8 authors, including: Samia Sarkis Living Reefs Foundation 13

Commercial Fisheries

Based on existing records, 42% of the total commercial catch is considered reef-associated. Reef-associated catch for finfish ranges from 257,000 to 375,000 lbs., resulting in a value ranging from US$1.6 million to US$2.5 million; note that these data exclude the catches recorded for pelagic and sharks, which would increase fin fisheries value to a maxi- mum of US$5.1 million. The gross value of the whole reef- associated commercial fisheries including finfish and lobster species ranges from US$2.5 million to US$3.2 million, with a mean of US$2.9 ± 0.3 million. Net values for the reef-catch were calculated by deducting estimated fishing costs. Total fishing costs were estimated at 40–80% of the gross value of the total catch; due to the small sample size (n = 6 fishermen), this should be considered as a very preliminary estimate. The final net values of the commercial reef-associated catch, for both finfish and lobster is calculated to be US$0.6 ± 0.06 million to US$1.8 ± 0.2 million based on a 20–60% profit margin.