What are the major threats to corals?

There are a number of impacts from fishing on reefs. Learn more about them.

Coral reef fisheries provide important benefits to communities across the world. Fish and shellfish living in and around coral reefs are a significant food source for over a billion people. Many coastal and island communities depend on coral reef fisheries and products from fishing for their livelihoods. This includes fishers, boat charters, and the businesses they support, like fish markets and restaurants.

Coral reef fishing practices are also part of many people’s social and cultural identity, connecting their lives to nature, family traditions, and their ancestors. But too much of a good thing can be very bad for coral reefs - especially if members of these communities use unsustainable fishing practices. This means catching fish and other sea creatures in a way that harms the environment and reduces their numbers faster than they can reproduce.

Scientists and resource managers use different tools to address unsustainable fishing practices. These include:

Overfishing can deplete key reef species and damage coral habitat. Learn more and download the infographic.

• Regularly evaluating fish populations,

• Incorporating indigenous and local knowledge about different fish species and fishing practices,

• Restricting the use of certain types of fishing gear,

• Enforcing a limit to the number and types of fish that can be caught during a fishing season, and

• Working to protect and restore the habitats where the fish live.

NOAA Fisheries, regional fishery management councils, and state and territorial fishery management agencies are responsible for the sustainable management of coral reef fisheries in the U.S. They work with each other and the public to ensure the best available knowledge is used to protect coral reef ecosystems and the fish that call them home.