Meeting fisheries, ecosystem function, and biodiversity goals in a human-dominated world

Cinner, Joshua E.; Zamborain‐Mason, Jessica; Gurney, Georgina G.; Graham, Nicholas A. J.; MacNeil, M. Aaron; Hoey, Andrew S.; Mora, Camilo; Villéger, Sébastien; Maire, Eva; McClanahan, Tim R.; Maina, Joseph; Kittinger, John N.; Hicks, Christina C.; D’agata, Stéphanie; Huchery, Cindy; Barnes, Michele L.; Feary, David A.; Williams, Ivor D.; Kulbicki, Michel; Vigliola, Laurent; Wantiez, Laurent; Edgar, Graham J.; Stuart‐Smith, Rick D.; Sandin, Stuart A.; Green, Alison L.; Beger, Maria; Friedlander, Alan M.; Wilson, Shaun K.; Brokovich, Eran; Brooks, Andrew J.; Cruz‐Motta, Juan J.; Booth, David J.; Chabanet, Pascale; Tupper, Mark; Ferse, Sebastian C. A.; Sumaila, U. Rashid; Hardt, Marah J.; Mouillot, David

doi:10.1126/science.aax9412

Cited by 107 publications

(117 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…This gear ban was particularly impactful for scrapers and browsers, groups that consisted primarily of parrotfish in our study. A compilation of data across ~1,800 reef sites found that for parrotfish, fishing restrictions (gear and access limitations) provided the same conservation gains as fully protected MPAs (Cinner et al 2020) and thus for this particular group of fish, gear restrictions can be very effective.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The establishment of MPAs can be contentious. Although no‐take areas can provide the greatest conservation gains (Cinner et al 2020), specific gear restrictions may be a socially relevant management strategy in Hawaii that will also support recovery of resource fish biomass (Weijerman et al 2018). For example, in some regions across Hawaii, permitting only line fishing allowed a balanced trade‐off between various stakeholders as well as enhancement of reef recovery (Weijerman et al 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impacts of pollution, fishing pressure, and reef rugosity on resource fish biomass in West Hawaii

Foo

Walsh²,

Lecky

et al. 2020

Ecological Applications

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Human activities and land-use drivers combine in complex ways to affect coral reef health and, in turn, the diversity and abundance of reef fauna. Here we examine the impacts of different marine protected area (MPA) types, and various human and habitat drivers, on resource fish functional groups (i.e., total fish, herbivore, grazer, scraper, and browser biomass) along the 180 km west coast of Hawaii Island. Across survey years from 2008 to 2018, we observed an overall decrease in total fish biomass of 45%, with similar decreases in biomass seen across most fish functional groups. MPAs that prohibited a combination of lay nets, aquarium collection, and spear fishing were most effective in maintaining and/or increasing fish biomass across all functional groups. We also found that pollution, fishing, and habitat drivers all contributed to changes in total fish biomass, where the most negative impact was nitrogen input from land-based sewage disposal. Fish biomass relationships with our study drivers depended on fish functional grouping. For surgeonfish (grazers), changes in biomass linked most strongly to changes in reef rugosity. For parrotfish (scrapers), biomass was better explained by changes in commercial catch where current commercial fishing levels are negatively affecting scraper populations. Our observations suggest that regional management of multiple factors, including habitat, pollution, and fisheries, will benefit resource fish biomass off Hawaii Island.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of pollution, fishing pressure, and reef rugosity on resource fish biomass in West Hawaii

Foo

Walsh²,

Lecky

et al. 2020

Ecological Applications

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“…Estimates of fish biomass using instantaneous point counts and belt transects are comparable (Samoilys & Carlos, 2000), and combining these survey methods has been used to infer large‐scale correlative patterns for coral reefs in multiple studies (e.g. MacNeil et al, 2015; Graham et al, 2017; Cinner et al, 2020). All surveys were designed to minimize diver avoidance or attraction.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, a large‐scale study of older high‐compliance marine reserves in inhabited coastal reefs found stock biomasses were approximately 40% of those in remote offshore uninhabited or sparsely inhabited reef seascapes (McClanahan et al, 2019). Thus, fractured seascapes may have a different maximum potential biomass compared with remote intact regions, which is largely influenced by the distance and travel times to human populations (Cinner et al, 2018; Cinner et al, 2020). This indicates the increasing vulnerability of large mobile fish to the effects of creating small marine reserves (Graham & McClanahan, 2013; Rocliffe et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variability in coral reef fish baseline and benchmark biomass in the central and western Indian Ocean provinces

