Size indicates response of ocean wildlife to marine protection

Our paper published in Science “Divergent responses of pelagic and benthic fish body-size structure to remoteness and protection from humans”, led by UWA Adjunct Dr. Tom Bech Letessier, uses over 17,000 samples derived from pelagic and benthic baited remote video systems (BRUVS) deployed globally. Size estimates for over 840,000 animals demonstrated that pelagic species benefit from protection in remote places whereas benthic species benefit from protection afforded by marine parks even in proximity to human population centres.

Reef systems close to population centres should be protected as we support the recovery of seabed species. Arguments that a lack of obvious human impact negates the need for marine parks in remote areas are not supported as these places are particularly important to pelagic species.

This paper is also a demonstration of the value of global datasets that are collected with a consistent methodology.