Protect the Parrot fish, Relief for the Reef

Professor Peter Mumby, a marine ecologist from Exeter University and lead author of the journal Nature, said: "We are seeing more and more coral reefs becoming just overgrown with seaweed."
One belief of the decline in Coral Reefs is the idea that when people move in; fish swim out, leaving the reef to be overgrown and smothered in a build-up of algae and seaweed.
The Coral Reefs in the Caribbean are amid some of the most seriously distressed. They are quickly transforming from coral-conquered domains into algal-infested asylums.
The seaweed growth is boosted by human activity, such as fertilizers washing off from agricultural land into the coastal waters, and over-fishing, Professor Mumby explained.
But there is hope that lives among the damaged. Just, not in enough numbers.
"Parrot Fish cruise around, grazing away much of the seaweed. They play a very important role in the ecosystem," the researcher explained. But the Parrot Fish are facing some threat. In the same area that is suffering the most serious reef-scarcity; there is also a decline in the Parrot Fish population. "..To prevent reefs from becoming damaged beyond repair," Mumby said, "would be to protect Parrot Fish that live around the reef." The solution? or One solution, would be to maintain/manage the Parrot Fish in a fishery to build numbers. "The ability of a reef to recover is much more difficult if you remove Parrot Fish."