The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, an area almost the size of Japan, has a new network of no-take areas that significantly improves the protection of biodiversity. The new marine park zoning implements, in a quantitative manner, many of the theoretical design principles discussed in the literature. For example, the new network of no-take areas has at least 20% protection per "bioregion," minimum levels of protection for all known habitats and special or unique features, and minimum sizes for no-take areas of at least 10 or 20 km across at the smallest diameter. Overall, more than 33% of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park is now in no-take areas (previously 4.5%). The steps taken leading to this outcome were to clarify to the interested public why the existing level of protection was inadequate; detail the conservation objectives of establishing new notake areas; work with relevant and independent experts to define, and contribute to, the best scientific process to deliver on the objectives; describe the biodiversity (e.g., map bioregions); define operational principles needed to achieve the objectives; invite community input on all of the above; gather and layer the data gathered in round-table discussions; report the degree of achievement of principles for various options of no-take areas; and determine how to address negative impacts. Some of the key success factors in this case have global relevance and include focusing initial communication on the problem to be addressed; applying * email leannef@gbrmpa.gov.au the precautionary principle; using independent experts; facilitating input to decision making; conducting extensive and participatory consultation; having an existing marine park that encompassed much of the ecosystem; having legislative power under federal law; developing high-level support; ensuring agency priority and ownership; and being able to address the issue of displaced fishers.Key Words: biophysical operational principles, cultural operational principles, economic operational principles, reserve-design software, social operational principles Establecimiento deÁreas sin Captura Representativas en la Gran Barrera Arrecifal: Implementación a Gran Escala de la Teoría sobreÁreas Marinas Protegidas Resumen: El Parque Marino Gran Barrera Arrecifal, con una superficie casi del tamaño de Japón, tiene una red deáreas sin captura que incrementa la protección de la biodiversidad significativamente. La nueva zonificación en el parque marino implementa, de manera cuantitativa, muchos de los principios teóricos de diseño discutidos en la literatura. Por ejemplo, la nueva red deáreas sin captura tiene niveles mínimos de protección de por lo menos 20% de protección por "bioregión" en todos los hábitats y rasgos especiales oúnicos conocidos, y tamaños mínimos para lasáreas sin captura de por lo menos 10 o 20 km en el diámetro menor. En general, más de 33% del Parque Marino Gran Barrera Arrecifal está enáreas sin captura (4.5% anteriormente). Los pasos hacia este resultado fueron clarificar al público interesa...

The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) provides a globally significant demonstration of the effectiveness of large-scale networks of marine reserves in contributing to integrated, adaptive management. Comprehensive review of available evidence shows major, rapid benefits of no-take areas for targeted fish and sharks, in both reef and nonreef habitats, with potential benefits for fisheries as well as biodiversity conservation. Large, mobile species like sharks benefit less than smaller, site-attached fish. Critically, reserves also appear to benefit overall ecosystem health and resilience: outbreaks of coral-eating, crown-of-thorns starfish appear less frequent on no-take reefs, which consequently have higher abundance of coral, the very foundation of reef ecosystems. Effective marine reserves require regular review of compliance: fish abundances in no-entry zones suggest that even no-take zones may be significantly depleted due to poaching. Spatial analyses comparing zoning with seabed biodiversity or dugong distributions illustrate significant benefits from application of best-practice conservation principles in data-poor situations. Increases in the marine reserve network in 2004 affected fishers, but preliminary economic analysis suggests considerable net benefits, in terms of protecting environmental and tourism values. Relative to the revenue generated by reef tourism, current expenditure on protection is minor. Recent implementation of an Outlook Report provides regular, formal review of environmental condition and management and links to policy responses, key aspects of adaptive management. Given the major threat posed by climate change, the expanded network of marine reserves provides a critical and cost-effective contribution to enhancing the resilience of the Great Barrier Reef.biodiversity protection | spatial planning and zoning | social and ecological resilience | coral reefs | economic cost benefit analysis

Assessments of environmental impacts are being subject to greater scientific and legal scrutiny than ever before. The application of traditional statistical decision‐making criteria to questions of environmental impacts has become increasingly inadequate as society demands greater environmental accountability from economic development. In particular, impact assessment has inherited a preoccupation with Type I error rates that has pervaded ecological research, even though Type II errors are often equally severe in impact assessment. Estimation of Type II error rates and specification of critical effect sizes–or the magnitudes of impacts considered important–are mutually dependent. Consideration of Type II errors, therefore, requires the exact specification of an hypothesized impact, which is often difficult. Insistence on low rates of Type I error (e.g., α = 0.05) typically means that equivalent rates of Type II error can be realized only when effect sizes (ES) are very large or when very many samples are taken. Rather than adhering to a fixed, arbitrary, critical, Type I error rate, I propose a procedure by which the critical ES is given primacy. Statistical decision criteria are then selected according to the relative weighting of the perceived consequences of Type I or Type II errors. The critical Type I error rate is set by iteration to some multiple (k) of the estimated potential for Type II error, and the null hypothesis is rejected if that (variable) Type I probability is not exceeded. The value of k would be determined by the ratio of the consequences (e.g., costs) of Type II and Type I errors. The procedure focuses attention on the magnitudes of impacts considered important, and provides for statistical decisions based on the a priori consideration of the development and environmental costs of Type I and Type II errors. It also provides incentive for development proponents to support rigorous environmental monitoring.

