Comparative demography of commercially important species of coral grouper, Plectropomus leopardus and P. laevis, from Australia's great barrier reef and Coral Sea marine parks

• Published in: Journal of fish biology Vol. 97; no. 4; pp. 1165 - 1176
• Main Authors: Payet, Samuel D., Lowe, Jake R., Mapstone, Bruce D., Pratchett, Morgan S., Sinclair‐Taylor, Tane H., Taylor, Brett M., Waldie, Peter A., Harrison, Hugo B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.10.2020; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Age comparisons; Animals; Atolls; Australia; Barrier reefs; Bass - classification; Bass - growth & development; Catch per unit effort; Collections; Conservation of Natural Resources; coral grouper; Coral Reefs; Coral Sea; Corals; Demography; environmental factors; fish; Fisheries; Fisheries - statistics & numerical data; Fishing; Fishing effort; Fishing pressure; Great Barrier Reef; Growth; latitude; Length; Marine fishes; Marine invertebrates; Marine parks; marine reserve; mortality; Oceans and Seas; otoliths; Plectropomus; Plectropomus laevis; Plectropomus leopardus; Populations; Processing fishery products; Profiles; Reefs; Regions; Species; Total mortality; Australia; Coral Sea; Great Barrier Reef; Coral Sea; coral grouper; Plectropomus; marine reserve; demography; great barrier reef
• ISSN: 0022-1112; 1095-8649; 1095-8649
• DOI: 10.1111/jfb.14491

Understanding the spatial and environmental variation in demographic processes of fisheries target species, such as coral grouper (Genus: Plectropomus), is important for establishing effective management and conservation strategies. Herein we compare the demography of Plectropomus leopardus and P. laevis between Australia's Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP), which has been subject to sustained and extensive fishing pressure, and the oceanic atolls of Australia's Coral Sea Marine Park (CSMP), where there is very limited fishing for reef fishes. Coral grouper length‐at‐age data from contemporary and historical otolith collections across 9.4 degrees of latitude showed little difference in lifetime growth between GBRMP and CSMP regions. Plectropomus laevis populations in GBRMP reefs had significantly higher rates of total mortality than populations in the CSMP. Mean maximum lengths and mean maximum ages of P. laevis were also smaller in the GBRMP than in the CSMP, even when considering populations sampled within GBRMP no‐take marine reserves (NTMRs). Plectropomus leopardus, individuals were on average smaller on fished reefs than NTMRs in the GBRMP, but all other aspects of demography were broadly similar between regions despite the negligible levels of fishing pressure in the CSMP. Similarities between regions in growth profiles and length‐at‐age comparisons of P. laevis and P. leopardus suggest that the environmental differences between the CSMP and the GBRMP may not have significant impacts on lifetime growth. Our results show that fishing may have influenced the demography of coral grouper on the GBR, particularly for the slower growing and longer lived species, P. laevis.