Coral
reef fisheries in its contribution to
marine fish production in Sabah
Annadel Salvio
Cabanban[1] and Rooney E. Biusing[2]
Abstract
Coral reefs harbour diverse
species of fishes and populations of coral reef fishes are harvested by coastal
villagers in Asia and the Pacific. The
fisheries on coral reefs are known to contribute to the total marine fish
production of tropical countries but estimates of their contribution are
few. Catches of coral reef fishes were
extracted from the Annual Fisheries Statistics published by the Department of
Fisheries (Sabah) and trends of their production and abundance were
described. The value of these fishes
was calculated using market values that were also provided in the
Statistics. Estimates of their
contribution to the total marine fish production (also taken from the Fisheries
Statistics) were calculated. Five
families or species-groups of coral reef fishes are reported in the
statistics. These are the snappers
(Lutjanidae), groupers (Serranidae), wrasses (Labridae), emperors
(Lethrinidae), and fusiliers (Caesionidae) – in their order of abundance. Fishermen for the live fish-trade, as
food-fishes, or fish-balls (fusiliers) target these fishes. These coral reef fishes that are reported in
most fishing districts in Sabah but are mainly reported in high volumes in
Semporna, Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan, Tawau, and Kudat. The abundance of reported coral reef catches in Semporna,
Sandakan, and Tawau can be explained by the presence of coral reefs along the
coasts. The catches were increasing
from 1980 at 1,100 mt to 1987 at 2,200 mt and began to decline in 1988. The market value of these catches was estimated
at RM 3.65 M and RM 8.49 M, respectively. The contribution of coral reef fisheries to
the total marine fish production of Sabah is significant, ranging from 7.26
% ± 1.08 s. d. to 22.63 % ± 11.56 s. d. (mean = 9.01 % ± 6.12 s. d.) during the period from 1980
to 1990. This is equivalent to 1.22 mt
with an estimated value of RM 4.57 M in (in 1990) and 1.09 mt and RM 4.84 M (1981). These estimates of coral reef fisheries production are considered
an underestimation due to various reasons, including the absence in the
statistics of other coral reef fishes (e. g., surgeonfishes,
parrotfishes) and the non-inclusion of statistics from live-fish trade in the
calculations.
Introduction
Coral reefs harbour
diverse species of fishes and populations of coral reef fishes are harvested by
coastal villagers in Asia and the Pacific (e. g., Munro and Williams,
1985; Alcala and Gomez, 1985; White and Savina, 1987). The populations of coral reef fishes provide
coastal villages sustenance or income from fishery products (e. g.,
White and Savina, 1987). Furthermore,
the fisheries on coral reefs are known to contribute to the total marine fish
production of tropical countries but estimates of their contribution are few (e.
g., 10 to 15 % Carpenter, 1977; Murdy and Ferraris, 1980).
Sabah has extensive
coral reefs where populations of fishes, sea cucumbers, and mollusks have been
harvested (Wood and Wood, 1978). These
reefs occur throughout the coastline but the greatest concentration of good reefs
are in Semporna, Kudat, and Sandakan (Figure 1). Traditional as well as destructive fishing practices with the use
of muro-ami, dynamite, or poison have been reported in the 1970’s. Thus, many reefs along the coasts are
destroyed by destructive fishing practices (Pilcher and Oakley, 1997).
The production, value, and
contribution of the fisheries on coral reefs and its contribution to marine
fish production in Sabah are unknown.
However, catches of fishes belonging to families associated with coral
reefs were collected and reported in the annual fisheries statistics. The statistics from 1980 to 1993 were used
in this paper. The trends in the
catches, the estimates of catch-per-unit-effort, and the market values of coral
reef fishes allow assessment of the status of the fishery and provide insight
into its importance to the marine fisheries production in Sabah.
Sabah’s reefs
contribute a significant amount to the fisheries production and income. The catches were increasing from 1980 at
1,100 mt to 1987 at 2,200 mt and began to decline in 1988. The market value of these was estimated at RM 3.65 M at RM 8.49 M, respectively. The contribution of coral reef fisheries to
the total marine fish production of Sabah is significant, ranging from 7.26
% ± 1.08 s. d. to 22.63 % ± 11.56 s. d. (mean = 9.01 % ± 6.12 s. d.) during the period from 1980
to 1990. This is equivalent to 1.22 mt
with an estimated value of RM 4.57 M in (in 1990) and 1.09 mt and RM 4.84 M (1981). These estimates are considered underestimation due to the absence
of some coral reef fishes and the statistics on the live fish trade (Biusing et
al., this volume). These
estimated value of the coral reef fisheries resources provides support to the
calls for conservation of this nearshore ecosystem.
