Reef vision: A citizen science program for monitoring the fish faunas of artificial reefs

Florisson, James H.; Tweedley, J.R.; Walker, Tim H.E.; Chaplin, Jennifer A.

doi:10.1016/j.fishres.2018.05.006

Cited by 22 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…5C), likely due to its ease of use and limited cost of equipment (Hill andWilkinson 2004, Murphy andJenkins 2010). Many artificial reefs in Australia have been monitored by both government and citizen scientists using BRUVs (e.g., Becker et al 2017, Florisson et al 2018b, reflecting a broader trend in Australia where this equipment is used to monitor a variety of Table 1. The total number of samples is provided above each column.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…8B). This upturn is driven by deployments and research in Australia, where the availability of recreational fisher license funds has facilitated the deployment of numerous reefs and associated research (e.g., Becker et al 2017, Florisson et al 2018b. The increase in the proportion of reefs designed to enhance habitat could be due to recognition of the role of habitat complexity in increasing the abundance of associated fauna and also the impacts of anthropogenic degradation on coastal waters.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Artificial reefs have been constructed from a wide variety of materials, which can be broadly categorized as either objects (materials) of opportunity, e.g., rock/rubble, tires, wood, plastic, old vehicles/vessels, and even whitegoods, or purpose-built, e.g., fabricated concrete modules and steel structures (Pickering and Whitmarsh 1997, Baine 2001, Florisson et al 2018a). The impetus for many such reefs has been based on the observations of increased abundances of fish species on and around these structures, and thus many reefs have been deployed to improve fishing (Riggio et al 2000, Ito 2011, Florisson et al 2018b). However, as technology and our understanding of artificial reefs have increased over time, so has the range of purposes for which they have been deployed, including recreation and tourism, coastal/habitat protection, habitat restoration, and as experimental sites for scientific and technological innovation (Baine 2001, Lima et al 2019.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Artificial reefs in the Anthropocene: a review of geographical and historical trends in their design, purpose, and monitoring

Ramm

Florisson

Watts

et al. 2021

bms

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The long history of artificial reefs has stimulated diversity in their physical properties and deployment for a range of purposes. A systematic literature search yielded 804 scientific publications on artificial reefs. A database of their characteristics was constructed and used to investigate geographical and historical trends. A total of 1074 unique artificial reefs from 71 countries were identified, with 89% located in the northern hemisphere, but equally distributed between eastern and western. Reefs were assigned to one of three categories: (A) unintentional deployment, (B) intentional deployment but unintentional reef, and (C) intentional artificial reef. Category A reefs consisted predominantly of accidental shipwrecks. Category B reefs were primarily coastal defense structures in shallow waters and active oil and gas infrastructures at greater depths. The number of Category C reefs increased after 1965, with most in depths of 10–30 m. Most were constructed from concrete or steel, followed by rock and rubber. Usage of concrete as a material steadily increased, while those of steel and rubber decreased, coinciding with the transition from objects (materials) of opportunity to purpose-built reefs. Most reefs were deployed to enhance faunal communities or fisheries, particularly recreational fishing in North America and Australia. Monitoring was most often performed using underwater visual census but transitioned to more technologically advanced methods, particularly in more affluent countries over recent decades. We present a standardized protocol for describing artificial reefs and urge authors to include all relevant data in their publications to allow future comparisons to enhance our understanding and evaluation of these structures.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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Artificial reefs in the Anthropocene: a review of geographical and historical trends in their design, purpose, and monitoring

Ramm

Florisson

Watts

et al. 2021

bms

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“…Even though the monitoring by volunteers might seem cost-efficient, other hidden costs may add-up. For example, recruiting volunteers and keeping them interested in the long term requires staff with a dedicated amount of time and a specialization in marketing, education and communication [68,69]. A citizen science platform like Waterdiertjes.nl cannot survive without sustained funding in the long run and this is a requirement to build up a long time series of data.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Monitoring biological water quality by volunteers complements professional assessments

