Scientists Have Found A New Way To Save The World’s Coral Reefs, And It’s Pretty Fishy

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/04/09/3644846/coral-reef-health-depends-on-fish/

The study, published this week in Nature, looked at the fish biomass — the total mass of all fish species in a reef — of 832 reefs around the world, and used data on the reefs’ health to estimate the levels of fish biomass needed to sustain that health.

The researches found that reefs with no fishing had about 1,000 kilograms (2,204 pounds) of fish biomass per hectare (2.47 acres), and that to avoid a total collapse of ecosystem health, reefs needed to stay above a minimum of 100 kgs (about 220 lbs) of fish biomass per hectare. To keep their ecosystems healthy and be able to sustain fishing needs, reefs needed to keep fish biomass at at least 500 kgs (1,102 lbs) of fish biomass per hectare.
......