The coral reef fisheries of Sabah are declining
since 1988 as shown by the decreasing catches and catch-per-unit-effort. There are no definitive attributable factor
to this decline but the non-selective impacts of fish-bombing and harvesting of
juveniles and adults (with cyanide) for the live fish trade are considered as
factors that could lead to recruitment and growth overfishing. Thus, the reef and its fisheries need to be
protected by the enforcement of regulations and community-based management
approaches.
Materials and
Methods
Catch-and-effort - The effort for
the coral reef fishery was based on the number of vessels without motors and
with outboard engines (from Table 9 in Fisheries Statistics). These types of vessels are the ones likely
used on coral reefs. Catch statistics
were correlated with the number of vessels.
Catch composition - Catches were
extracted from the Annual Fisheries Statistics of Sabah from 1980 to 1993
(Department of Fisheries Sabah) for coral reef fishes. Fish groups belonging to families or
species-groups that are commonly found on coral reefs and have representatives
found on this ecosystem were the criteria for categorising fishes as coral reef
fishes. These fish groups considered as
coral reef fishes are batu (Labridae, wrasses), kerapu (Epinephelus
spp., Serranidae, groupers), ketambak (Lethrinidae), merah (Lutjanus
spp., Lutjanidae), and sulit (Caesionidae).
Catches by district and year -
Catches for these groups were extracted for most coastal fishing districts in
Sabah. Demersal fishing grounds are
found along these coasts that borders the South China Sea on the west coast and
the Sulu-Sulawesi Seas on the east coast (Figure 1). The fishing districts are along its coastline, extending from
Sipitang to Kudat on the west coast and from Kota Marudu to Tawau on the east
coast. Labuan, which is a federal
territory of Malaysia, is included in the analysis because its fishing grounds
are near Sabah. These extensive coral
reefs are found only off Kudat, Kota Marudu, and Semporna (Figure 1). In this analysis, the statistics of coral
reef fishes reported in 15 fishing districts were included in this analysis.
These data were plotted by year and for each district.
Figure 1. The fishing districts of Sabah, the demersal
fishing grounds (in dots), and the coral reefs of Sabah (shown as lines off the
coast of Semporna, Kudat, Sandakan)
Value of catches - The value of the
catches was calculated on real terms.
The mean regular retail value of each fish-group (e.g., kerapu)
across all districts was used for each year (see Appendix on Retail Prices of
Fish by Year, Annual Fisheries Statistics).
The annual value was calculated by multiplying the total catch of each
fish-group and their corresponding regular market value.
Contribution of
catches to marine fish production - The
mean of coral reef fish catches were calculated by district and year. The percentage contributions of these
catches to the total marine fish production (Annual Fisheries Statistics,
1980-1993) were calculated.
Results
Catch and effort - There was a
positive but weak correlation between the catches of coral reef fishes and the
number of non-motorized boats and out-board engine fitted boats (r = 0.186;
Figure 2a). Catch-per-unit-effort
(CPUE) was as high as 509 mt/boat (on annual basis) in 1983 (Figure 2b). The CPUE began declining from 1986 at 352
mt/boat and continued to 256 mt/boat in 1988 and 146 mt/boat in 1993.
Figure
2a. Relation of catches of coral reef
fishes (mt) and number of boats (effort) in Sabah from 1980 to 1993
Figure
2b. Declining catch-per-unit-effort in
the coral reef fishery of Sabah from 1986 to 1993 (catches in mt and effort in
number of unpowered and out-board engine fitted boats)
Species groups – The fusiliers
(Caesionidae), wrasses (Labridae), emperors (Lethrinidae), snappers
(Lutjanidae) and groupers (Serranidae) are represented in the catch of
small-scale fishermen. Few species are
identified to the species for these families (Table 1; see Table on Standard
Statistical Classification of Marine Fishes, Annual Fisheries Statistics)
Table 1.
List of genera and species of coral reef fishes in the fisheries
Family/Scientific Name
|
Common name
|
Caesionidae
|
Sulit, delah |
Caesio erythrogaster
|
|
C. chrysozona
|
|
Lethrinidae
|
Ketambak, pelandok
|
Lethrinus spp.
|
|
Lutjanidae
|
Merah
|
|
Lutjanus spp. |
|
Serranidae
|
Kerapu
|
|
Epinephelus spp. |
|
Distribution of catches - However, catches
of coral reef fishes were relatively high in 5 districts only, reporting
overall production equal to or greater than 2,000 mt from 1980 to 1993. Most of
the catches come from Semporna, Tawau, and Sandakan in the east coast (Figure
3). On the west coast, Kota Kinabalu,
and Kudat are the main sources of coral reef fishes.
