A researcher at the Florida State University Coastal and Marine Laboratory said that large predatory fish have fallen victim to rising human populations in the Caribbean.
According to postdoctoral associate Chris Stallings, the rise in human settlement has caused the decline in numbers of sharks, barracuda and other large predatory fish, and that their absence in turn endangers the marine food web around the Caribbean coral reefs.
"I examined 20 species of predators, including sharks, groupers, snappers, jacks, trumpetfish and barracuda, from 22 Caribbean countries," explained Dr Stallings. "I found that nations with more people have reefs with far fewer large fish because as the number of people increases, so does the demand for seafood. Fishermen typically go after the biggest fish first but shift to smaller species once the bigger ones become depleted."
He added that in some areas with large populations, his research showed that only a few small predatory fish remained.
With about half of the Earth's human populations settled near coastlines, Dr Stallings said that the increase in population would lead to the increase in demand for seafood and that meeting the demand while maintaining the health of coral reefs would require strategic planning and increased efforts.
