TY - JOUR
T1 - Benefits of a replenishment zone revealed through trends in focal species at Glover's Atoll, Belize
AU - Tewfik, Alexander
AU - Babcock, Elizabeth A.
AU - Gibson, Janet
AU - Perez, Virginia R.Burns
AU - Strindberg, Samantha
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgements. We dedicate this paper in memory of Mr. Isaias Majil, the former Marine Protected Areas Coordinator at the Belize Fisheries Department, who was a champion of MPAs and helped to oversee their management and expansion in Belize. We are grateful for his contribution to the success of MPAs in Belize and his unwavering support for our research. We also thank Robin Coleman, Danny Wesby, Randolph (Buck) Nuñez, Ashbert Miranda, and Belize Fisheries Department reserve staff for assistance with data collection. The staff of Wildlife Conservation Society’s Glover’s Reef Research Station assisted with all field logistics. Julio Maaz compiled the ‘Spatial Monitoring and Re - porting Tool’ (version 3.1) data and created the data layers for the distribution of fishing vessels. This work was supported by grants from the Fundacíon AVINA, the USAID/ EGAT Global Conservation Program II, the Oak Foundation, the Summit Foundation, the USAID Regional Program for the Management of Aquatic Resources and Economic Alternatives, and the Darwin Initiative.
PY - 2017/9/29
Y1 - 2017/9/29
N2 - Marine protected areas or replenishment zones have become one of the more popular tools within an ecosystem-based management approach aimed at balancing environmental health with socio-economic needs. We examined changes in populations of an ecologically representative suite of focal species, including ones important to local small-scale fisheries, over a 7 yr period using both independent visual surveys and fisheries-dependent data. Most small-scale fisheries targets showed increases in density, biomass, or size within the replenishment zone and stable or increasing catch rates beyond replenishment zone boundaries. Lower trophic level, high recruiting species of more limited movement such as parrotfish, conch, and lobster appeared to respond most clearly to protection, while higher trophic level, late maturing, and more widely dispersing snappers and groupers generally displayed more limited recovery. Patterns of mid-trophic level hogfish and queen triggerfish appeared to be linked to the availability of appropriate prey, i.e. conch and urchins respectively, with increasing angelfish catch per unit effort appearing to replace large parrotfish since the ban on harvesting herbivorous fish in 2009. Patterns of triggerfish and angelfish may also be linked to benthic cover, given their preferences for urchins and sponges, respectively. These results address the core management objectives for Glover's Reef Marine Reserve, Belize, to ensure sustainability of its resources and enhance economic benefits from fisheries. Our study highlights the importance of using other fisheries conservation strategies (size limits, closed seasons) in conjunction with replenishment zones, as well as direct consultation with resource users in order to maximize benefits.
AB - Marine protected areas or replenishment zones have become one of the more popular tools within an ecosystem-based management approach aimed at balancing environmental health with socio-economic needs. We examined changes in populations of an ecologically representative suite of focal species, including ones important to local small-scale fisheries, over a 7 yr period using both independent visual surveys and fisheries-dependent data. Most small-scale fisheries targets showed increases in density, biomass, or size within the replenishment zone and stable or increasing catch rates beyond replenishment zone boundaries. Lower trophic level, high recruiting species of more limited movement such as parrotfish, conch, and lobster appeared to respond most clearly to protection, while higher trophic level, late maturing, and more widely dispersing snappers and groupers generally displayed more limited recovery. Patterns of mid-trophic level hogfish and queen triggerfish appeared to be linked to the availability of appropriate prey, i.e. conch and urchins respectively, with increasing angelfish catch per unit effort appearing to replace large parrotfish since the ban on harvesting herbivorous fish in 2009. Patterns of triggerfish and angelfish may also be linked to benthic cover, given their preferences for urchins and sponges, respectively. These results address the core management objectives for Glover's Reef Marine Reserve, Belize, to ensure sustainability of its resources and enhance economic benefits from fisheries. Our study highlights the importance of using other fisheries conservation strategies (size limits, closed seasons) in conjunction with replenishment zones, as well as direct consultation with resource users in order to maximize benefits.
KW - Coral reef fishes
KW - Invertebrate fisheries
KW - Marine protected area
KW - Small-scale fisheries
KW - Trophic structure
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U2 - 10.3354/meps12290
DO - 10.3354/meps12290
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:85030551489
VL - 580
SP - 37
EP - 56
JO - Marine Ecology - Progress Series
JF - Marine Ecology - Progress Series
SN - 0171-8630
ER -