Author Identifier (ORCID)
Lucas L. Lutzenkirchen: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3606-5944
Abstract
Ensuring food security in the Anthropocene presents a significant socio-ecological challenge, especially in rapidly changing coastal seascapes that sustain critical fisheries. Herbivorous fishes are essential for food and financial security through fisheries, however, their contributions to regional catches, and the factors influencing them, are not well understood. Analysing reported and reconstructed catch data across 69 Exclusive Economic Zones, we identify shallow-reef area and coastal population density as significant predictors of herbivorous fish catches. However, between-realm (i.e. Indo-Pacific vs. Western Atlantic) differences are marked, with rabbitfishes contributing disproportionately to herbivorous fishery catches. While rabbitfishes have the potential to support productive fisheries due to their relatively faster life-history traits, a 60% decline in catch-per-unit-effort suggests that their production potential, along with parrotfishes and surgeonfishes, may be decreasing globally. Our study highlights contrasting social-ecological outcomes for human populations in the Western Atlantic vs. Indo-Pacific; a difference primarily driven by rabbitfish catches.
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of Publication
1-1-2025
Volume
35
Publication Title
Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries
Publisher
Springer
School
Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research / School of Science
Funders
Australian Research Council
Grant Number
ARC Number : FL1901000062
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
First Page
1011
Last Page
1029
Comments
Lutzenkirchen, L. L., Tebbett, S. B., Yan, H. F., & Bellwood, D. R. (2025). Contrasting tropical marine herbivorous fish catches between the Indo-Pacific and Western Atlantic. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries, 35, 1011-1029. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11160-025-09947-6