Here at Nordic Reef, snapper populations have been depleted by overfishing, kina populations have exploded and devoured all the kelp, sponges and algae. The lush and vibrant reef has become a wasteland, or as biologists refer to it, a ‘kina barren’.

It is a dead zone, and without weed for protection, few larvae will resettle successfully to repopulate it. Even if fishing stopped tomorrow, it may take a decade to recover.