Craig et al.: Population biology and harvest of Acanthurus lineatus 
693 
vironmental disturbances have affected fish catches 
is not known, but it seems possible that these changes 
may have contributed to the current abundance of A. 
lineatus by creating expansive areas of denuded habi- 
tat suitable for the growth of turf algae that A. lineatus 
eats (Craig, 1996). As previously mentioned, live coral 
covered only 3.5% of the outer reef flat zone inhabited 
by this species, i.e. over 90% of the habitat seemed ideal 
for turf algae and A. lineatus. As the reefs recover, we 
speculate that A. lineatus may decrease in abundance 
and become less dominant in artisanal catches. 
Acknowledgments 
Support for this study was provided by the Federal 
Aid in Fish Restoration Act and an ARC major grant 
to J. H. C. We thank Julian Caley, Paul Dalzell, Ali- 
son Green, Gary Russ, and Tanielu Su’a for review 
comments. 
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