Spillover effects of a Mediterranean marine protected area on the European spiny lobster Palinurus elephas (Fabricius, 1787) resource

Abstract

1. An assessment is made of the reserve’s benefits within the no-take area of Su Pallosu (Western Mediterranean) and in its neighbouring fishing ground in the 12 years since its establishment.\ud 2. Using tag recapture data, Palinurus elephas were found up to 50km from the centre of the reserve.\ud 3. Experimental CPUE inside the no-take area indicated significant increases over time in both abundance and biomass. The percentage increase in biomass from 1997, the year before all forms of fishing were banned, to 2009 was about 500%. Commercial surveys performed in 2008–2009 in the surrounding areas showed a negative gradient of lobster CPUE with increasing distance from the border of the MPA. The most productive zone was located within about 6 km from the reserve boundary.\ud 4. The results show that, to date, adult spillover has aided local fishing. The small size of the study area makes it easy to record a significant biological response after the first year of protection. However, for a long-lived species such as P. elephas, a 12 year horizon can provide only partial evidence of these benefits

Conservation, Spillover and Gene Flow within a Network of Northern European Marine Protected Areas

“…This level of export is comparable to what has been observed for spiny lobster (Palinurus Elephas ) from Mediterranean marine reserves [36,37]. And since mean CPUE of lobsters has increased inside the Norwegian Skagerrak lobster reserves compared to their controls [13], which in theory corresponds to higher densities of lobsters within reserves, it is highly likely that more lobsters move out of the reserves due to density dependence [38], than the number moving into reserves against the density gradient; the very definition of the spillover effect [5].…”

Spatial Management of Fisheries in the Mediterranean Sea

“…Follesa et al (2008Follesa et al ( , 2011 carried out studies on the spiny lobster in Su Pallosu based on experimental and commercial CPUE data and on recapture data of lobsters that were released inside the no-take zone after tagging. Su Pallosu is a 4 km 2 area located 6 km off the central-western coast of Sardinia (Italy).…”

Homing and orientation of Palinurus elephas (Fabricius) in three no-take areas of the central-western Mediterranean: implications for marine reserve design

“…Certainly, these factors should be considered when setting goals and expectations for marine reserves, but such observations are usually not reported in studies of marine reserve. From our experience, small reserves could protect small subpopulations to provide the opportunity to grow and reproduce and thus contribute through the production of larvae and post puerili to spillover into surrounding fishing areas, as happened in the Pallosu no-take area (Follesa et al 2009(Follesa et al , 2011. This study represents one of the first efforts to evaluate success in the design and function of lobsters marine reserves through the study of the typical movement of the species.…”