Rock lobster movement patterns and population structure within a Tasmanian Marine Protected Area inform fishery and conservation management

2009 ◽  
Vol 60 (5) ◽  
pp. 417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neville Barrett ◽  
Colin Buxton ◽  
Caleb Gardner
Keyword(s):  
Marine Protected Areas ◽  
Marine Protected Area ◽  
Conservation Management ◽  
Movement Patterns ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
Reference Sites ◽  
Rock Lobster ◽  
Spatial Management ◽  
Ecosystem Interactions ◽  
Annual Time

As reference sites to better understand characteristics such as movement patterns, depletion of natural resources and ecosystem interactions, Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are crucial in fishery and conservation management. The southern rock lobster (Jasus edwardsii) is an important reef predator in temperate Australasia and subject to heavy exploitation. In a Tasmanian MPA, 90% of individuals were recaptured less than 200 m from the point of release over weekly to annual time scales, regardless of size or sex. This lack of movement resulted in a substantial build-up of biomass and of large mature individuals in the MPA relative to adjacent fished locations. Although there was little spillover of individuals to the fishery, a 4-fold increase in female fecundity potentially enhanced larval export. Comparison of fished and unfished biomass of legal-sized animals suggested that exploitation had reduced biomass in the adjacent fishery to <10% of natural values. Overall, the demographic and movement patterns illustrate the extent of depletion of stocks in the absence of historical baseline data and the potential need for spatial management resulting from limited movement. Our data indicate that within MPAs, this predator can potentially recover in abundance to natural levels despite adjacent fishing pressure.

scholarly journals Guidelines for Marine Protected Areas

2000 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 352
Author(s):  
Mark Westera
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Marine Protected Areas ◽  
Site Selection ◽  
Protected Area ◽  
Marine Protected Area ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Economic Aspect ◽  
Financial Sustainability ◽  
Broad Application

Guidelines to marine protected areas is a collation of efforts from the IUCN, NOAA and Cardiff University, among others. It is aimed at managers and would be managers of marine parks, but will also be of use to anyone involved in the Marine Protected Area (MPA) process from conceptual planning to establishment, monitoring and management. Its broad application takes into account the hurdles that a manager is likely to encounter. There are nine sections, an introduction, an evaluation of the legal framework required to successfully establish MPAs, a discussion on dealing with all the relevant parties, involving communities and other stakeholders, site selection, planning and managing MPAs, zoning, evaluating economic aspect and financial sustainability, and finally a section on research, monitoring and review. Boxes are used throughout the text within each chapter to summarize important points and make for quick reference to the topic of that chapter.

scholarly journals Impacts of Whale-Watching on the Short-Term Behavior of Fin Whales (Balaenoptera physalus) in a Marine Protected Area in the Southeastern Pacific

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Macarena Santos-Carvallo ◽  
Fernanda Barilari ◽  
María José Pérez-Alvarez ◽  
Laura Gutiérrez ◽  
Guido Pavez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Marine Protected Area ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Movement Patterns ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Observation Point ◽  
Behavioral Patterns ◽  
Whale Watching ◽  
Balaenoptera Physalus ◽  
Fin Whales ◽  
Response Variables

