Despite the unprecedented extent of coral bleaching around the world, a major new study has also found "bright spots" where corals are doing significantly better than anyone expected. And the reason for the improvement is simple: it comes down to how much the coral reefs are fished by people.

This result has important implications for how reefs are protected, says Jack Kittinger of Conservation International, one of the study's authors.  

"Most reef conservation to date has focused on protecting pristine reefs in marine protected areas, but we're finding that's not enough," says Kittinger. "We have to also think about connections to world markets."

The new study was published in Nature Wednesday and was written by 39 scientists from 34 institutions,