That's the conclusion of an international research team, led by scientists from Devon's University of Exeter.
While investigating the effects that marine reserves could have in helping damage coral reefs to recover, they found that numbers of young corals doubled in areas where native fish were protected from being caught.
And parrotfish, which nibble away at substantial quantities of weed to power their sometimes considerable bulk, were identified as of particular value in this process.
The research was carried out on the Bahamas' Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park. It was funded by Britain's Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
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