Temporal variability of a temperate fish assemblage in Africa's oldest marine protected area

Abstract Alemany, D., Iribarne, O. O., and Acha, E. M. 2013. Effects of a large-scale and offshore marine protected area on the demersal fish assemblage in the Southwest Atlantic. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 70:123–134. There are few extensive and offshore located marine protected areas (MPAs) in the world oceans and their performance is still being debated. We evaluated the effects of a large-scale offshore MPA located on the Southwest Atlantic Patagonian Shelf (43°S 63°W) on the demersal fish assemblage. Compliance of the Patagonian MPA was assessed by analysing eight years of satellite vessel monitoring system (VMS; 2000–2008) data, which showed compliance and fishing effort concentrated near the protection boundaries. MPA effects were studied by employing a five year database collected by a scientific research vessel in protected and fishing locations, before and after the MPA establishment. We assessed 152 scientific trawling stations using multivariate analysis of fish assemblage structure, fish abundance (discriminating target and non-target species), and mean size and proportion of juveniles of the target species (Argentine hake, Merluccius hubbsi). The identified MPA effects were a trend towards increasing abundance of the demersal fish assemblage, the target and non-target fish species, and hake juvenile size, and a higher proportion of juveniles aged 2+ inside the MPA. These positive trends support the case for offshore, large-scale MPAs.

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Benthic habitat and fish assemblage structure from shallow to mesophotic depths in a storm-impacted marine protected area

Coral Reefs ◽

10.1007/s00338-017-1635-0 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 37 (1) ◽

pp. 81-97 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Rene A. Abesamis ◽

Tim Langlois ◽

Matthew Birt ◽

Emma Thillainath ◽

Abner A. Bucol ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fish Assemblage ◽

Protected Area ◽

Marine Protected Area ◽

Assemblage Structure ◽

Benthic Habitat ◽

Fish Assemblage Structure

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Coastal fish assemblage characterisation to support the zoning of a new Marine Protected Area in north-western Mediterranean

Italian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1080/11250000903413668 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 77 (2) ◽

pp. 197-210 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

G. La Mesa ◽

A. Molinari ◽

L. Tunesi

Keyword(s):

Fish Assemblage ◽

Protected Area ◽

Marine Protected Area ◽

Western Mediterranean ◽

Coastal Fish ◽

North Western

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A multi-agent ecosystem model for studying changes in a tropical estuarine fish assemblage within a marine protected area

Aquatic Living Resources ◽

10.1051/alr/2012028 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 26 (2) ◽

pp. 147-158 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Timothée Brochier ◽

Jean Marc Ecoutin ◽

Luis Tito de Morais ◽

David M. Kaplan ◽

Raymond Lae

Keyword(s):

Fish Assemblage ◽

Protected Area ◽

Marine Protected Area ◽

Ecosystem Model ◽

Estuarine Fish ◽

Tropical Estuarine ◽

Multi Agent

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Effects of a marine protected area on fish assemblage associated withPosidonia oceanicaseagrass beds: temporal and depth variations

Journal of Applied Ichthyology ◽

10.1111/j.1439-0426.2009.01255.x ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 25 (5) ◽

pp. 537-544 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

C. Valle ◽

J. T. Bayle-Sempere

Keyword(s):

Fish Assemblage ◽

Protected Area ◽

Marine Protected Area

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The fish fauna of Gilbert Bay, Labrador: a marine protected area in the Canadian subarctic coastal zone

Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom ◽

10.1017/s0025315407054136 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 87 (2) ◽

pp. 575-587 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Joseph S. Wroblewski ◽

Leanne K. Kryger-Hann ◽

David A. Methven ◽

Richard L. Haedrich

Keyword(s):

Coastal Zone ◽

Marine Fish ◽

Protected Area ◽

Marine Protected Area ◽

Fish Fauna ◽

Marine Species ◽

Eastern Canada ◽

Baseline Information ◽

Temperate Fish ◽

Different Levels

The Marine Protected Area in Gilbert Bay, Labrador is the first established in the subarctic coastal zone of eastern Canada. A standardized survey of the fish fauna of Gilbert Bay was initiated during the ice-free season of 2004 to provide baseline information on the fish present in water less than 15 m deep. Beach seines and gill-nets sampled three management zones within the bay which are afforded different levels of protection from human activity. The 25 species in 15 families recorded belong to five ecological guilds: (1) estuarine and marine fish resident in the bay; (2) anadromous species transiting the bay; (3) marine species which migrate into the bay to spawn; (4) offshore-spawning marine fish for which the bay is a nursery area; and (5) marine species which occasionally migrate into the bay to feed. Gilbert Bay lies in a transition zone between Arctic and cold-temperate biogeographical provinces, and its fish fauna is dissimilar from a cold-temperate fish assemblage described for Trinity Bay in eastern Newfoundland.

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