Critical science gaps impede use of no-take fishery reserves.

The Science of No-Take Fishery Reserves A Guide for Managers

When Is Spillover from Marine Reserves Likely to Benefit Fisheries?

The net movement of individuals from marine reserves (also known as no-take marine protected areas) to the remaining fishing grounds is known as spillover and is frequently used to promote reserves to fishers on the grounds that it will benefit fisheries. Here we consider how mismanaged a fishery must be before spillover from a reserve is able to provide a net benefit for a fishery. For our mod...

Synergistic Effects of Marine Reserves and Harvest Controls on the Abundance and Catch Dynamics of a Coral Reef Fishery

Marine no-take reserves, where fishing and other extractive activities are prohibited, have well-established conservation benefits [1], yet their impacts on fisheries remains contentious [2-4]. For fishery species, reserves are often implemented alongside more conventional harvest strategies, including catch and size limits [2, 5]. However, catch and fish abundances observed post-intervention a...

Integration of no-take marine reserves in the assessment of data-limited fisheries

No-take marine reserves show great promise as conservation tools, yet the integration of reserves into assessment models for data-limited fisheries management is just emerging. We develop a framework for integrating marine reserves into two data-limited assessment models: spawning potential ratio (SPR) and yield per recruit (YPR). We use Monte Carlo simulation to test the applicability of the f...

Effects of Marine Reserves versus Nursery Habitat Availability on Structure of Reef Fish Communities

No-take marine fishery reserves sustain commercial stocks by acting as buffers against overexploitation and enhancing fishery catches in adjacent areas through spillover. Likewise, nursery habitats such as mangroves enhance populations of some species in adjacent habitats. However, there is lack of understanding of the magnitude of stock enhancement and the effects on community structure when b...