Here's a rather more thorough article on what appears to be the same study, from The Nature Conservancy: https://www.nature.org/ourinitiativ...tes/hawaii/explore/friedlander-fish-study.xml
The study applies to fish targeted as food - a snippet from the article tells an interesting tale:
"The study found that off Oʻahu and Maui, where human population is greatest, the total amount of food fish species (e.g. uhu, ʻōmilu, kala) is a small fraction of those same species on remote reefs with small human populations (e.g. north Molokaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, Niʻihau). What is eye-opening is that for non-food fish species (e.g. damselfish, butterflyfish, hīnālea), the total amount of fish is similar everywhere, including areas with high human populations and heavy fishing pressure."
... and the abstract of the paper itself: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aqc.2832/full (Full access for those who pay for it . . . Journal's gotta make a living . . . )
~Bruce
The study applies to fish targeted as food - a snippet from the article tells an interesting tale:
"The study found that off Oʻahu and Maui, where human population is greatest, the total amount of food fish species (e.g. uhu, ʻōmilu, kala) is a small fraction of those same species on remote reefs with small human populations (e.g. north Molokaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, Niʻihau). What is eye-opening is that for non-food fish species (e.g. damselfish, butterflyfish, hīnālea), the total amount of fish is similar everywhere, including areas with high human populations and heavy fishing pressure."
... and the abstract of the paper itself: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aqc.2832/full (Full access for those who pay for it . . . Journal's gotta make a living . . . )
~Bruce