Habitat modification. Hundreds of thousands of hectares of mangroves and coastal wetlands have been transformed into milk- fish and shrimp ponds. This transformation results in loss of
essential ecosystem services generated by mangroves, including the provision of nursery habitat, coastal protection, ¯ood control, sediment trapping and water treatment. Mangrove forests serve as nurseries that provide food and shelter to many juvenile finfish and shellfish caught as adults in coastal and offshore fisheries27±30; in southeast Asia, mangrove-dependent species account for roughly one-third of yearly wild fish landings excluding trash fish. A positive relationship between finfish and shrimp landings and mangrove area has been documented in Indonesia, Malaysia and
the Philippines32±34. Mangroves are also linked closely to habitat
conditions of coral reefs and seagrass beds