies and are the basis of important cultural practices and worldviews. Transitioning economies, human development, and environmental stress can harm this livelihood. Here we focus on a transitioning social-ecological system as a case study (Moorea, French Polynesia). We review fishing practices and three decades of effort and landing estimates with the broader goal of informing management. Fishery activities in Moorea are quite challenging to quantify because of the diversity of gears used, the lack of centralized access points or markets, the high participation rates of the population in the fishery, and the overlapping cultural and economic motivations to catch fish. Compounding this challenging diversity, we lack a basic understanding of the complex interplay between the cultural, subsistence, and commercial use of Moorea's reefs. In Moorea, we found an order of magnitude gap between estimates of fishery yield produced by catch monitoring methods (2 t km −2 ∼ year −1) and estimates produced using consumption or participatory socioeconomic consumer surveys (∼24 t km −2 year −1). Several lines of evidence suggest reef resources may be overexploited and stakeholders have a diversity of opinions as to whether trends in the stocks are a cause for concern. The reefs, however, remain ecologically resilient. The relative health of the reef is striking given the socioeconomic context. Moorea has a relatively high population density, a modern economic system linked into global flows of trade and travel, and the fishery has little remaining traditional or customary management. Other islands in the Pacific in similar contexts in Polynesia such as Hawaii, that continue to develop economically, may have small-scale fisheries that increasingly resemble Moorea. Therefore, understanding Moorea's reef fisheries may provide insight into their future

Importance of intertidal seagrass beds as nursery area for coral reef fish juveniles (Mayotte, Indian Ocean)

International audienceThe present study highlights the importance of intertidal seagrass beds as nursery areas for coral reef fish juveniles along four sites (Mtsoubatsou, Sohoa, Boueni, Ngouja) on the western coast of Mayotte Island. The results collected by underwater visual census from November 2012 to January 2013 showed that mean total fish density between adults and juveniles varied significantly at each site, with juveniles always being more abundant in seagrass beds than adults. Of the total fish assemblages sampled in seagrass beds, 73% were juveniles and few adults of large species were observed. Overall, our study highlights the important functional role of intertidal seagrass beds for fish assemblages, as they are the primary habitat for the juveniles of many fish species on Mayotte reefs. Seagrass beds, however, are very vulnerable ecosystems and are decreasing worldwide. Therefore it is of primary importance to protect seagrass beds within the Indo-Pacific

Perceptions and responses of Pacific Island fishers to changing coral reefs

International audienceThe transformation of coral reefs has profoundimplicationsformillionsofpeople.However,theinteractiveeffectsofchangingreefsandfishingremainpoorlyresolved.Wecombineunderwatersurveys(271 000fishes),catchdata(18 000 fishes), and household surveys (351 households) toevaluate how reef fishes and fishers in Moorea, FrenchPolynesia responded to a landscape-scale loss of coralcaused by sequential disturbances (a crown-of-thorns seastar outbreak followed by a category 4 cyclone). Althoughlocal communities were aware of the disturbances, less than20% of households reported altering what fishes they caughtor ate. This contrasts with substantial changes in thetaxonomic composition in the catch data that mirroredchanges in fish communities observed on the reef. Ourfindingshighlightthatresourceusersandscientistsmayhavevery different interpretations of what constitutes ‘change’ inthese highly dynamic social–ecological systems, with broadimplications for successful co-management of coral reeffisheries

Local perceptions of socio-ecological drivers and effects of coastal armoring: the case of Moorea, French Polynesia

International audienc

Long-term coastline monitoring on a coral reef island (Moorea, French Polynesia)

International audienc

Local perceptions of socio-ecological drivers and effects of coastal armoring: the case of Moorea, French Polynesia

International audienceUnderstanding the natural state of coral reefs is paramount to evaluate the response of these ecosystems to local and global human impacts as well as management and conservation strategies. In French Polynesia, some islands are still pristine or uninhabited, such as Tupai atoll. Tupai has been uninhabited, with access to the lagoon prohibited since 2010. However, fishers from nearby islands often take from the outer reef slope at Tupai. Our marine biodiversity survey (coral, macro-invertebrates, and fish) conducted in 2019 highlighted a low density of commercial fish species and top-predators on the outer slope in comparison to the lagoon, where the top-predators represented 16% (of the density) of functional trophic groups. Our surveys also showed a high living coral cover (46%) on the outer slope of Tupai, perhaps due to the absence of both touristic sub-aquatic activities and local pollution from private and commercial activities. Overall, this initial scientific assessment of Tupai has granted an understanding of the spatial patterns of coral, macro-invertebrates, and fish assemblages in the absence of human impacts (i.e., in the lagoon), representing an ecological baseline that could inform conservation management strategies to ensure the preservation of coral reef ecosystem

Perceptions and responses of Pacific Island fishers to changing coral reefs

The transformation of coral reefs has profound implications for millions of people. However, the interactive effects of changing reefs and fishing remain poorly resolved. We combine underwater surveys (271 000 fishes), catch data (18 000 fishes), and household surveys (351 households) to evaluate how reef fishes and fishers in Moorea, French Polynesia responded to a landscape-scale loss of coral caused by sequential disturbances (a crown-of-thorns sea star outbreak followed by a category 4 cyclone). Although local communities were aware of the disturbances, less than 20% of households reported altering what fishes they caught or ate. This contrasts with substantial changes in the taxonomic composition in the catch data that mirrored changes in fish communities observed on the reef. Our findings highlight that resource users and scientists may have very different interpretations of what constitutes 'change' in these highly dynamic social-ecological systems, with broad implications for successful co-management of coral reef fisheries