No abstract

No abstract

In the last decades, many marine invertebrates have experienced dramatic declines throughout many coastal marine ecosystems worldwide due to overfishing, disease outbreaks, and climate vulnerability. Despite extensive conservation and restoration effort, evidence of successful population recovery is rare. In this work, we document mass mortality events of pink and green abalone (Haliotis corrugata and Haliotis fulgens) in 2009–2010, and their subsequent rapid recovery following the continued enforcement and monitoring of two voluntary no‐take reserves by the local fishing cooperative (2006–present) and a 6‐year fishing closure (2012–2017) around Isla Natividad, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Age data collected from harvested abalone in 2019 suggest recruitment was maintained throughout the years when abundance was lowest following mass mortalities. The observed 6 to 8‐year time frame for recovery is consistent with scenarios presented in previous modeling studies, where marine reserves and other measures aimed at protecting large spawners predicted the potential for rapid recovery of abalone populations. This case study supports the effectiveness of a portfolio of resilience strategies, which include combining climate refugia and marine reserves, adherence to conservative annual fishing quotas, fishing closures, minimum size limitations, and ecological monitoring. Importantly, this example showcases how close collaboration between fishers, resource managers, scientists, and non‐governmental organization (NGOs) is critical for designing, implementing, and learning from conservation and management interventions to reverse marine population and ecosystem decline, reinforcing the legacy of Dr. Pete Peterson's life work on fully integrating ecology with marine management and restoration.

Sargassum filicinum Harvey is an important ecological engineer in the subtidal regions of northeastern Asian waters, as it forms marine forests that provide shelter for invertebrates and fishes. First discovered in Long Beach Harbor, CA, USA, in 2003, S. filicinum was thought to occur mainly in the California Channel Islands and near Ensenada, Mexico. However, during a survey from 2007 to 2009, we found S. filicinum off Isla Natividad, which is an extension of its range 550 km south of its last recorded location in the Mexican Pacific. Morphological and molecular data support the identification of the species. Considering its faster spread from Ensenada to Isla Natividad (4 years) than Sargassum muticum (14 years), S. filicinum may follow the path of S. muticum and arrive at the subtropical-tropical Pacific coast of Mexico. Although S. muticum has become well established within the local seaweed flora, S. filicinum may replace native Sargassum species and change the composition of local marine floras.

Collective action is recognized as a key element to successfully implementing sustainable fisheries. Nevertheless, gender equality, as an essential component in such actions, is often missing. In fisheries, women’s contributions are regularly invisible and remain unrepresented in statistics. In this paper, we examine the current status of women in Mexican fisheries based on governmental reports and programs, as well as five case studies from small-scale fishing communities. In practice, the government’s attempts at increasing participation and leadership of women in fisheries have been varied. This article documents how women’s roles are changing when collective actions are implemented to increase fisheries sustainability. Women as cooperative leaders, collaborative decision-makers, and entrepreneurs have become active promoters of good practices, including (1) fishery and ecosystem restoration, (2) environmental monitoring, and (3) marine conservation. Through these actions, women are also empowered in different ways. They have acquired resources (e.g., knowledge, opportunities) and decision-making power, facilitating project developments (e.g., research, cooperatives) that promote fisheries sustainability. Here, we highlight elements that contribute toward empowering women in small-scale fisheries in these five contexts, with applicability elsewhere. These elements include access to role models, such as female scientists leading environmental monitoring; the support of civil society organizations; and a willingness, by men and women, to learn and change the status quo.

