Tracking seabirds to identify potential Marine Protected Areas in the tropical western Indian Ocean

Abstract In recent years, the international community has become increasingly aware of the growing threats to marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (abnj), and international discussions on a new international legally binding are underway. In parallel, some States, through regional organisations, have progressively extended their activities into abnj, particularly through the development of area-based management tools (abmts). In this article, we consider how actors in the Western Indian Ocean (wio) might engage in abnj governance. In particular, we develop some possible scenarios for developing abmts in the wio, including through the development of fisheries closures, the establishment of marine protected areas (mpas), and the adoption of abmts under the auspices of relevant international organisations. We conclude that while the wio is currently not the most advanced region in terms of ongoing efforts to improve the governance of abnj, there are already some positive signals and promising options for the future.

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Post-2020 Kunming 30% target can easily protect all endemic sharks and rays in the Western Indian Ocean and more

10.1101/2021.03.08.434293 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jessica Cheok ◽

Rima W. Jabado ◽

David A. Ebert ◽

Nicholas K. Dulvy

Keyword(s):

Indian Ocean ◽

Protected Areas ◽

Marine Protected Areas ◽

Regional Cooperation ◽

Western Indian Ocean ◽

Marine Biodiversity ◽

Conservation Priorities ◽

Management Actions ◽

Regional Collaboration ◽

Distribution Ranges

SummarySharks and rays are possibly the most threatened Class of marine fishes and their declines can be halted if protected areas are optimised to benefit these species. We identify spatial priorities for all 63 endemic sharks and rays in the marine biodiversity hotspot, the Western Indian Ocean (WIO). Collectively, while the WIO nations currently surpass the 10% Aichi ocean protection target, this amounts to a dismal protection of only 1.57% of each species’ distribution range. We show that the entire ranges of all endemics can be achieved by protecting 11% of EEZs of WIO nations, well within reach of the new 30% of oceans by 2030 target. Regional management bodies exist, which if taken advantage of to implement shark and ray management, provide opportunities to implement more efficient management across the region. We recommend key management actions to implement and explicit incentivisation of international cooperation in the post-2020 biodiversity framework.Science for SocietyThe past decade has seen massive growth in the establishment of marine protected areas (MPAs), driven by the Aichi biodiversity target of protecting 10% of all ocean areas. This expansion of MPAs, however, has largely occurred in areas residual to extractive uses, often coinciding with less threatened areas of lower conservation value. This coming decade will see a further push to ensure 30% of the oceans are protected by 2030. It is important to understand how existing and future MPAs should be placed to benefit threatened biodiversity. Currently this is unclear for sharks and rays, comprising a species group that is the most evolutionarily distinct vertebrate radiation in the world and also one of the most threatened. We identify both regional and national conservation priorities for expanding marine protected areas to benefit all 63 endemic sharks and rays occurring in the Western Indian Ocean region. We find that the region has already exceeded the 10% ocean protection target, but this amounts to an average of only 1.57% protection of the distribution ranges of these species. We show that protecting the top 10% priority sites will conserve almost half of the geographic range of each species yet require only 1.16% of the total EEZ – a tiny fraction of the 30% by 2030 target. We also show that regional collaboration among all nations can result in more spatially efficient conservation priorities. We recommend that the post-2020 biodiversity framework needs to explicitly incentivise regional cooperation between nations to efficiently achieve urgent targets and maximise benefits to biodiversity.

