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• Coral Reefs are highly productive ecosystems, with sustainable fish yields of 4-5 tonnes per sq km on many reefs.
• Millions of people depend on reefs as a key protein source. Some island nations consume over 100kg of reef fish per person per year.
• Bolinao reef in the Philippines (68sq km) provides a source of food, income and employment for 17,000 people.
• 1.5-2.0 million people keep marine aquaria, supporting a trade of 15-20 million fish per year, an important industry which, if well managed, could be sustainable and become a key tool in development.
• 1200 tonnes of coral were traded for aquaria and ornaments in 1997.
• World-wide there are over 15 million certified Scuba divers, and dive tourism is a critical economic tool, as in the Virgin Islands (above map).
• Tourism to the Great Barrier Reef - estimated to be worth US$700 million in 1997.
• There are over 660 marine protected areas world-wide with coral reefs, including two of the world’s largest sites - Australia’s Great Barrier Reef and the newly declared Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve.
• Many small, community-based, reserves are now forming a key tool in coral reef fisheries protection providing considerable economic and social benefits from their declaration.