Coastal marine ecosystems provide livelihoods for small-scale fishers and coastal communities around the world. Small-scale fisheries face great challenges since they are difficult to monitor, enforce, and manage, which may lead to overexploitation. Combining territorial use rights for fisheries (TURF) with no-take marine reserves to create TURF-reserves can improve the performance of small-scale fisheries by buffering fisheries from environmental variability and management errors, while ensuring that fishers reap the benefits of conservation investments. Since 2012, 18 old and new community-based Mexican TURF-reserves gained legal recognition thanks to a regulation passed in 2012; their effectiveness has not been formally evaluated. We combine causal inference techniques and the Social-Ecological Systems framework to provide a holistic evaluation of community-based TURF-reserves in three coastal communities in Mexico. We find that, overall, reserves have not yet achieved their stated goals of increasing the density of lobster and other benthic invertebrates, nor increasing lobster catches. A lack of clear ecological and socioeconomic effects likely results from a combination of factors. First, some of these reserves might be too young for the effects to show (reserves were 6–10 years old). Second, the reserves are not large enough to protect mobile species, like lobster. Third, variable and extreme oceanographic conditions have impacted harvested populations. Fourth, local fisheries are already well managed, and while reserves may protect populations within its boundaries, it is unlikely that reserves might have a detectable effect in catches. However, even small reserves are expected to provide benefits for sedentary invertebrates over longer time frames, with continued protection. These reserves may provide a foundation for establishing additional, larger marine reserves needed to effectively conserve mobile species.

Co-operation in the management of shared fish stocks is often necessary to achieve sustainability and reduce uncertainty. The United States of America (USA) and Mexico share a number of fish stocks and marine ecosystems, while there is some binational co-operation in scientific research, unilateral management decisions are generally the rule. We present a case study using the giant sea bass (Stereolepis gigas, Polyprionidae) to highlight how these management and research asymmetries can skew national perceptions of population status for a fully transboundary species.Scientific publications and annual funding related to giant sea bass are 7x and 25x higher in the USA, respectively, despite the fact that 73% of the species' range occurs in Mexico. Conversely, annual fishery production and consumptive value of giant sea bass in Mexico are 19x and 3.5x higher than in the USA, respectively, while the nonconsumptive value related to dive ecotourism is 76x higher in the USA. These asymmetries have generated a distorted view of the population status of the giant sea bass across its entire range. This and other factors related to historical fishery dynamics and policy must be accounted for when assessing population status, and subsequent appropriate management responses, across geopolitical boundaries. | 1393 RAMÍREZ-VALDEZ Et AL. 2.1. Asymmetry in scientific research 1394 2.2. Fishery and management trends 1395 2.3. Spatial patterns of the contemporary fishery 1397 2.4. Asymmetry in economic value 1397 3. RESULTS 1397 3.1. Asymmetry in scientific research 1394 3.2. Fishery and management trends 1399 3.3. Spatial patterns of the contemporary fishery 1401 3.4. Asymmetry in the economic value 1401 4. DISCUSSION 1402 4.1. Asymmetry in scientific research 1403 4.2. Fishery and management trends 1404 4.3. Spatial patterns of the contemporary fishery 1405 4.4. Asymmetry in economic value 1405 5. CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS 1406 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 1407 CONFLICT OF INTEREST 1407 AUTHOR CONTRIBUTION 1407 DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT 1408Peer-reviewed papers -Information exclusively from the USA 39Peer-reviewed papers -Information exclusively from Mexico 13Peer-reviewed papers -Information from both the USA and Mexico 4Total unique GSB-centric papers 21 GSB-centric papers -Data exclusively from the USA 21 GSB-centric papers -Data exclusively from Mexico 0 GSB-centric papers -Data from both the USA and Mexico 3 Notes: WS, ISI Web of Science; GS, Google Scholar; GSB-listed, Papers that mention GSB; GSB-centric Paper, Papers that are focussed on GSB. Giant sea bass and black sea bass are common names in English used in the literature. Mero gigante and pescara are common names in Spanish (sensu Page et al., 2013).a Pescara is also a noun in Italian.

As a member of the “High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy”, Mexico has committed to expand community-based marine conservation. We draw from more than two decades of experience to outline how existing resources may be leveraged to help inform the country’s ambitious conservation plans. A total of 514.12 km2 have already been protected under community-based marine reserves. 14 years of ecological survey data, more than 130 community surveyors, more than one hundred publications, and an entire digital infrastructure provide a solid platform on which to continue building the community-based marine conservation movement. Parallel and complimentary efforts have advanced regulation, action, data access and transparency, and coordination. Future interventions should innovate, but leverage existing resources and continue to involve communities.