Abstract
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.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 37-56 |
| Number of pages | 20 |
| Journal | Marine Ecology Progress Series |
| Volume | 580 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 29 2017 |
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Keywords
- Coral reef fishes
- Invertebrate fisheries
- Marine protected area
- Small-scale fisheries
- Trophic structure
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Aquatic Science
- Ecology
Cite this
Benefits of a replenishment zone revealed through trends in focal species at Glover's Atoll, Belize. / Tewfik, Alexander; Babcock, Elizabeth A; Gibson, Janet; Perez, Virginia R.Burns; Strindberg, Samantha.
In: Marine Ecology Progress Series, Vol. 580, 29.09.2017, p. 37-56.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article
}
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
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
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85030551489&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85030551489&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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 -