Evaluating the Effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas for Reef Fish Species in the US Southeast Atlantic
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Pickens, Christopher Harold
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Abstract
Marine protected areas (MPAs) have been recommended as an essential conservation tool, with MPA coverage increasing four-fold globally since 2000. Despite the increased popularity of MPAs, many MPAs have been deemed ineffective, warranting further evaluation of MPA effectiveness. In 2009, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council established eight deep-water MPAs off the Southeast United States' (SEUS) Atlantic coast with the goal of protecting long-lived deep-water reef-associated fishery species. After nearly a decade of protection, I evaluated three of SEUS MPAs with nearby unprotected comparison areas using two data series (video and trap catch data) collected as part of fishery-independent surveys. From video data collected from 2011 to 2017, I observed no positive trend in density, species richness, or community composition of reef fish species inside the MPA. I did observe an increase in evenness of rare reef fish species in the MPAs relative to unprotected areas, but this was attributed to a decrease in managed reef fish species abundance rather than an increase in rare, previously heavily-exploited reef fish. From trap data collected from 2000 to 2018, I observed a modest positive shift in reef fish size distribution in two of the MPAs and age distribution in one of the MPAs; however, there was either no change or a significant decrease in managed reef fish abundance and biomass in each MPA relative to outside. Overall, I believe the SEUS MPAs have not (yet) been effective at protecting managed reef fish species. Given these MPAs have low enforcement and sampling was conducted on the continental shelf portion of the MPAs, future assessment should examine compliance within the SEUS MPAs and sample deeper areas to determine if lack of success is due to illegal fishing, species examined, or MPA design before making a final determination if deep-water MPAs are an effective strategy for fisheries managers in the SEUS.