Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2015L01389:body:0:p67
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2015L01389
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 190766–193703

to the species list based on previous surveys (Lincoln Smith et al 1995), photographs and communications with local people. Therefore, at the time of preparing this plan, a total of 201 species of fish from 41 families had been recorded in Pulu Keeling National Park (Appendix H). This number will certainly increase with further surveys, although it is unlikely to exceed the 550 species recorded on the southern atoll (Allen and Smith-Vanis, 1994). The majority (83.4 per cent) of fish species recorded at North Keeling Island are widely distributed throughout the world or Indo-Pacific. However, a mixture of Pacific (10.4 per cent) and Indian Ocean (6.2 per cent) species were also present. For many of these species, North Keeling Island represents the western or eastern edge (respectively) of their geographic range.
The most speciose family at North Keeling Island was Labridae (wrasses and parrotfishes), followed by Pomacentridae (damselfishes), Acanthuridae (surgeonfishes and unicornfishes) and Chaetodontidae (butterflyfishes). The North Keeling Island species list includes groups that are generally difficult to identify using visual census methods due to their cryptic or nocturnal lifestyles (e.g. Gobiidae, Apogondiae, Muraenidae, Blennidae and Holocentridae). Surprisingly, nine species observed in surveys at North Keeling Island have not been reported from the southern atoll and represent new records for the Cocos (Keeling) Islands.
Maori wrasse or green fish (Cheilinus undulatus) is a resident of the waters of North Keeling Island and is one of the few species known to be a predator of crown-of-thorns starfish, which could decimate the coral reefs. This fish is a prime target species for local fishers. Giving the waters of North Keeling Island special protection provides a replenishment area for Maori wrasse and other species that are prime targets for fishers (Berry 1989).
Due to its smaller size and lower range of habitats, the number of fishes at North Keeling Island is unlikely to exceed the southern atoll. Most species of fish present on the southern atoll are capable of dispersing 24 kilometres to North Keeling Island, and therefore the fish community of North Keeling Island is likely to be a subset of the southern atoll. Whether a species can successfully colonise North Keeling Island will largely be dependent on the availability of suitable habitat. With the closure of the lagoon, it may be difficult for lagoonal species to establish themselves.

Determining the effect of future impacts on North Keeling Island, and assessing the effectiveness of Pulu Keeling National Park in protecting marine biodiversity, requires the development of a more comprehensive marine species list specific to the marine waters around North Keeling Island (Hobbs 2009).
Corals
Reef-building corals of the southern atoll have received considerable attention, partly because the southern atoll was the only