Effect of Fishing Practices on Coral Reefs in the Red Sea

Department of Economics

Environmental and Natural Resource Economics

Over the years, an important, and vital source of world food has been fish (Cesar, 2000). There

has been a rapid increase in demand for fish which has led to inappropriate or illegal fishing methods

that are threatening the future of the industry. Without severe environmental management, and

protection standards, the damages caused to coral ecosystems will lead to extinction of the species

(Cesar, 2000). Around 90 % of fishing practices that take place in the coastal waters of delicate areas

cause a huge threat on coral reefs and its degradation. Recently, the most severe threats that coral reefs

have been facing are a result of illegal fishing, toxic wastes of ships (this includes chemicals and crude

oil), drainage of untreated sewage, and an increase in sea water temperature.

The Red Sea is a central sea area for both fishing and for its unique and often incredible aquatic

environment of coral reefs, seagrass beds and mangroves (GAFRD, 2017). In addition, the Red Sea

tourism is mostly reliant on the surrounding environment particularly coral reefs, which are sensitive to

tourist activity. Coral reefs offer shelter zones and protection for many different fish species. They are

mainly affected by destructive fishing practices, such as, overfishing, dynamite or blast fishing, usage of

small mesh nets and cyanide fishing. Overfishing is classified as the foremost local threat that affects

55% of the world’s reefs, through an increased use of heavy trawling. There are also other types of

fishing gears that damage reef ecosystems tremendously through direct physical contact, these include;

gill nets, anchors, and fish traps which destroy branching corals and lead to coral death (Wilkinson,

2004).

There are many threatening effects of overfishing and destructive fishing practices, where the

damages caused on coral reefs are irreversible or need hundreds of years to recover original structure.

Firstly, overfishing leads to a decline in the fish population as humans catch more fish than the system

can support, also the need to catch more fish causes an increase in the destructive methods used by

fishermen. Secondly, cyanide fishing which involves using a chemical compound (cyanide) to shock and

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capture the fish for use in the aquarium fish market or for live reef food. This chemical can damage and

kill corals. In addition, the attempt to extract the sprayed fish by fishermen often break the corals which

causes further damage to the coral reef ecosystems. Thirdly, fishing gear such as beach seines and gill

nets which are dragged along the seabed, often flatten non-targeted juvenile corals and species in the

way. Further, lost fishing gear such as nets or traps can develop “ghost fishing” (entangles prey and

suffocates corals for weeks or even years after deployment). Such fishing practices are extremely

unsustainable due to the fact that they do not target particular fish and as a consequence often kill

juveniles in the process. Harming coral reef structure decrease the area's productivity, thus affect both

the livelihoods of fishers and nearby communities, and the reef-dependent fish populations (Mous,

2000).

This paper will attempt to examine and explore the causes and threats developed by destructive

fishing gears on coral reefs in the Red Sea, and provide some future recommendations on what can be

done to solve this issue.

Fieldwork & Analysis

The primary research conducted for this paper focused mainly on the causes of destructive

fishing practices to try and find solutions to prevent their occurrence or answers to how we can eliminate

such problems in order to protect the coral ecosystem. Two interviews were conducted with two

fishermen (Mohamed Abdelrazik and Ibrahim El Sayed) both working in Zafarana, Red Sea. The results

were paired with some existing reports to try and provide a more representable sample of the area. The

participants were chosen for their field as their knowledge would extremely benefit the research. From

the interview findings, six social and economic factors that help illustrate the persistent existence of

destructive fishing methods were identified. The first factor is a recognized relative efficiency of the

fishing gear and its contribution to higher returns. The fishermen interviewed claimed that these

equipment bring more catches compared to the traditional accepted equipment which makes them more

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efficient and therefore have higher profits. The second factor is the availability of destructive fishing

equipment at low costs in the market. It was noted that these gears are more available in the market and

are easily accessed without complications. The third factor is extremely interesting as it was concerned

with the age of the fisherman, where the more destructive gears were used by the younger fishermen.

This is because these equipment need a lot of energy and so the elderly try to avoid these techniques,

and instead use handmade baskets which are cheap and require less efforts. The fourth factor is the

growing number of fishermen causing a decline in catches, this leads to economic desperation among

fishermen and causes them to shift to more destructive methods that will ensure a maximized catch. This

comes at the price of sustainability (McManus, 2007). The fifth factor is the availability of a market for

various types and sizes of fish, promoting competition as size and quality are not taken into

consideration the only differentiation is through prices. The final and most important factor is the lack of

education as it was concluded from the interviews that most fishermen have not completed school, in

order to join fishing and start earning an income. As a consequence they are not environmentally aware

of such issues nor are they familiar with how to prevent them.

