Pattern of movements within a home reef in the Chesterfield Islands (Coral Sea) by the endangered Giant Grouper, Epinephelus lanceolatus
Abstract
This study determined the movements of a Giant Grouper, Epinephelus lanceolatus, in which an acoustic
tag was surgically implanted and monitored by an array of six VR2W acoustic receiver units from August 2010 to
January 2013 in the remote, uninhabited Chesterfield Islands, Coral Sea (800 km West of New Caledonia). Our data
revealed a home reef area (residency rate of 44.9%) with an increased activity revealed by movements at dawn and
dusk toward and between two adjacent reef passages, probably for foraging. The fish was absent from its resident
reef between October and December 2010 and 2012, corresponding to the time known for spawning aggregations
of this species in New Caledonia. A skipped spawning seems to have occurred in 2011. We hope these data will be
complemented in the future by locating the spawning site or sites and thus provide adequate conservation measures.
The Coral Sea links two World Heritage Sites, the Australian Great Barrier Reefs and the New Caledonian coral reefs.
It would be fitting to create a Marine Protected Area for the Chesterfield Islands between these two major conservation
areas of the sea.