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Aligning the ecological and social dimensions of the connections present between users that harvest a shared natural resource is a necessary step toward sustainable management. However, contrasting estimates of connectivity across disciplines is a challenging task and few empirical studies have focused on population dynamics within fish species with a complex life history. We used a collaborative approach merging citizen science, population genetics, oceanographic modeling, and interviews to collect empirical connectivity data of individual fish, fishing sites, and fishers. We integrated the data within a multilevel social-ecological network framework describing the interactions between two communities of small-scale fishers (Bahia Kino and Puerto Libertad, Sonora, Mexico) targeting leopard grouper (Mycteroperca rosacea). We identified two types of social-ecological links, including the use of specific fishing sites by individual fishers and the harvest of individual fish by individual fishers. Despite their fishing zones not overlapping, the ecological links between two communities located ~150 km apart were consistent and reciprocal where fishing grounds from each community acted as a source of fish to the other during the larval or juvenile/adult stages, respectively. As a result, fishers from the two communities frequently captured fish that were second-degree relatives. In contrast, the probability of social ties among fishers changed significantly depending on the type of connection and was considerably low for leadership and kinship although some communication was present. Our study highlighted how local actions (e.g., recovery from marine reserves or overfishing) are likely to impact the neighboring community as much as locally. The geographic scale and strength of key ecological process supporting fish stocks through the fish life cycle seem to be larger than those of social connections among fishers. Fishers and managers could benefit from a broader regional perspective that strengthens connections between communities about shared goals and activities. We examine some insights learned on the constraints of connectivity given different attributes of each ecological and social component and methodological challenges identified. We also discuss ways to improve collaborative management between the two communities.

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.

A management approach was developed that combined spatial and non-spatial tools to inform a Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning Process (CMSP) in the Puerto Peñasco-Puerto Lobos Coastal Corridor, Northern Gulf of California, Sonora, Mexico. Four fisheries management tools were applied with an emphasis on ecosystem level management for eleven small-scale fisheries. Two spatial management tools, using a spatial prioritization approach, were combined with a permit regularization process, a non-spatial quota prioritization, and a tradeoff analysis in a novel way: • Locally Managed Marine Areas were developed, these are spatial areas where individual community fishermen are assigned the rights to harvest and manage specific fisheries within defined geographic areas. • Fishery refuges that incorporate information on fisheries, ecological importance, and connectivity. • A non-spatial quota prioritization process using a framework for the integrated assessment of stocks, encompassing a vulnerability analysis, a sustainability analysis, and a management framework analysis. • A trade-off analysis of the combination of these different management tools, using an Atlantis ecosystem model for the northern Gulf of California, that tested the ecosystem effects of alternative scenarios to assess benefits in support of ecosystem-based management.