Impacts of a volcanic eruption on coral reef fisheries in a co-managed fishery-system (Old ID 27870)
Role
Chief Investigator
Description
In January 2022, a massive submarine volcanic eruption occurred in the Kingdom of Tonga, causing widespread damage from both ashfall and tsunami waves. For 20 years prior to this eruption, the Tongan government has worked closely with local communities to manage and conserve the countries coral reef ecosystem and reef fisheries. In the wake of this acute disturbance, I aim to: 1)understand how coral reefs and their fisheries respond to massive acute disturbances, and 2)investigate whether local marine management measures can mitigate observed impacts. Ecological surveys of fish and reef health will be conducted across the country’s coral reefs, both within and beyond managed areas, at varying distances from the eruption epicentre.
Date
01 Jan 2023 - 01 Jan 2025
Project Type
GRANT
Keywords
Small scale fisheries;Fisheries co-management;Volcanic eruption;Habitat degradation;Food security;Fisheries productivity
Funding Body
Fisheries Society of the British Isles
Amount
12186
Project Team
Patrick Smallhorn-West;Amy Diedrich;Andrew Hoey