Evaluating marine reserves as a management policy in the central-southern anchovy (Engraulis ringens) fishery of Chile

Abstract

The anchovy (Engraulis ringens) fishery in central-southern Chile, like many fisheries worldwide, is overexploitation mainly due to poor and short-term management by fishing authorities and communities. This study proposes and evaluates marine reserves as a possible tool to apply since there is a current marine reserve law in Chile. The study's methodology is the simulation of a bioeconomic model that includes two areas: one is the protected, and the other is the artisanal fishing, in which the protected area transfers biomass to the artisanal fishing area. The reserve is incorporated as a decision variable in the management of this resource. It is determined as a percentage of protection of the total fish population related to fishing effort, which quantifies and evaluates the impact of protecting a stock of parental fish on the fishery's sustainability. Biomass data used is from 2000-2006, during which the anchovy fishery was fully exploited. The carrying capacity and intrinsic growth rate are estimated, and biomass is projected at different protection and effort levels. Results show that if a marine reserve with a protection level of 30% had been applied as a management policy in the anchovy fishery of central-southern Chile in the early 2000s, the fishing activity would be in a state of full exploitation rather than overexploitation as it is today. This model's fundamental contribution is that it makes possible fishery evaluation with real data from the same fishing activity.

Marine reserves promote cycles in fish populations on ecological and evolutionary time scales

“…Creating marine reserves is considered a key solution to tackle this issue, which ideally should result in 30% of the oceans being highly protected ( 6 ). While marine reserves are increasingly established in various areas around the world ( 7 – 10 ), there is also ongoing debate about their effectiveness compared to traditional management practices ( 11 – 14 ), especially with regard to balancing of conservation and resource utilization ( 15 , 16 ).…”