Fishing perturbations and beached corals in the Cape d'Aguilar Marine Reserve, Hong Kong (2000-2002) and a summary of data obtained from January 1996 to March 2003

Every month for four years (1996-1999) and every three months for three years thereafter (2000-2003) stranded corals were collected from Telecom Bay Beach in the Cape d'Aguilar Marine Reserve, Hong Kong. Over time, the numbers of coral pieces and heads recovered declined progressively. Exceptions to this at first occurred after the passage of tropical depressions and typhoons over Hong Kong when the numbers of coral heads rose sharply. This was particularly obvious from 1996 to 1999. During this period, however, fishing was banned in the marine reserve and in 2000 and 2001 only a few corals were beached despite the passage of a series of typhoons over Hong Kong in both years. It is argued that gill net and purse seine fishermen had stopped snagging their nets on the shallow corals of Telecom Bay and they were thus no longer being dislodged and subsequently deposited on the beach by typhoon surges and waves. In 2002, therefore, few corals were collected. This situation changed in September 2002, however, when Severe Tropical Storm Hagiput deposited numerous large living coral heads on the beach. A seabed inspection showed there to be three active ghost nets in the reserve. Natural perturbations such as, for example, coral bleaching in the El Nino year of 1997-1998 also affected community composition at Cape d'Aguilar through selective, low salinity-induced mortality.