Why the Concern

A key aspect of reef fish spawning aggregations is that they often form at the same places and at the same times each year. Fishers know this by experience and often target spawning aggregations of commercially valuable species on the reef. Aggregations represent a unique opportunity to catch many fish in a short period of time.

Unfortunately, as coral reef fisheries are often poorly managed, and as populations of many of the larger reef fishes that form spawning aggregations are slow to replenish following fishing, many spawning aggregations are decreasing in number following overfishing and some have completely disappeared.

Coral reefs in the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans are so extensive and far-flung that it is essentially only within the past decade that scientists working in different regions have realized that the declines in spawning aggregations seen on their reefs were not unique, but a global phenomenon. The vastness of the world's oceans is no longer enough to ensure the continued survival of reef fishes that form spawning aggregations. Education and active management are needed, hence the SCRFA is working to raise awareness about the vulnerability of reef fish spawning aggregations and to promote and facilitate better protection and management.