CRC Press Interrelationships Between Corals and Fisheries

Product Description Interrelationships Between Corals and Fisheries is derived from a workshop held by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council in Tampa, Florida in May 2013, where world authorities came together to discuss the current problems in managing tropical fisheries and offered suggestions for future directions for both researchers and environmental resource managers. This book addresses current and emerging threats as well as challenges and opportunities for managing corals and associated fisheries. It provides an information baseline toward a better understanding of how corals and the consequences of coral condition influence fish populations, especially as they relate to management of those populations. The book contains content from presentations modified as a result of interactions and discussions with colleagues and peer reviews by global experts in corals and fisheries. Many chapters include additional materials not presented in the workshop. There are also papers that were not presented at the workshop but contribute to the central theme of the book. Topics covered include: Global decline in coral reefs and impacts on fishery yields Distribution and diversity in the Gulf of Mexico Implementation of Coral Habitat Areas of Particular Concern (CHAPCs) Deepwater coral/sponge habitats Coral populations on offshore platforms Mangrove connectivity for sustaining coral reef fisheries Restoring deepwater coral ecosystems and fisheries after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill Predictive mapping of coral reef fish Covering a range of subject matter, most of the chapters offer suggestions for future research on the interrelationships between corals and fisheries. In addition, the final chapter presents a summary on these interrelationships and discusses managing them for the future. About the Author Stephen A. Bortone, PhD, recently retired as executive director of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council and now serves as a principal in an environmental consulting firm (Osprey Aquatic Sciences, Inc.) specializing in fisheries and other aquatic sciences. For the past 45 years, he has conducted research on fisheries and the life history of aquatic organisms, especially fishes, chiefly in the southeastern United States and the Gulf of Mexico. He has published over 160 scientific articles on broad aspects of the aquatic sciences, but mostly on fisheries. In addition, he has edited four books on the aquatic sciences.