Stakeholder-derived recommendations and actions to support deep-reef conservation in the Western Indian Ocean
Abstract
Deep reefs below 30mprovide essential ecosystem services for ocean health and
human well-being such as food security and climate change resilience. Yet, deep
reefs remain poorly researched and largely unprotected, including in the Western
Indian Ocean (WIO). Here, we assessed current conservation approaches
in the WIO focusing on deep reefs, using a combination of online surveys and
semi-structured interviews. Results indicated that deep-reef data are sparse and
commonly stemming from non-peer-reviewed or non-publicly available sources, and are often not used to inform conservation of WIO marine protected areas.