Figure 3. Coral reef fishes production in 15 fishing
districts, with the highest production from Semporna, Kota Kinabalu, Tawau, and
Sandakan in 980 to 1993
(SP – Sipitang, LB – Labuan, KP –
Kuala Penyu, PP – Papar, KK – Kota Kinabalu, TR – Tuaran, KB
– Kota Belud, KD – Kudat, KM – Kota Marudu, BL – Beluran, SD
– Sandakan, LD – Lahad Datu, KN – Kunak, SM –
Semporna, TW – Tawau)
Abundance
species-groups and trend of catches - The most abundant of coral reef fishes are the snappers (5.47 mt) and groupers (4.89 mt). Emperors (3.62
mt) and wrasses (3.62 mt) are more abundant than fusiliers (2.90 mt). The catches of these species-groups
increased from 1980 to 1987 and proceeded to decline (Figure 4).
Trends in volume and value over time – The
catches of coral reef fishes followed a general increase from 1980 (1,100 mt)
to 1987 (2,200 mt) and a decline from 1988 (2,200 mt) to 1993 (Figure 5). The lowest catch was reported in 1991 at
only 748 mt. The average catch over
this period was 1,428 mt (± 515 mt).
The market value of the catch likewise followed the increasing trend
from RM 3.6 M in 1980 to RM 9.66 M in 1985 and declined from then on (Figure
5). Furthermore, the market value of
fishes increased despite declining volume.
For example, in 1980, the value of the about 1,000 mt of coral reef
fishes was about RM 3.6 M. In 1993, the
value was RM 3.06 for the catch of 793 mt.
The average value over this period is RM 5.70 M.
Contribution to total marine fish
production – The contribution of the coral reef fisheries to
marine fish production was between 7.26 (± 1.08 s. d.) to 22.6 (± 11.56 s. d.)
during the period from 1980 to 1990 (Figure 6). The percentage contributions from 1990 to 1993 were less than 1%
(and were excluded from Figure 6). The
highest contribution was estimated in 1981 that represented 1.091 mt valued at RM 4.84 M (Figures
5, 6). The contribution declined in
1990 to only 1.218 mt and estimated at RM 4.57 M (Figure 5, 6).
Figure 4.
Increase and decline of catches of the snappers, groupers, wrasses,
emperors, and fusiliers from 1980 to 1993
Figure 5.
Estimated catches and values of coral reef fishes in Sabah from 1980 to
1993
Figure
6. Contribution (%) of coral reef
fisheries to the total marine fish production in Sabah from 1980 to 1993
Discussion
Underestimation
of volume, value, and contribution
The coral reef fisheries
production reported in this is paper is an underestimation of the contribution
of this nearshore fishery to the total marine fish production in Sabah. Some of the catch of small-scale fishermen
are kept by fishermen for their domestic consumption and do not reach the
market. Only a few species of coral
reef fish groups are recorded in the statistics; other coral reef fishes such
us Acanthuridae (surgeonfishes) and Scaridae (parrotfishes) that contribute to
the fishery is lacking. Production of
coral reef fishes for the live fish trade is not included in these
estimates. The underestimation of coral
reef fisheries statistics can be attributed the difficulty of gathering data
from numerous small-scale vessels, dispersed fish landing sites, and the
secretive nature of traders.
Significance of contribution
The coral reef fisheries of
Sabah, Malaysia contribute significantly to the total marine fish production
and to the local economy of the State.
The percentage contribution is an underestimation at these levels and
could be significantly high when the volume and value of live-fishes that is
sold in local and international markets (Biusing et al., this volume). Nonetheless,
this contribution is comparable with that of the Philippines at 10 to 15 % of
the marine fish production (e. g., Carpenter, 1977; Murdy and Ferraris,
1980).
Decline of the fishery
The coral reef
fishery is declining over the years with declining catch per unit effort and
catches over time. The decline of the
fishery cannot be attributed to any singular factor in this analysis but
factors that could lead to overfishing are observed to occur in Sabah’s coastline. Harvesting by itself does have direct and
indirect impacts on the targeted populations and in the community of coral
reefs (Russ, 1991). These effects of
fishing are accentuated by the rampant use since the 1970s of fish-bombs in
fishing for coral reef fishes (Wood and Wood, 1978). Blast-fishing is non-selective, killing targeted as well as
non-target prey species of fishes that will lead to changes in the trophic
structure. This could hasten the
effects of overfishing by eliminating prey of predatory and targeted
species. Blast-fishing is
non-selective, killing young ones and resulting to recruitment
overfishing. Furthermore, the blasts
destroy the structure and complexity of coral reefs where fishes shelter and
grow. The ecological impacts of this method of fishing are currently being
investigated.
Another development
that could lead to overfishing (recruitment and growth) of coral reef fishes is
the collection of juveniles and adults of groupers, snappers, wrasses and other
coral reef fishes for the live fish trade (Johannes and Riepen, 1995; Biusing et al., this volume). Individuals of these fishes are collected
from the wild for the live-fish trade.
