Meanwhile, good to hear from you and to know where you are. The Fiji
project, not surprizingly, did not come to anything. However, I am working
with the Bahamas National Trust in evaluating national parks, among other
things. Any data, even suspicions, you have on disturbance effects on
grouper would be great. A person working for The Nature Conservancy has
broadcast some dubious conclusions regarding grouper numbers in the Exumas
Park, namely that the more mature grouper, the more babies will be
recruited, this without looking into either habitat, recruitment processes,
or behavior.
Cheers, Carleton
>Dear Aquatic Conservationists:
>
>I recall reading a news item somewhere that recreational rafting on a U.S
>river must cease when salmon are spawning a 15-mile stretch of the upper
>Salmon River below
>Sunbeam Dam to public floaters to better protect salmon spawning areas..
>Can anyone tell me whom to contact for evidence of disruption of spawning
>of any fish by mere human presence (e.g. in the form of rafts, divers,
>etc.)? I'm working on already overfished grouper spawning aggregations and
>worried that heavy recreational divers' use of grouper spawning grounds may
>put the fish off spawning, but can't prove it. Observations on other
>species would be helpful.
>
>Bob Johannes