2.3.2. Unsustainable Fishing

Coral reefs and associated habitats provide important commercial, recreational and subsistence fishery resources. But coral reef fisheries, though often relatively small in scale, may have disproportionately large impacts on the ecosystem if conducted unsustainably. Rapid human population growth, demand for fishery resources, use of more efficient fishery technologies, and inadequate management and enforcement have led to the depletion of key reef species and habitat damage in many locations.