Do Artificial Reefs Increase Regional Fish Production? A Review of Existing Data

Abstract

We reviewed the scientific literature to determine whether the construction of artificial reefs increases the regional production of marine fishes. An evaluation of this technique is warranted by its high cost and logistical difficulty. Our review indicated that reef construction may have potentially deleterious effects on reef fish populations, including (1) increasing fishing effort and catch rates, (2) boosting the potential for overexploitation of stocks by increasing access to previously unexploited stock segments, and (3) increasing the probability of overexploitation by concentrating previously exploited segments of the stock. In contrast, the literature contained few studies that unambiguously demonstrated that artificial reefs increased regional fish production rather than merely concentrated available biomass. In addition, the literature on population regulation in reef fishes did not provide convincing evidence that reef fishes were limited by insufficient quantities of hard-bottom habitat. Consequently, potential positive and negative aspects of reef construction should be carefully evaluated prior to the addition of new reefs to marine environments.