Title: Artificial reefs and fisheries exploitation: a review of the ‘attraction versus production’ debate, the influence of design and its significance for policy
Abstract: Amidst the growing volume of published research on artificial reefs, one of the key questions concerns their potential for enhancing production over and above merely serving to attract and concentrate fish at specific sites. This paper reviews the ‘attraction versus production’ debate, highlighting the key role of design in determining a reefs effectiveness. Though some studies have apparently demonstrated that artificial reefs are capable of acting as production enhancers, others have not, for reasons which may be associated with the design of the reef itself. The review identifies a number of lines of enquiry for future research, and argues that while the proper design of a reef is essential to maximise productive potential, this may be of little value in the absence of a management strategy aimed at controlling the build-up of harvesting pressure which some reefs may engender.
Publication Year: 1997
Publication Date: 1997-07-01
Language: en
Type: review
Indexed In: ['crossref']
Access and Citation
Cited By Count: 326
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