Ecosystemic zonification as a management tool for marine protected areas in the coastal zone: Applications for the Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano National Park, Mexico

The year 2017 was a megafire year, when huge areas burned on different continents. In Brazil, a great extension of the Cerrado burned, raising once more the discussion about the “zero-fire” policy. Indeed, most protected areas of the Cerrado adopted a policy of fire exclusion and prevention, leading to periodic megafire events. Last year, 78% of the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park burned at the end of the dry season, attracting media attention. Furthermore, 85% of the Reserva Natural Serra do Tombador burned as a result of a large accumulation of fuel caused by the zero-fire policy. In 2014, some protected areas started to implement the Integrate Fire Management (IFM) strategy. During 2017, in contrast to other protected areas, the Estação Ecológica Serra Geral do Tocantins experienced no megafire events, suggesting that a few years of IFM implementation led to changes in its fire regime. Therefore, we intended here to compare the total burned area and number of fire scars between the protected areas where IFM was implemented and those where fire exclusion is the adopted policy. The use of fire as a management tool aimed at wildfire prevention and biodiversity preservation should be reconsidered by local managers and environmental authorities for most Cerrado protected areas, especially those where open savanna physiognomies prevail. Changing the paradigm is a hard task, but last year’s events showed the zero-fire policy would bring more damage than benefits to Cerrado protected areas.

Download Full-text

Marine nature conservation and conflicts with fisheries

AMBIO ◽

10.1007/s13280-019-01279-7 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 49 (7) ◽

pp. 1328-1340 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Kjell Grip ◽

Sven Blomqvist

Keyword(s):

Nature Conservation ◽

Protected Areas ◽

National Parks ◽

Marine Protected Areas ◽

Spatial Planning ◽

Planning Process ◽

Marine Protected Area ◽

Management Tool ◽

Marine Spatial Planning ◽

Management Tools

AbstractGlobally, conflicts between marine nature conservation and fishery interests are common and increasing, and there is often a glaring lack of dialogue between stakeholders representing these two interests. There is a need for a stronger and enforced coordination between fishing and conservation authorities when establishing marine protected areas for conservation purposes. We propose that an appropriate instrument for such coordination is a broad ecosystem-based marine spatial planning procedure, representing neither nature conservation nor fishery. Strategic environmental assessment for plans and programmes and environmental impact assessment for projects are commonly used tools for assessing the environmental impacts of different human activities, but are seldom used for evaluating the environmental effects of capture fisheries. The diversity of fisheries and the drastic effects of some fisheries on the environment are strong arguments for introducing these procedures as valuable supplements to existing fisheries assessment and management tools and able to provide relevant environmental information for an overall marine spatial planning process. Marine protected areas for nature conservation and for protection of fisheries have different objectives. Therefore, the legal procedure when establishing marine protected areas should depend on whether they are established for nature conservation purposes or as a fisheries resource management tool. Fishing in a marine protected area for conservation purpose should be regulated according to conservation law. Also, we argue that marine protected areas for conservation purposes, in the highest protection category, should primarily be established as fully protected marine national parks and marine reserves.

Download Full-text

Interactions of productivity, predation risk, and fishing effort in the efficacy of marine protected areas for the central Pacific

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f05-114 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 62 (6) ◽

pp. 1320-1336 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

Steven J.D. Martell ◽

Timothy E Essington ◽

Bob Lessard ◽

James F Kitchell ◽

Carl J Walters ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Protected Areas ◽

Predation Risk ◽

Ocean Circulation ◽

Marine Protected Areas ◽

Fishing Effort ◽

Management Tool ◽

Central Pacific ◽

Positive Effects ◽

Negative Effect ◽

Catch Statistics

Ecospace biomass-dynamics models for the central North Pacific predict strong space-time variation in abundances of various trophic groups in relation to nutrient-driven patterns in primary production and circulation-driven concentration of production in convergence areas. The model predicts simple patterns in ecosystem organization and abundances along productivity gradients. Predicted patterns are robust to alternative assumptions about how mobile organisms may alter dispersal behavior in relation to local fitness (per capita gain from net food intake minus predation mortality). Large marine protected areas (MPAs) would be needed to rebuild endangered populations and counter impacts of growing fishing effort. We expected that increases in dispersal rate in response to lower food availability and higher predation risk would reduce efficacy of MPAs as a management tool. Instead, simulations indicated that this negative effect may generally be eliminated or even reversed by positive effects of fitness-maximizing behaviors. Interannual variability in ocean circulation can further reduce the efficacy of MPAs; therefore, the dynamic nature of pelagic environments should also be considered in MPA design. Anomalies in ocean circulation may shift productive areas relative to MPA location, resulting in increased fishing mortality and (or) misinterpretation of catch statistics.