Cyanide and other poisonous chemicals are used to stun the fishes for
easy capture. The high demand for these
species and the effectiveness of the method of capture are likely to contribute
to the overfishing of the resources.
Management of coral reef fisheries
Coral reef
fisheries in Sabah need urgent management.
Coral reef fishes provide the protein requirements of coastal villages,
improving the welfare of the villagers.
It provides income to fishermen and to the state. This fishery resource and the ecosystem that
it is associated with need to be protected from overfishing and
destruction. Classical studies in
population dynamics are needed for commercially important species like the
groupers, snappers, emperors, and fusiliers to provide information for the
management of these resources (Munro and Williams, 1985). Furthermore, ecological and biological
studies are needed to be undertaken to facilitate the development of breeding
and feeding in hatchery conditions.
Fish-bombing has to be stopped by enforcing regulations and adapting
community-based approaches (e. g., Kenchington, 1988; McManus et al., 1988; Cabanban, 1998; Cabanban,
1999) because of the dual negative impacts on coral reefs and fishes living in
it.
Acknowledgement
We are grateful to Mr. Sivakumar Kumaresan and Mr. Ronald Phan for their
assistance in preparing for the figures.
Literature Cited
Alcala,
A. C. and E. D. Gomez. 1985. Fish yields of coral reefs in Central
Philippines. In Proc. Fifth Intl. Coral
Reef Cong. 5:521-524.
Biusing, E. R., M.
Phillips, and A. S. Cabanban.
1999. The cage culture of coral
reef fishes and other fishes in Sabah, Malaysia pp xx-xx. In Cabanban, A. S. and M. Phillips
(eds). Aquaculture of Coral Reef
Fishes. Proc. Workshop on Aquaculture of Coral Reef Fishes and Sustainable Reef
Fisheries. Sabah, Malaysia: Institute
for Development Studies (Sabah). xx pp.
Cabanban, A. S. 1999.
Community-based fisheries management in the Philippines: An overview. pp. 107-113. In Chong, K.
C. and S. R. Madhu. Report of Workshop
on Smart Partnerships for Sustainability in the Fishing Industry, 28-29
November 1997, Penang, Malaysia.
Chennai, India: Bay of Bengal
Programme. 155 pp.
Cabanban,
A. S. 1998. Impacts of fish-bombing on the coral reef
fish community of the Semporna Reef Complex, Sabah, Malaysia: Preliminary
Results. pp. 89-93. In:
Proc. Workshop on the Impacts of Destructive Fishing Practices on the
Marine Environment. Hong Kong, China,
16-18 December 1997. Asia Pacific
Economic Cooperation: Marine Resources Conservation Working Group.
Carpenter, K. E. 1977.
Philippine coral reef resources.
Philip. J. Fish. 15(1):95-126.
Johannes, R. E. and M. Riepen. 1995.
Environmental, economic and social implications of the live fish trade
in Asia and the West Pacific. The
Nature Conservancy, Honolulu, Hawaii.
87 pp.
Kenchington,
R. A. 1988. Managing reefs and interreefal environments and resources for
sustained exploitative, extractive and recreational uses. pp. 81-87. In J. H. Choat et al. (eds.) Proc. Sixth Intl. Coral Reef Symp. Vol. 2.
McManus,
J. W., E. M. Ferrer, and W. L. Campos.
1988. A village-level approach
to coastal adaptive mangement and resource assessment (CAMRA). pp. 381-386. In J. H. Choat et al. (eds.) Proc.
Sixth Intl. Coral Reef Symp. Vol. 2.
Munro,
J. L. and D. McB. Williams. 1985. Assessment and management of coral reef
fisheries: Biological, environmental
and socioeconomic aspects. In Proc.
Fifth Intl. Coral Reef Cong. 4:545-572.
Murdy,
E. O. and C. J. Ferraris. 1980. The contribution of coral reef fisheries to
Philippines fisheries production.
ICLARM Newsl. 3(1):21-22.
Pilcher,
N. J. and S. G. Oakley 1997. Unsustainable fishing practices: Crisis in
coral reef ecosystems of Southeast Asia.
pp. 77-87 In Proc. Oceanol. Intl. ‘97 Pacific
Rim, 12-14 May 1997, Singapore. Surrey,
UK: Spearhead Exhibitions.
Russ,
G. R. 1991. Coral reef fisheries: Effects and yields. Pp. 601-636. In Sale, P. F. (ed.) The ecology of fishes on coral reefs. California:
Academic Press. 754 pp.
White,
A. T. White and G. C. Savina. 1987. Reef fish yield and non-reef catch of Apo
Island, Negros, Philippines. Asian Mar.
Bio. 4:67-76.
Wood, C. R. and E. M. Wood. 1978. The
coral reefs of the Bodgaya Islands (Sabah: Malaysia) and Pulau Sipadan. Malay.
Nat. J. 40:285-310.