Effects of no‐take area size and age of marine protected areas on fisheries yields: a meta‐analytical approach |
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| Authors: | Frederic Vandeperre Ruth M Higgins Julio Sánchez‐Meca Francesc Maynou Raquel Goñi Pablo Martín‐Sosa Angel Pérez‐Ruzafa Pedro Afonso Iacopo Bertocci Romain Crec’hriou Giovanni D’Anna Mark Dimech Carmelo Dorta Oscar Esparza Jesús M Falcón Aitor Forcada Ivan Guala Laurence Le Direach Concepción Marcos Celia Ojeda‐Martínez Carlo Pipitone Patrick J Schembri Vanessa Stelzenmüller Ben Stobart Ricardo S Santos |
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| Institution: | 1. Departamento de Oceanografia e Pescas, Universidade dos A?ores, PT‐9901‐862 Horta, Portugal;2. The Meta‐analysis Unit, Universidad de Murcia, Campus de Espinardo, 30100 Murcia, Spain;3. Institut de Ciències del Mar (CSIC). Psg. Marítim de la Barceloneta 37‐49, 08003‐Barcelona, Spain;4. Centro Oceanográfico de Baleares, Instituto Espa?ol de Oceanografía, Muelle Poniente s/n, Palma de Mallorca 07015, Spain;5. Centro Oceanográfico de Canarias, Instituto Espa?ol de Oceanografía, Avda. Tres de Mayo, 73, Edf. Sanahuja. 38005 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands;6. Deptartamento Ecología e Hidrología, Universidad de Murcia, Campus de Espinardo, 30100 Murcia, Spain;7. Dipartimento di Biologia, CoNISMa, University of Pisa, Via Derna 1, I‐56126 Pisa, Italy;8. UMR 5244 CNRS‐EPHE‐UPVD, Biologie et Ecologie Tropicale et Méditerranéenne, Université de Perpignan Via Domitia, 52 Avenue Paul Alduy, 66860 Perpignan Cedex, France;9. CNR‐IAMC Sede di Castellammare del Golfo, via Giovanni da Verrazzano 17, I‐91014 Castellammare del Golfo, Italy;10. Department of Biology, University of Malta, Msida MSD2080, Malta;11. Grupo de Investigación BIOECOMAC, Dpto. de Biología Animal (Ciencias Marinas), Facultad de Biología, Universidad de la Laguna, c/ Francisco Sánchez s/n, 38206 La Laguna, Canary Islands;12. Unidad de Biología Marina, Departamento de Ciencias del Mar y Biología Aplicada, Universidad de Alicante. POB 99, E‐03080 Alicante, Spain;13. Fondazione IMC, International Marine Centre, Onlus, Loc. Sa Mardini, 09072 Torregrande (Oristano), Italy;14. Groupement d’Intérêt Scientifique (GIS) Posidonie, Parc Scientifique et Technologique de Luminy, 13288 Marseille Cedex 9, France |
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| Abstract: | Marine protected areas (MPAs) are often promoted as tools for biodiversity conservation as well as for fisheries management. Despite increasing evidence of their usefulness, questions remain regarding the optimal design of MPAs, in particular concerning their function as fisheries management tools, for which empirical studies are still lacking. Using 28 data sets from seven MPAs in Southern Europe, we developed a meta‐analytical approach to investigate the effects of protection on adjacent fisheries and asking how these effects are influenced by MPA size and age. Southern European MPAs showed clear effects on the surrounding fisheries, on the ‘catch per unit effort’ (CPUE) of target species, but especially on the CPUE of the marketable catch. These effects depended on the time of protection and on the size of the no‐take area. CPUE of both target species and the marketable catch increased gradually by 2–4% per year over a long time period (at least 30 years). The influence of the size of the no‐take area appeared to be more complex. The catch rates of the entire fishery in and around the MPA were higher when the no‐take areas were smaller. Conversely, catch rates of selected fisheries that were expected to benefit most from protection increased when the no‐take area was larger. Our results emphasize the importance of MPA size on its export functions and suggest that an adequate, often extended, time frame be used for the management and the evaluation of effectiveness of MPAs. |
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| Keywords: | Catch per unit effort fishery yields marine protected area design marine reserve meta‐analysis spillover |
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