Snapper in reserves stay closer to home - study

Photo / The Northern Advocate

Snapper which live inside marine reserves are more likely to "stay at home" to avoid being caught, a National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) study has revealed.

Niwa fisheries scientist Darren Parsons said the study was "new and exciting" because it was the first to indicate marine reserves may affect the behaviour of the animals which live them.

"No other study has shown that reserves may affect the movement of the animal populations that inhabit them," Dr Parsons said.

In the study scientists from Niwa in Auckland used "acoustic tags" to monitor snapper both inside and outside Leigh Marine Reserve, about 100km north of Auckland, and found fish in the reserve travelled smaller distances than those outside the reserve.

Dr Parsons said the absence of fishing pressure inside the reserve may act as a "selective force" on the fish.

"Of the fish that settle inside the reserve, the individuals that range over the smallest areas have the lowest chance of leaving the reserve and therefore the lowest chance of being caught," he said.

The study also revealed that snapper tagged in shallow reefy areas were far more residential compared to those living in soft sediment areas.

The study showed you could predict the level movement of a snapper depending on where it lived, Dr Parsons said.

The longest voyage made by one of the tagged snapper was 400km.

- NZPA