In one of the biggest worldwide study of its kind, analysts looked into more than 6,000 reef overviews in 46 nations over the globe and found 15 'splendid spots' – places where, against all the chances, there were significantly more fish on coral reefs than anticipated.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, battling a tight re-election race, on Monday promised an A$1 billion ($740 million) fund for the reef, which scientists say is suffering common coral bleaching due to climate change around the world.
“Reefs are hugely threatened. I saw my own field site melt down and completely die,” says Julia Baum from the University of Victoria. “The danger is that we lose hope, or we feel like there’s nothing to be done. That’s why this study is so important. It shows that the end state of people relying on and using coral reefs doesn’t have to be reef degradation.”
The study also identified 35 "dark spots", from Jamaica to Tanzania, where there were fewer fish than expected.
“It’s really nice when you can shine a powerful analytical light on what’s going well,” says Nancy Knowlton, a self-described ocean optimist based at the Smithsonian Institution. “We want to start talking about things that are going well in conservation.”
“Given the widespread depletion of coral reef fisheries globally, we were really excited to find these bright spots that were faring much better than we anticipated,” said lead author Josh Cinner from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University in Queensland, Australia. “These ‘bright spots’ are reefs with more fish than expected based on their exposure to pressures like human population, poverty, and unfavorable environmental conditions.”
Co-author, Professor Nick Graham of Lancaster University says globally, coral reefs are in decline and current strategies for preserving them are insufficient.
"Our bright spots approach has identified places we did not previously know were so successful, and the really interesting thing is that they are not necessarily untouched by man," he says.
"We believe their discovery offers the potential to develop exciting new solutions for coral reef conservation."
"Importantly, the bright spots had a few things in common, which, if applied to other places, might help promote better reef conditions."
The study was published in Nature and the study had 39 scientists from 34 different universities and conservation groups, including three affiliated with Stanford’s Center for Ocean Solutions.