Download Full-text

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) as a Fisheries Management Tool for the Nassau Grouper (Epinephelus striatus) in Belize

10.32920/ryerson.14663472.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Lisa S. Beneditti

Keyword(s):

Protected Areas ◽

Fisheries Management ◽

Marine Protected Areas ◽

Management Tool ◽

Protection Measures ◽

Commercial Fish ◽

Nassau Grouper ◽

Aggregation Site ◽

Epinephelus Striatus ◽

Mpa Network

The Nassau grouper, Epinephelus striatus, was once an important commercial fish species in the Caribbean, but is now considered commercially extinct throughout its range. Protection measures have included protection of adults via seasonal closures and spawning aggregation site reserves (SASRs). Marine protected areas (MPAs) are a promising fisheries management tool being used increasingly worldwide but are not specifically directed at the conservation of Nassau grouper. This thesis uses Belize as a case study location to determine how the established MPA network may contribute towards its protection. It was found that the Belize MPA network as a system may not contribute greatly, however, on an individual basis some MPAs contribute more to protection than others. Those MPAs which have characteristics most suitable for this species are Gladden Spit and Silk Cayes, Sapodilla Cayes, Bacalar Chico, Glovers Reef, Hol Chan, and South Water Caye Marine Reserves.

Download Full-text

Taking home-ranges into account for Mediterranean MPAs could offer increased recovery benefits

10.31230/osf.io/a8bzp ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

OCTO

Keyword(s):

Protected Areas ◽

Fisheries Management ◽

Marine Protected Areas ◽

Management Tool ◽

Spatially Explicit ◽

Home Ranges

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are a common fisheries management tool that relies on the assumption that species protected within a spatially-explicit area are allowed to recover and later “spill over” the boundaries of the MPA where they may be harvested. By fully protecting an MPA, species inside will grow and reproduce a steady supply of “spilled over” fish to be harvested. But how large of an area should you protect at a minimum to offer this benefit?

Download Full-text

Checklist of seaweeds of Al-Hoceima National Park of Morocco (Mediterranean Marine Protected Area)

Acta Botanica Malacitana ◽

10.24310/abm.v43i0.4966 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 43 ◽

pp. 91-109 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Hanaa Moussa ◽

Mustapha Hassoun ◽

Ghizlane Salhi ◽

Hanaa Zbakh ◽

Hassane Riadi

Keyword(s):

Protected Areas ◽

Green Alga ◽

Marine Protected Areas ◽

Protected Area ◽

National Park ◽

Hot Spot ◽

Mediterranean Coast ◽

Marine Biodiversity ◽

The Mediterranean ◽

Al Hoceima

Abstract The Mediterranean basin is a marine biodiversity hot spot. Despite this, the macroalgal diversity of the Mediterranean Sea is still not fully known, especially in the Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) including, Al-Hoceima National Park of Morocco (PNAH). This paper provides the first comprehensive checklist of the seaweeds of PNAH, based chiefly on our own original collections, and complimented by literature records. Using present-day taxonomy, the total number of taxa at both specific and infraspecific levels currently accepted is 306 taxa with 207 Rhodophyta (39 families), 51 Ochrophyta (13 families) and 48 Chlorophyta (12 families). Ninety five of these species were not found in our samples, 93 were new to the PNAH, and the taxonomic identity of 26 taxa was amended. From the totality of taxa, ten species were reported for the first time from Morocco: 9 Rhodophyta and one green alga. Furthermore, 12 others species (10 red, 1 brown and 1 green alga) are new records for the Mediterranean coast of Morocco. Besides this, confirmed records are mentioned for 20 species, whether in Africa, in Morocco or in the Moroccan Mediterranean coast. This accessible checklist to the international community could serve as an infrastructure for future algal investigations of the taxa in this Specially Protected Area of Mediterranean Importance. Key words: Al-Hoceima National Park, Checklist, Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas, Morocco, Seaweeds. Resumen Lista de algas marinas del Parque Nacional de Alhucemas en Marruecos (Área Marina Protegida del Mediterráneo) La cuenca del Mediterráneo es un Hot Spot de biodiversidad marina. Aún así, la diversidad de macroalgas del Mediterráneo no está plenamente conocida, especialmente en las Áreas Marinas Protegidas del Mediterráneo (AMP) incluido el Parque Nacional de Alhucemas en Marruecos (PNAH). Este documento proporciona la primera lista exhaustiva de las algas marinas del PNAH. Usando la taxonomía actual, el número total de taxones a niveles específicos y infraespecíficos actualmente aceptados es de 306 taxones con 207 Rhodophyta (39 familias), 51 Ochrophyta (13 familias) y 48 Chlorophyta (12 familias). Noventa y cinco de estas especies no se encontraron en nuestras muestras, 93 eran nuevas en el PNAH y se modificó la identidad taxonómica de 26 taxones. De la totalidad de las macroalgas, 10 especies (9 Rhodophyta y 1 Ulvophyceae) fueron registradas por primera vez desde Marruecos. Además, 12 otras especies (10 Rhodophyta, 1 Phaeophyceae y 1 Ulvophyceae) son nuevos registros para la costa mediterránea de Marruecos. También, se mencionan los registros confirmados de 20 especies, ya sea en África, en Marruecos o en la costa mediterránea marroquí. Esta lista de algas accesibles a la comunidad internacional podría servir como una infraestructura para futuras investigaciones algales de los taxones en esta zona especialmente protegida de importancia para el Mediterráneo. Palabras clave: Parque Nacional de Alhucemas, Lista de algas, Áreas Marinas Protegidas del Mediterráneo, Marruecos, Algas marinas.

Download Full-text