McClanahan

Friedlander

Graham

et al. 2020

Aquatic Conservation

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Reef fish biomass is increasingly recognized as a key indicator of fishery and biodiversity status linked to ecosystem integrity on coral reefs, and yet the evaluation of appropriate baselines for biomass, and what drives variation in potential baselines, is sparse. Variability in reef fishable biomass was assessed to test for the existence of baselines or benchmarks (B&Bs), based on field studies of 223 reef sites in remote uninhabited reefs, in high‐compliance closures of >5 km2, and among the increasing number of small and recent closures. The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of human habitation, travel time and distance to cities, habitat, depth, benthic cover, and environmental variables on fish B&Bs. There were large differences in the three categories of ‘no fishing’, with human habitation being the single best predictor of biomass. In remote areas without people (>9 hours of travel time), fish biomass had a mean of 2,450 kg ha–1 (95% confidence interval, 95% CI, 2,130–2,770 kg ha–1; median = 1,885 kg ha–1). In these remote areas, biomass was weakly associated with human travel time to the site and, to a lesser extent, wave energy. In high‐compliance closures, fish biomass peaked at 20 years and 5–10 km2, and levelled at 910 kg ha–1 (95% CI 823–989 kg ha–1) for both closure age and size. There was little evidence that human travel time and environmental factors influenced biomass greatly in these established closures. In small and recent closures (<15 years), habitat, depth and closure age were the best predictors of fish biomass. Based on the weakness of environmental factors, country or site‐specific B&Bs are not required in these two provinces. However, human habitation in the seascape as well as the size and age of closures set limits to the maximum achievable biomass. The importance of environmental factors increases as the no‐fishing areas and closure times decline. Reef wilderness is not widespread in these provinces, but provides key services and therefore needs to be included in conservation and fisheries policy and management goals.

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“…Characterizing vulnerability includes measuring exposure to the stressor, characterizing sensitivity to impacts, and the capacity of affected communities to act in response, i.e., their adaptive capacity. Exposure is characterized by the local manifestation of the stressor (Cinner et al 2020). Characteristics of the stressor that can be used to measure exposure include the magnitude, frequency, duration, and the spatial extent of the hazard (Burton, Kates, and White 1993) affecting the area of interest.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of Natural Disasters on Subjective Vulnerability to Climate Change: A Study of Puerto Rican Fishers’ Perceptions after Hurricanes Irma & Maria

2020

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Investigating people's levels of subjective vulnerability to change can help elucidate important aspects of adaptive capacity to impacts. This is particularly relevant in coastal communities with high exposure to natural disasters, such as those in the Caribbean region, especially given projections of increased frequency and severity of storms as a consequence of climate change. In this study, Puerto Rican fishers' perceptions of the effects of climate change on their fishing activity were compared before and after two major hurricanes severely impacted the island in the fall of 2017. Data was collected through the use of surveys conducted in 12 different fishing communities in Puerto Rico at two different time periods: pre-storms (August 2016-January 2017) (N ¼ 212) and post-storms (May-June 2018) (N ¼ 75). Results show that fishers demonstrated higher concern in the post-storms period for climate change in general as well as for other environmental changes attributed to climate change, particularly the impacts of storms and increased air temperature. Our analyses also investigate factors influencing fishers' concerns about climate change. Comparisons between fishers' perceptions in the pre-and post-storms periods allow for an increased understanding of the impacts of extreme events on fishers' subjective vulnerability to climate change and other environmental transformations. These changes in perception are likely to influence fishers' future adaptative behavior and they provide opportunities for the implementation of collaborative strategies to increase awareness of climate change impacts and develop strategies to maximize climate change resilience in fishing communities.

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Meeting fisheries, ecosystem function, and biodiversity goals in a human-dominated world

Cited by 107 publications

References 48 publications

Impacts of pollution, fishing pressure, and reef rugosity on resource fish biomass in West Hawaii

Impacts of pollution, fishing pressure, and reef rugosity on resource fish biomass in West Hawaii

Variability in coral reef fish baseline and benchmark biomass in the central and western Indian Ocean provinces

Impacts of Natural Disasters on Subjective Vulnerability to Climate Change: A Study of Puerto Rican Fishers’ Perceptions after Hurricanes Irma & Maria

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