Conclusion

In conclusion, destructive fishing practices are widespread in the Red Sea of Egypt. These

practices include overfishing, dynamite or blast fishing, usage of small mesh nets and cyanide fishing.

These have severe effects on the coral ecosystem which can take hundreds of years to recover its

structure, and in some cases the damage caused is irreversible. The impacts include direct fish

exploitation, removal of specific species affecting the trophic levels, increased mortality of non-targeted

species, and physical impacts on the reef environment associated with the fishing methods. Such impacts

are intensified when united with coral reef stressors such as, coral disease, land-based sources of

pollution, and climate change. If a strategy was created to get rid of destructive equipment at source or if

a ban could be imposed on sales of some of these equipment then their use will decline and slowly start

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to vanish. It may also be better to tackle the issue from both the demand and supply side for better

results.

Recommendations

In this paper the need to control the use of destructive fishing equipment has been realized and

there are several recommended solutions/policies that can be used to eliminate such problems. Firstly,

there is a strong need for seminars and awareness campaigns for the fishermen in order to well inform

them of the causes and damages to the environment. In Egypt there is an excessive use of small fishing

boats along the coastal plain, these should be limited to a certain number as they are the most harmful to

the coral reefs, and instead resort to larger ships that can bring larger catches. There is also an urgent

need for a Department of Fisheries to provide surveillance boats, this would scare those who are tempted

to use destructive fishing gears and confiscate any illegal equipment. An important note here is that

confiscating destructive gears should be paired with providing accepted gears so that they are left with

an alternative. And finally, appointing an official for each zone of fishing to ensure that the fishermen

are monitored. Also, rent-seeking behaviour that may arise can be controlled by imposing penalties to

discourage those involved. In addition, area checks should be carried out by senior officials to authorize

whether the appointed officials are observing and promoting work ethics (Wilkinson, 2004).

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 References

Bemert, Gunnar, and Rupert Ormond. Red Sea Coral Reefs. Kegan Paul International, Boston;London;,

1981. Print. 4 Dec 2017.

Cesar, Herman S.J. “Coral Reefs: Their Functions, Threats and Economic Value.” Collected Essays on

the Economics of Coral Reefs. Kalmar, Sweden: CORDIO, Department for Biology and Environmental

Sciences, Kalmar University, 2000. 14-40. Reefbase. Web. 3 Dec 2017.

GAFRD. Egypt. “To combat the greed of traders, cooperation between the Fisheries Authority and the

Egyptian Fish Marketing Company”. Report 2017/2018. Web. 3 Dec 2017.

McManus, J. W. “Tropical Marine Fisheries and the Future of Coral Reefs: A Brief Review with an

Emphasis on Southeast Asia.” Coral Reefs 16.5 (2007): 121-27. SpringerLink. Web. 3 Dec 2017.

Mous, Peter J., et al. “Cyanide Fishing on Indonesian Coral Reefs for the Live Food Fish Market: What

Is the Problem?” Collected Essays On the Economics of Coral Reefs. Kalmar, Sweden: CORDIO,

Department for Biology and Environmental Sciences, Kalmar University, 2000. 69-76. Reefbase. Web. 4

Dec 2017.

Wilkinson,C. (ed)(2004). Status of Coral Reefs of the World: (2004).GCRMN/Australian Institute of

Marine Science. 9p. Web. 3 Dec 2017.

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 Appendix

Interview Questions:

1. Where do you fish and how long have you been in the fishing industry?

2. Are there any family members working with you?

3. What fishing techniques do you use to catch fish? (i.e. traps, hooks, nets, etc.)

4. What type of boat do you fish on? Small or large?

5. Are you aware of the different destructive fishing gears available, and in use at the moment?

6. Do you know any fishermen who use these destructive methods? (Give him examples of what

they are if he is not familiar with them)

7. Does the type of fish matter to you or are you more focused on the quantity?

8. Where do you sell your catch at the end of the day?

9. Is there any supervision among the fishermen and their techniques?

10. How do you think we can start protecting the Red Sea?