582
Y. Sadovy de Mitcheson and P.L. Colin
be important, such as to possible nursery areas or migration routes. Implementation
of MPAs without any other management measure is rarely likely to be suffi cient due
to their typically small sizes and because they do not address fi shing effort, the key
cause of overfi shing. Once designated, MPAs need enforcement, aggregation sites
need to be monitored to evaluate management effectiveness and fi shing activity may
well need to be controlled on the species at non-aggregation times and places. While
we cannot know the location of all spawning aggregations, and indeed are better
off not knowing them all, it is becoming clear that many of the more vulnerable
transient aggregations occur in outer reef shelf/drop-off habitats which merit far
greater consideration for management and incorporation into MPAs (Sadovy de
Mitcheson et al. 2008 ) than they have attracted to date. Conversely, confi rming that
FSAs form does not necessarily mean that they all have to be protected, and it is not
necessary to know the location of all aggregations in an area if seasonal protection is the most effective approach. FSA management needs to be done on a caseby-case basis and requires broad cross-sector consultations and discussion.
Where suffi ciently detailed studies of fi sheries management have been carried
out, the factors important for success are evident. They include enforcement, consultation, perception, monitoring, and planning that takes into account the realities
of the biology of target species. For example, for long-lived species a decade or
more might be needed before benefi ts become apparent. In the US Virgin Islands, it
is clear from regular monitoring that sizes and numbers of red hind are increasing
after more than a decade of protection. However not all fi shers are convinced that
management has been successful or that they have benefi ted and there is a need to
understand why. In Florida, goliath grouper numbers, at least among young fi sh, is
increasing following what appears to be effective protection, although time is needed
to assess the impact on the population as a whole. In Belize, a strong cross-sectoral
working group on grouper spawning aggregations successfully rallied broad support and raised considerable interest within the fi shing community and other public
sectors for Nassau grouper protection.
A major ongoing challenge is with enforcement, and failure in this area not only
undermines management but can also lead to successively more measures being
needed as the fi shery continues to decline. For example in Cuba recognition of
overfi shing led to an increasing set of management measures being implemented as
the fi shery declined and recovery was not forthcoming (Claro et al. 2009 ) . On the
other hand, multiple measures can make management outcomes diffi cult to evaluate, and in Australia led to a weakening of aggregation protection for the leopard
coralgrouper because other methods (licensing and minimum sizes) were thought,
without scientifi c evidence, to be suffi cient. The establishment of regulations or
designation of MPAs are often seen as ends in themselves and yet it is only when
these are properly effected that improvements can occur. Enforcement is not only
expensive but must be a long-term commitment, given the prevalence of poaching,
whether by government or by NGOs, to promote it. In Belize, for example, some
NGOs directly assist the government fi nancially to ensure that patrols of Nassau
grouper aggregations can continue. Other approaches can aid enforcement such as
the requirement of keeping skin fl aps on fi llets for species identifi cation (Belize), a
Y. Sadovy de Mitcheson and P.L. Colin
be important, such as to possible nursery areas or migration routes. Implementation
of MPAs without any other management measure is rarely likely to be suffi cient due
to their typically small sizes and because they do not address fi shing effort, the key
cause of overfi shing. Once designated, MPAs need enforcement, aggregation sites
need to be monitored to evaluate management effectiveness and fi shing activity may
well need to be controlled on the species at non-aggregation times and places. While
we cannot know the location of all spawning aggregations, and indeed are better
off not knowing them all, it is becoming clear that many of the more vulnerable
transient aggregations occur in outer reef shelf/drop-off habitats which merit far
greater consideration for management and incorporation into MPAs (Sadovy de
Mitcheson et al. 2008 ) than they have attracted to date. Conversely, confi rming that
FSAs form does not necessarily mean that they all have to be protected, and it is not
necessary to know the location of all aggregations in an area if seasonal protection is the most effective approach. FSA management needs to be done on a caseby-case basis and requires broad cross-sector consultations and discussion.
Where suffi ciently detailed studies of fi sheries management have been carried
out, the factors important for success are evident. They include enforcement, consultation, perception, monitoring, and planning that takes into account the realities
of the biology of target species. For example, for long-lived species a decade or
more might be needed before benefi ts become apparent. In the US Virgin Islands, it
is clear from regular monitoring that sizes and numbers of red hind are increasing
after more than a decade of protection. However not all fi shers are convinced that
management has been successful or that they have benefi ted and there is a need to
understand why. In Florida, goliath grouper numbers, at least among young fi sh, is
increasing following what appears to be effective protection, although time is needed
to assess the impact on the population as a whole. In Belize, a strong cross-sectoral
working group on grouper spawning aggregations successfully rallied broad support and raised considerable interest within the fi shing community and other public
sectors for Nassau grouper protection.
A major ongoing challenge is with enforcement, and failure in this area not only
undermines management but can also lead to successively more measures being
needed as the fi shery continues to decline. For example in Cuba recognition of
overfi shing led to an increasing set of management measures being implemented as
the fi shery declined and recovery was not forthcoming (Claro et al. 2009 ) . On the
other hand, multiple measures can make management outcomes diffi cult to evaluate, and in Australia led to a weakening of aggregation protection for the leopard
coralgrouper because other methods (licensing and minimum sizes) were thought,
without scientifi c evidence, to be suffi cient. The establishment of regulations or
designation of MPAs are often seen as ends in themselves and yet it is only when
these are properly effected that improvements can occur. Enforcement is not only
expensive but must be a long-term commitment, given the prevalence of poaching,
whether by government or by NGOs, to promote it. In Belize, for example, some
NGOs directly assist the government fi nancially to ensure that patrols of Nassau
grouper aggregations can continue. Other approaches can aid enforcement such as
the requirement of keeping skin fl aps on fi llets for species identifi cation (Belize), a