387
11 Management of Spawning Aggregations
thought to have been due to heavy fi shing pressure on spawning aggregations.
Seasonal site closures were in place from 1975, but compliance was poor due to
ineffective enforcement during this early period. Landings continued to decline in
the 1980s, but eventually stabilized after 1990 following a ban on fi sh traps, which
restricted the fi shery to line fi shing only. Enforcement of the seasonal closures of
spawning aggregations has become more effective over the past 10–15 years, thus
Fig. 11.5 ( a ) Reported landings of red hind, Epinephelus guttatus in Bermuda, 1975–2008 (From
Bermuda commercial fi shery statistical database). ( b ) Red hind at a spawning aggregation in
Puerto Rico
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
1975
1979
1983
1987
1991
1995
1999
2003
2007
Landings (tons)
Year
a