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15 REGULATORY AND MARKETBASED INSTRUMENTS IN THE GOVERNANCE OF FISHERIES AND MARINE PROTECTED AREAS IN THE INDIAN OCEAN REGION In Search of Cooperative Governance

Fisheries Exploitation in the Indian Ocean ◽

10.1355/9789814279406-018 ◽

2009 ◽

pp. 298-324 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Keyword(s):

Indian Ocean ◽

Protected Areas ◽

Marine Protected Areas ◽

Indian Ocean Region ◽

Ocean Region ◽

The Indian Ocean ◽

Cooperative Governance

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Evaluating the potential for transboundary management of marine biodiversity in the Western Indian Ocean

10.31230/osf.io/q2znm ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

NOam Levin

Keyword(s):

Indian Ocean ◽

Marine Protected Areas ◽

Western Indian Ocean ◽

Marine Biodiversity ◽

Transboundary Conservation ◽

External Powers ◽

Conservation Investment ◽

Effective Conservation ◽

Regional Conservation

The economic and socio-political interactions between countries can have major impacts on transboundary conservation decisions and outcomes. Here, we examined for 14 Western Indian Ocean (WIO) continental and island nations the extent of their marine coral reef species, fisheries and marine protected areas (MPAs), in the context of their geopolitical and socio-economic connections. We also examined the role of external countries and organisations in collaboration within the region. We found large variation between the different countries in their protected area size, and management, which result from different interests in establishing the MPAs, ranging from fisheries management, biodiversity conservation to asserting sovereignty claims. Seventy-four per cent of the 154 MPAs in the region belong to island nations; however, the largest MPAs in the WIO were established by European powers, and include Mayotte and Glorioso Islands (France) and Chagos (UK). While the majority of MPAs are managed by individual countries, between-country collaboration within and outside the region is key if the aim is to achieve effective conservation of ecosystems and species across the island and mainland nations in the region. This may be advanced by creating transboundary MPAs and by regional conservation investment by external powers that benefit from the region’s resources.

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Modelling the effect of marine protected areas on the population of skipjack tuna in the Indian Ocean

Aquatic Living Resources ◽

10.1051/alr/2012032 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 26 (2) ◽

pp. 171-178 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Sibylle Dueri ◽

Olivier Maury

Keyword(s):

Indian Ocean ◽

Protected Areas ◽

Marine Protected Areas ◽

Skipjack Tuna ◽

The Indian Ocean

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Threats to Paradise? Plant Invasions in Protected Areas of the Western Indian Ocean Islands

Plant Invasions in Protected Areas ◽

10.1007/978-94-007-7750-7_19 ◽

2013 ◽

pp. 423-447 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Stéphane Baret ◽

Cláudia Baider ◽

Christoph Kueffer ◽

Llewellyn C. Foxcroft ◽

Erwann Lagabrielle

Keyword(s):

Indian Ocean ◽

Protected Areas ◽

Western Indian Ocean ◽

Plant Invasions ◽

Ocean Islands

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Genetic connectivity of the reef fish Lutjanus kasmira at the scale of the western Indian Ocean

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f2012-012 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 69 (5) ◽

pp. 842-853 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

D. Muths ◽

G. Gouws ◽

M. Mwale ◽

E. Tessier ◽

J. Bourjea

Keyword(s):

Genetic Structure ◽

Indian Ocean ◽

Genetic Differentiation ◽

Marine Protected Areas ◽

Western Indian Ocean ◽

Genetic Connectivity ◽

Marine Biodiversity ◽

Mitochondrial Cytochrome ◽

Mitochondrial Cytochrome B ◽

Significant Genetic Structure

Examining the genetic structure of species allows an estimate of the level of evolutionary connectivity between localities; this information is important for marine biodiversity protection, in particular, for the delineation of marine protected areas. In this context, a total of 601 Lutjanus kasmira (Forsskål, 1775) were sampled in 16 localities of the western Indian Ocean and analyzed with both mitochondrial cytochrome b sequencing and eight microsatellite loci genotyping. Both genetic markers indicate that differentiation was not significant even between samples separated by more than 4000 km. This absence of genetic differentiation among samples was favored by ecological plasticity of the species and is now ensured by resultant high levels of dispersal. Nevertheless, some significant genetic structure was detected for the areas of Mauritius and Moroni, as well as within populations in all localities, which will have to be explained by additional studies on local processes.

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