Modelling the effects of establishing a marine reserve for mobile fish species

We present a model of the effects of a marine reserve on spawning stock biomass (SSB) and short- and long-term yield for a size-structured species that exhibits seasonal movements. The model considers the effects of protecting nursery and (or) spawning grounds under a range of fishing mortalities and fish mobility rates. We consider two extremes of effort redistribution following reserve establishment and analyze the effects of a reserve when the fishery targets either mature or immature fish. We apply the model to the Mediterranean hake (Merluccius merluccius) and show that a marine reserve could be highly beneficial for this species. We demonstrate benefits from reserves not just for overexploited stocks of low-mobility species, but also (to a lesser extent) for underexploited stocks and high-mobility species. Greatly increased resilience to overfishing is also found in the majority of cases. We show that a reserve provides benefits additional to those obtained from simple effort control. Benefits from ...

[1]  C. Roberts,et al.  Fully-protected marine reserves: A guide , 2000 .

[2]  A. Lombarte,et al.  Spatiotemporal variation in the population structure of the European hake in the NW Mediterranean , 1998 .

[3]  J. Caddy.  OPTIONS FOR THE REGULATION OF MEDITERRANEAN DEMERSAL FISHERIES , 1990 .

[4]  Jane Lubchenco,et al.  MARINE RESERVES ARE NECESSARY BUT NOT SUFFICIENT FOR MARINE CONSERVATION , 1998 .

[5]  K. Stergiou,et al.  Biology and fisheries of eastern Mediterranean hake (M. merluccius) , 1995 .

[6]  S. Garcia,et al.  Management of cyprus fisheries , 1986 .

[7]  P. Oliver,et al.  Biology and fisheries of western Mediterranean hake (M. merluccius) , 1995 .

[8]  Marc Mangel,et al.  On the fraction of habitat allocated to marine reserves , 2000 .

[9]  N. Polunin,et al.  Marine reserves: simple solutions to managing complex fisheries? , 1993 .

[10]  Simon Jennings,et al.  Conservation benefits of marine reserves for fish populations , 2000 .

[11]  T. Pitcher,et al.  Rebuilding ecosystems, not sustainability, as the proper goal of fishery management , 1998 .

[12]  R. Buckworth.  World fisheries are in crisis? We must respond! , 1998 .

[13]  R. Watson,et al.  A per-recruit simulation model for evaluating spatial closures in an Australian penaeid fishery , 1992 .

[14]  Marc Mangel,et al.  IMPLEMENTING THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE IN FISHERIES MANAGEMENT THROUGH MARINE RESERVES , 1998 .

[15]  Anne Lohrli.  Chapman and Hall , 1985 .

[16]  Stéphanie Mahévas,et al.  ISIS-Fish, a generic and spatially explicit simulation tool for evaluating the impact of management measures on fisheries dynamics , 2004 .

[17]  Robert J. Hofman,et al.  Environmental effects of marine fishing , 1995 .

[18]  Terrance J. Quinn,et al.  Quantitative Fish Dynamics , 1999 .

[19]  C. Roberts,et al.  Fisheries benefits and optimal design of marine reserves , 1999 .

[20]  R. Wigley.  The New Zealand experience. , 1976, Australian and New Zealand journal of medicine.

[21]  R. Beverton.  Fish, Fact and Fantasy: a Long View , 1998, Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries.

[22]  Á. Abella,et al.  Do natural mortality and availability decline with age? An alternative yield paradigm for juvenile fisheries, illustrated by the hake Merluccius merluccius fishery in the Mediterranean , 1997 .

[23]  Ray Hilborn,et al.  Determination of Fish Movement Patterns from Tag Recoveries using Maximum Likelihood Estimators , 1990 .

[24]  Á. Abella,et al.  Reconstructing reciprocal M vectors from length cohort analysis (LCA) of commercial size frequencies of hake, and fine mesh trawl surveys over the same grounds , 1999 .

[25]  R. I. C. C. Francis,et al.  Use of Risk Analysis to Assess Fishery Management Strategies: A Case Study using Orange Roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus) on the Chatham Rise, New Zealand , 1992 .

[26]  R. Beverton,et al.  On the dynamics of exploited fish populations , 1993, Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries.

[27]  M. Mangel.  Trade-offs between fish habitat and fishing mortality and the role of reserves , 2000 .

[28]  Tom Polacheck,et al.  YEAR AROUND CLOSED AREAS AS A MANAGEMENT TOOL , 1990 .

[29]  Tony J. Pitcher,et al.  An age-structured model showing the benefits of marine reserves in controlling overexploitation , 1999 .

[30]  Paul J. B. Hart,et al.  Reinventing fisheries management , 1998 .