Peeters

Gerritsen²,

Seelen

et al. 2022

PLoS ONE

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Progressively more community initiatives have been undertaken over last decades to monitor water quality. Biological data collected by volunteers has been used for biodiversity and water quality studies. Despite the many citizen science projects collecting and using macroinvertebrates, the number of scientific peer-reviewed publications that use this data, remains limited. In 2018, a citizen science project on biological water quality assessment was launched in the Netherlands. In this project, volunteers collect macroinvertebrates from a nearby waterbody, identify and count the number of specimens, and register the catch through a web portal to instantaneously receive a water quality score based on their data. Water quality monitoring in the Netherlands is traditionally the field of professionals working at water authorities. Here, we compare the data from the citizen science project with the data gathered by professionals. We evaluate information regarding type and distribution of sampled waterbodies and sampling period, and compare general patterns in both datasets with respect to collected animals and calculated water quality scores. The results show that volunteers and professionals seldomly sample the same waterbody, that there is some overlap in sampling period, and that volunteers more frequently sampled urban waters and smaller waterbodies. The citizen science project is thus yielding data about understudied waters and this spatial and temporal complementarity is useful. The character and thoroughness of the assessments by volunteers and professionals are likely to differentiate. Volunteers collected significantly lower numbers of animals per sample and fewer animals from soft sediments like worms and more mobile individuals from the open water column such as boatsmen and beetles. Due to the lack of simultaneous observations at various locations by volunteers and professionals, a direct comparison of water quality scores is impossible. However, the obtained patterns from both datasets show that the water quality scores between volunteers and professionals are dissimilar for the different water types. To bridge these differences, new tools and processes need to be further developed to increase the value of monitoring biological water quality by volunteers for professionals.

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“…For example, the socio‐economic benefits of recreational fisheries can include improvements to psychological well‐being, forging connections between humans and nature, supporting livelihoods and communities and generating billions of dollars of economic benefit (Armstrong et al ., ; Griffiths et al ., ; Hughes, ; Hyder et al, , ; Parkkila et al ., ; Tufts et al ., ). This human‐nature connection promotes anglers to contribute to conservation in various ways such as funding of research, collecting and sharing data (citizen science such as angler diary programmes) and serving as advocates for environmental protection (Bate, ; Florisson et al ., ; Granek et al ., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Searching for responsible and sustainable recreational fisheries in the Anthropocene

Cooke

Twardek

Reid

et al. 2019

Journal of Fish Biology

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Recreational fisheries that use rod and reel (i.e., angling) operate around the globe in diverse freshwater and marine habitats, targeting many different gamefish species and engaging at least 220 million participants. The motivations for fishing vary extensively; whether anglers engage in catch‐and‐release or are harvest‐oriented, there is strong potential for recreational fisheries to be conducted in a manner that is both responsible and sustainable. There are many examples of recreational fisheries that are well‐managed where anglers, the angling industry and managers engage in responsible behaviours that both contribute to long‐term sustainability of fish populations and the sector. Yet, recreational fisheries do not operate in a vacuum; fish populations face threats and stressors including harvest from other sectors as well as environmental change, a defining characteristic of the Anthropocene. We argue that the future of recreational fisheries and indeed many wild fish populations and aquatic ecosystems depends on having responsible and sustainable (R&S) recreational fisheries whilst, where possible, addressing, or at least lobbying for increased awareness about the threats to recreational fisheries emanating from outside the sector (e.g., climate change). Here, we first consider how the concepts of R&S intersect in the recreational fishing sector in an increasingly complex socio‐cultural context. Next, we explore the role of the angler, angling industry and decision‐makers in achieving R&S fisheries. We extend this idea further by considering the consequences of a future without recreational fisheries (either because of failures related to R&S) and explore a pertinent case study situated in Uttarakahand, India. Unlike other fisheries sectors where the number of participants is relatively small, recreational angling participants are numerous and widespread, such that if their actions are responsible, they have the potential to be a key voice for conservation and serve as a major force for good in the Anthropocene. What remains to be seen is whether this will be achieved, or if failure will occur to the point that recreational fisheries face increasing pressure to cease, as a result of external environmental threats, the environmental effects of recreational fishing and emerging ethical concerns about the welfare of angled fish.

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Reef vision: A citizen science program for monitoring the fish faunas of artificial reefs

Cited by 22 publications

References 62 publications

Artificial reefs in the Anthropocene: a review of geographical and historical trends in their design, purpose, and monitoring

Artificial reefs in the Anthropocene: a review of geographical and historical trends in their design, purpose, and monitoring

Monitoring biological water quality by volunteers complements professional assessments

Searching for responsible and sustainable recreational fisheries in the Anthropocene

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