389
11 Management of Spawning Aggregations
fi shers do not use navigation equipment such as global positioning systems. Some
MPA boundaries are marked by buoys, for example, in Palau, Fiji, Philippines, and
Seychelles, but these buoys and moorings need regular maintenance and can be prone
to theft. At-sea enforcement patrols and aerial surveillance are two key enforcement
tools, but the latter is often not available in developing countries due to high cost.
Vessel monitoring systems (VMS), whereby vessels can be followed because they
each carry an identifi cation device are expensive but practical options, e.g. in the
Seychelles where VMS is used to monitor fi shing activity at remote spawning sites
(Jan Robinson personal communication 2010).
Increased compliance comes from building compliance-focused outreach into all
local user group interactions from early stages. Outreach needs to penetrate throughout the different sectors of the fi shing industry and communities involved in resource
stewardship to gain acceptance and general understanding of the need for management. The goal is to have fi shers recognize and agree that protection of the resource
is necessary and that protection will benefi t them in the longer term. To help achieve
compliance, fi shers need to be involved in management design and implementation,
e.g. through community-based co-management supported by outreach. Positive dialogue between managers, scientists and fi shers is an important element in achieving
this goal. Enforcement must be effective, and meaningful sanctions must be imposed
to discourage illegal fi shing. Importantly, management agencies should provide
regular feedback to fi shers and communities about compliance and the impact of
management on the status of the target fi sh population. Using data collected from
monitoring programmes, management agencies must demonstrate the benefi t of,
and need for, the management to maintain support and interest by fi shers and
communities. It is fundamental that fi shery and MPA managers work closely with
fi shers to establish trust and share information on aggregations.
11.5 The Challenge of Hyperstability
If only fi shery-dependent data are available from an aggregation-fi shery, decisionmaking may be compromised if continued high levels of catch per unit of effort
(CPUE) mask actual declines in abundance of the fi sh population due to ‘hyperstability’ (Sadovy and Domeier 2005 , Fig. 11.6 ). Because of hyperstability, fi sheryindependent data are particularly important for assessing aggregation status. A probable
example of hyperstability is the Nassau grouper fi shery in Cuba, where major fi shing
effort on the species was based on spawning aggregations that abruptly collapsed in
the 1970s after providing high levels of landings from aggregations for many years
(Claro et al. 2009 , Table 11.1 ) . Declines have continued and the fi shery has not
recovered; while multi-species reef fi sh landings in general remained reasonably
stable overall, probably in response to increasing effort, Nassau grouper and several
other aggregating species showed marked declines.
Another example of probable hyperstability is the Spanish mackerel
( Scomberomorus commerson ) fi shery on the GBR. This line fi shery has historically
11 Management of Spawning Aggregations
fi shers do not use navigation equipment such as global positioning systems. Some
MPA boundaries are marked by buoys, for example, in Palau, Fiji, Philippines, and
Seychelles, but these buoys and moorings need regular maintenance and can be prone
to theft. At-sea enforcement patrols and aerial surveillance are two key enforcement
tools, but the latter is often not available in developing countries due to high cost.
Vessel monitoring systems (VMS), whereby vessels can be followed because they
each carry an identifi cation device are expensive but practical options, e.g. in the
Seychelles where VMS is used to monitor fi shing activity at remote spawning sites
(Jan Robinson personal communication 2010).
Increased compliance comes from building compliance-focused outreach into all
local user group interactions from early stages. Outreach needs to penetrate throughout the different sectors of the fi shing industry and communities involved in resource
stewardship to gain acceptance and general understanding of the need for management. The goal is to have fi shers recognize and agree that protection of the resource
is necessary and that protection will benefi t them in the longer term. To help achieve
compliance, fi shers need to be involved in management design and implementation,
e.g. through community-based co-management supported by outreach. Positive dialogue between managers, scientists and fi shers is an important element in achieving
this goal. Enforcement must be effective, and meaningful sanctions must be imposed
to discourage illegal fi shing. Importantly, management agencies should provide
regular feedback to fi shers and communities about compliance and the impact of
management on the status of the target fi sh population. Using data collected from
monitoring programmes, management agencies must demonstrate the benefi t of,
and need for, the management to maintain support and interest by fi shers and
communities. It is fundamental that fi shery and MPA managers work closely with
fi shers to establish trust and share information on aggregations.
11.5 The Challenge of Hyperstability
If only fi shery-dependent data are available from an aggregation-fi shery, decisionmaking may be compromised if continued high levels of catch per unit of effort
(CPUE) mask actual declines in abundance of the fi sh population due to ‘hyperstability’ (Sadovy and Domeier 2005 , Fig. 11.6 ). Because of hyperstability, fi sheryindependent data are particularly important for assessing aggregation status. A probable
example of hyperstability is the Nassau grouper fi shery in Cuba, where major fi shing
effort on the species was based on spawning aggregations that abruptly collapsed in
the 1970s after providing high levels of landings from aggregations for many years
(Claro et al. 2009 , Table 11.1 ) . Declines have continued and the fi shery has not
recovered; while multi-species reef fi sh landings in general remained reasonably
stable overall, probably in response to increasing effort, Nassau grouper and several
other aggregating species showed marked declines.
Another example of probable hyperstability is the Spanish mackerel
( Scomberomorus commerson ) fi shery on the GBR. This line fi shery has historically