Whale-watching (WW) is an activity which has been increasing worldwide due to the great interest of tourists and the economic benefits it provides to local communities. However, it has been reported that this activity affects the behavioral patterns of some cetaceans, although for some species such as the fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) this has not been extensively studied. To identify the effects of WW on the behavioral patterns of this species, we studied its traveling and resting behaviors in a locality of north-central Chile from 2015 to 2018. Using a theodolite, we calculated the response variables of swim speed, directness index, and reorientation for each behavior. We used the number of WW boats and the WW scenarios of “before”, “during”, and “after” the presence of boats as possible factors to explain the differences in the response variables of the whales, along with the factors of year, month, group size, and distance from the observation point. Reorientation increased significantly and the directness index decreased significantly for both traveling and resting behaviors from “before” to “during” WW scenarios, indicating more erratic and sinuous movements in the presence of boats. These changes in movement patterns are a commonly reported evasion response of cetaceans to the presence of WW boats. For traveling behavior, the swimming speed significantly increased, and trends showed increased reorientation and a decrease in the directness index in the “after” WW scenario, which suggests perturbation of the whales potentially associated with the speed and the direction in which the boats left. During resting behavior, the trajectories of the fin whales became straighter (decrease in reorientation) as the number of boats increased, thus evasion (more erratic and sinuous movements) is a behavior used less by fin whales as the number of boats increases. Notwithstanding the fact that tourism development in the study area is small in scale, we found that WW generates adverse effects that are reflected in changes in the whales’ movement patterns. This kind of information is valuable to the adjustment and/or design of management strategies for the species, which is fundamental for WW to continue to be a sustainable activity.

Larval Connectivity and Marine Protected Area Networks

2020 ◽  
pp. 408-436
Author(s):  
Per-Olav Moksnes ◽  
Per R. Jonsson
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Human Activities ◽  
Protected Area ◽  
Larval Dispersal ◽  
Marine Protected Area ◽  
Model Organisms ◽  
Ecosystem Resilience ◽  
Important Method ◽  
Larval Connectivity ◽  
Spatial Management

There is growing awareness that ocean life is under unprecedented stress caused by the loss of habitat and biodiversity resulting from human activities. Spatial management by establishing marine protected areas (MPAs) is proposed as an important method to conserve biodiversity, manage fisheries, and increase ecosystem resilience. However, a major challenge in spatial management is that most MPAs and networks of MPAs have been created with little regard to larval dispersal and connectivity within and outside protected areas. Because of the limited understanding of larval connectivity, it is therefore often unclear whether the MPAs are ecologically functional. Larval behavior and dispersal are particularly well studied in benthic crustaceans, making them excellent model organisms to address this challenge.

scholarly journals Spain and Marine Protected Areas: Recent Developments

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 847-855
Author(s):  
Mariano J. Aznar
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Marine Protected Areas ◽  
Protected Area ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Marine Protected Area ◽  
Natura 2000 ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Barcelona Convention ◽  
Specially Protected Areas

Abstract Spain has just declared a new marine protected area in the Mediterranean. This follows a protective trend taken by Spanish authorities during the last decades and has permitted Spain to honour its international compromises under the Convention on Biological Diversity. It contributes to a framework of protected areas established under conventional regimes such as OSPAR, RAMSAR or EU Natura 2000. The new area protects a ‘cetacean corridor’ and will be inscribed in the list of Specially Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance under the Barcelona Convention regional framework.

Experience and benefits of Marine Reserves for conservation, science and society

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Costello ◽  
Bill Ballantine
Keyword(s):  
Marine Protected Areas ◽  
Small Area ◽  
Marine Reserves ◽  
Trophic Cascades ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Science And Society ◽  
Reference Sites ◽  
Brood Stock ◽  
The Public ◽  
Do So

Experiences with Marine Reserves (no-take Marine Protected Areas) in New Zealand and internationally are reviewed. Reserves became popular with the public and provided economic benefits. In one reserve, ‘spill-over’ of lobsters counter-balanced lost fishing. The reserves provided the controls that showed the effects of fishing on ecosystems through depleted populations and habitat change due to trophic cascades. Studies in other countries indicated that these trophic cascades were common globally. Research has shown that reserves protect benthic and pelagic species, including those that move outside the reserves. Marine Reserves can provide benefits to (1) conservation of species and habitats, (2) science as controls for fishing effects, and (3) fisheries as reference sites that conserve natural genetic and population structure, host brood-stock, and provide spill-over to nearby fisheries. They should be distributed geographically in networks that include replicated examples of habitats and species. To do so, they need to be suitably located, large enough, and enforced to fulfil these opportunities. However, these benefits remain limited by the relatively small area occupied by marine reserves within and between countries.

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