WWF Cover photo - Soufriere Marine Management Association ...

Elsewhere in the US Virgin Islands a protected area has been more effective in protecting fishery species andallowing populations to recover. In 1990 a grouper spawning aggregation seasonal closure was introduced offthe island of St. Thomas, covering 1.5% of the fishing grounds for groupers (Bohnsack 2000). During the 1970sand 80s grouper spawning aggregations were targeted by fishers and at least two were completely eliminated byfishing. Catches of red hind (Epinephelus guttatus) were declining, and the Nassau grouper (Epinephelusstriatus), which used the same aggregation sites and was once the main grouper in fish catches, becameextremely rare. There were fears that the red hind fishery would collapse in the same way. After seven years ofprotection of the spawning aggregation, Beets and Friedlander (1999) found that the average length of red hindhad increased by a third from 29.5cm (the mean length in 1988 before protection) to 39.5cm. The sex ratio hadalso changed from 15 females per male in 1988 (this skew being a result of the selection of the larger males bythe fishery) to 4 females per male in 1997. A better ratio of males to females is expected to facilitate greaterreproductive success, and enhance the population of this important fishery species. In 1998 this seasonalspawning aggregation closure became a fully protected permanent marine reserve (Beets and Friedlander 1999).Key points• If the protection of marine parks is limited to gear restrictions and species restrictions that fail to address themajor extractive used of the area, protection is unlikely to be effective, especially when fishing pressure ishigh or increases over time.• It may be necessary to protect the range of habitats used by species to ensure effective protection.• Protecting spawning aggregations of key fishery species can be highly effective in averting the decline andcommercial extinction of vulnerable species like groupers.• Even small marine reserves can offer effective protection to migratory species if they are located where suchspecies are highly vulnerable to targeted fishing effort.ReferencesBeets, J. and Friedlander, A. (1999) Evaluation of a conservation strategy: a spawning aggregation closure forred hind, Epinephelus guttatus, in the US Virgin Islands. Environmental Biology of Fishes 55, 91-98.Bohnsack, J.A. (2000) A comparison of the short-term impacts of no-take marine reserves and minimum sizelimits. Bulletin of Marine Science 66, 635-650.Garrison, V.H., Rogers, C.S. and Beets, J. (1998) Of reefs, overfishing and in situ observations of fish traps inSt. John, US Virgin Islands. Revista de Biologia Tropical 46, S5: 41-59.Rogers, C.S. and Beets, J. (2001) Degradation of marine ecosystems and decline of fishery resources in marineprotected areas in the US Virgin Islands. Environmental Conservation 28(4), 312-322.Wolff, N., Grober-Dunsmore, R., Rogers, C.S. and Beets, J. (1999) Management implications of fish trapeffectiveness in adjacent coral reef and gorgonian habitats. Environmental Biology of Fishes 55, 81-90.59