Corals versus monofilament: corals fight back in Savusavu Bay, Fiji

The entanglement of corals by monofilament is known to be a significant source of mortality in areas where line fishing is prevalent. For example, in Hawaii, mortality of 'Pocillopora meandrina' was higher in areas that were fished, and the proportion of damaged and dead colonies was positively correlated with the proportion of colonies entangled by monofilament (Asoh et al. 2004; Yoshikawa and Asoh 2004). Although unquantified at this stage, we have made similar observations on subtropical reefs (lat. 30°S) in eastern Australia where monofilament entanglement leads to damage and mortality of, in particular, the common and often dominant species 'Pocillopora damicornis'. Mortality primarily results from progressive overgrowth of fishing line, and shaded and damaged sections of colonies, by a succession of algal species (Yoshikawa and Asoh 2004).