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Marine ecosystems evolve under many interconnected and area-specific pressures. To fulfil society's intensifying and diversifying needs while ensuring ecologically sustainable development, more effective marine spatial planning and broader-scope management of marine resources is necessary. Integrated ecological-economic fisheries models (IEEFMs) of marine systems are needed to evaluate impacts and sustainability of potential management actions and understand, and anticipate ecological, economic and social dynamics at a range of scales from local to national and regional. To make these models most effective, it is important to determine how model characteristics and methods of communicating results influence the model implementation, the nature of the advice that can be provided and the impact on decisions taken by managers. This article presents a global review and comparative evaluation of 35 IEEFMs applied to marine fisheries and marine ecosystem resources to identify the characteristics that determine their usefulness, effectiveness and implementation. The focus is on fully integrated models that allow for feedbacks between ecological and human processes although not all the models reviewed achieve that. Modellers must invest more time to make models user friendly and to participate in management fora where models and model results can be explained and discussed. Such involvement is beneficial to all parties, leading to improvement of models and more effective implementation of advice, but demands substantial resources which must be built into the governance process. It takes time to develop effective processes for using IEEFMs requiring a long-term commitment to integrating multidisciplinary modelling advice into management decision-making. K E Y W O R D Sbio-economic models, comparative model evaluation, fisheries management advice, integrated ecological-economic fisheries models, marine spatial planning and cross-sector management, performance criteria and scales and risks, use and acceptance and implementation and communication and flexibility and complexity | INTRODUCTIONThere is a growing need for tools to evaluate policies and assess tradeoffs in management of marine resources and provision of ecosystem services such as fishing, aquaculture, renewable energy, shipping, conservation and recreation (Cormier, Kannen, Elliott, & Hall, 2015;Degnbol & Wilson, 2008;EU 2014;Langlois, Fréon, Steyer, Delgenés, & Hélias, 2014;White et al., 2012). It is necessary to elaborate and apply common principles and broader, interdisciplinary management evaluation in the use of marine space involving several types of activities and sectors Soma et al., 2013;Stelzenmüller et al., 2013;Sundblad et al., 2014). Policymakers need to know the costs and benefits of conserving ecosystem goods and services to manage them sustainably. Moreover, according to an ecosystembased approach to management, specific pressures, associated uncertainties and risks need to be taken into account (Douvere, 2008;Ehler & Douvere, 2009;Gi...

Epinephelus fuscoguttatus is widespread throughout the Indo-Pacific and features strongly in regional fisheries, including the live reef fish trade. We investigated age-specific demographic and reproductive characteristics of E. fuscoguttatus from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, and examined implications for resource management. Age, growth, longevity, and the relationships between size or age and female sexual maturity and the recruitment of males into the study population were examined. Age validation using both oxytetracycline marking and edge-type analysis demonstrated that a single annulus formed each year. This grouper is long-lived (> 40 yr) and relatively slow-growing. The size and age distributions of the sexes strongly suggested protogynous hermaphroditism. Histological data suggested infrequent spawning in small mature females. Females contribute very little to reproductive output until about 566 mm fork length and 9 yr of age. Larger females make important reproductive contributions during their 30+ yr reproductive lifespan. Their relatively long lifespan, restriction of males to large size groups, and the disproportionate contribution of large females to reproduction have important implications for the harvest of E. fuscoguttatus. For example, current Queensland size regulations are poorly matched to the species' biology because they do not protect the reproductive elements of populations.

Variation in reproductive parameters of Plectropomus leopardus populations between coral reefs open and closed to fishing was examined in two geographic regions (off Townsville (19°S) and in the Swains (22°S)) of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. The reproductive parameters that were examined included the operational (reproductive) sex ratio and size and age structure of mature females, sex-changing individuals (transitionals), and mature males. There was a greater proportion of males above the minimum size and age of harvest on reefs closed to fishing for 8-10 years than on reefs open to fishing, although the effect varied with geographic region. Nevertheless, neither the sex ratio, mean age, nor mean size of males or transitionals varied significantly with reef closure status. Females, however, were significantly older and larger on closed than on open reefs in both regions. Marked regional variations in the sex ratio and average age of transitionals were found independent of reef closure status, suggesting regional variation in reproductive strategies. Controlled manipulations, inclusion of broad spatial scales, and detailed studies of intra- and inter-specific variation in serranid reproductive biology are necessary to resolve such complexities in the responses of protogynous serranids to fishing pressure and management strategies.