Advances in fishing technology and increases in demand for fish have led to fisheries using more efficient fishing techniques to catch more fish. But despite laws protecting certain areas from fishing or restricting the amount of fishing that can be done in an area, some areas, including certain coral reefs, still suffer from overfishing as certain species in demand are taken from the reef.
Overfishing, by definition, results in a reduction in the population of certain species of fish, especially those fish that are in high demand. This reduction in population affects the predator-prey relationship, as species who depend on the overfished organisms have to look elsewhere for food. Overfishing can affect fish size, abundance, diversity and species composition, according to the University of Michigan.
The domino effect refers to the ecological balance of the reef. The reef's species depend on each other, from the zooxanthellae relationship with coral to the predators preying on the fish. Overfishing removes links from the food chain with the depletion of species. This means that the predators above struggle to find food, while the organisms lower in the chain enjoy growth, which upsets the ecological balance of the reef and can lead to reef destruction when certain species prosper. For example, the Crown of Thorns starfish feeds on coral, destroying the reef.
Overfishing upsetting the ecological balance of the reef leads to coral reef destruction, an imbalance in species composition and disrupted reproduction patterns. In turn, destruction of the coral will lead to erosion on the coast near reefs. Overfishing means a loss of fish species and a loss of tourism revenues for countries with reefs, most notably Australia.
