Publication Abstract

Overexploitation is one of the principal threats to coral reef diversity, structure, function and resilience. Although it is generally held that coral reef fisheries are unsustainable, little is known of the overall scale of exploitation or which reefs are overfished. Here, on the basis of ecological footprints and a review of exploitation status, we report widespread unsustainability of island coral reef fisheries. Over half (55%) of the 49 island countries considered are exploiting coral reef fisheries in an unsustainable way. We estimate that total coral reef fisheries landings are currently 64% higher than can be sustained. Consequently, the area of coral reef appropriated by fisheries exceeds the available effective area by ~ 75,000 km2, or 3.7 times the area of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, and an extra 196,000 km2 of coral reef –maybe required by 2050 to support anticipated growth in human populations. The large overall imbalance between current and sustainable catches implies that management methods to reduce social and economic dependence on reef fisheries are essential to prevent the collapse of coral reef ecosystems while sustaining the well-being of burgeoning coastal populations.