Australian Institute of Marine Science – Long-term monitoring Program: Visual Census Fish Data (Great Barrier Reef)

Purpose - To detect changes in reef fish communities over time at a regional scale. Status - onGoing: data is continually being updated Supplemental Information - All fish species counted are largely non-cryptic, easily identified underwater and include both commercial and non-commercial taxa. Because surveys span the annual recruitment season, 0+ individuals are excluded from counts: these are distinguished from adults by their small size and often distinctive colouration.

Abundance data for each fish species is subsequently summed over the five transects at each site on each reef to provide reasonable sample sizes for analysis and interpretation. Statement - Originally 52 reefs were surveyed every year, the number of reef declined to 47 due to difficulty of access every year. From 2005 the reefs in this program are visited every other year.

Complementary data is held from a different set of reefs, with a few reefs in common, as part of monitoring the effects of rezoning on the Great Barrier Reef. To control data quality from a number of observers over time, the AIMS manual, Standard Operational Procedure Number 3, Visual Census Surveys of Reef Fish, delineates how standardised data collection and operational procedures are applied. Total Distribution Records: 41695 Total Number of Taxa: 52 genera, 236 species