ecological effects of marine protected areas empafish project ...

EMPAFISH Booklet no. 1 Ecological effects of Atlanto-Mediterranean MPAs in the EU
Bouches de Bonifacio: ecological studies
� General
o Fish assemblage
Fish assemblages have been extensively studied in the area since 1986, using
underwater visual census (UVC) as main sampling technique. The principal
objective has been to develop an inventory (Camus et al. 1987; Joyeux et al.
1988; Bouchereau et al. 1989; Tomasini et al. 1991). Some ecological studies
including monthly variations, bathymetrics and biotops migrations (0-30 m) at
Lavezzi Islands were carried out for 16 species fish (serranids, labrids and
sparids) in 1992 in the rocky shores and Posidonia oceanica beds (Culioli
1996).
o Benthic communities
The first inventories on the benthic fauna and algae have been carried out
around Lavezzi islands (Frick et al. 1985; Chraibi & Ledoyer 1987; Verlaque
1991) and extended to the whole area of the Strait of Bonifacio (Sartoretto &
Pergent-Martini 1995). The inventory and the cartography of the mediolittoral
and superior infralittoral species have been carried out since 1994 and are
regularly operated by the Bonifacio MPA management (Blacher et al. 1994;
Javel et al. 2005).
� Reserve effect
o Fish assemblage
UVC monitoring program started in southern Corsica in 1995 at the large
scale for protected area (partial, integral before 1982) and unprotected areas
for the rocky shore and P. oceanica seabeds in summer and winter (Culioli
1995). After the statistical studies about dispersion and sample size densities
and biomass estimates (Mouillot et al. 1999; Mouillot & Culioli 2002), the
monitoring was extended in 2002 to the northern of Sardinia with the support
of the project of the international marine park (Culioli et al. 2003). After the
creation of the Natural Reserve of Bonifacio Straits dated 1999, 15 stations
for the Corsican part (in 2000, 2002 and 2005), and 12 stations for the
Sardinian part (in 2002 and 2005) were monitored in order to compare the
abundance and the biomass in the different regulations and managements
situations.
The biomass index appears to be on average about 6 times higher inside the
MPA than outside (i.e. in the areas that are either unprotected or with little
surveillance). The biomass has increased two-three fold in two years, and
four-fold in 10 years, and six fold in 20 years (for Sciaena umbra, the
increase has been 6, 17 et 38 times, respectively). In 2005, in the area of
Cerbicale, biomass increased three times since the ban on underwater spear
fishing in 1999, reaching the level observed inside the MPA, and therefore
proving the effectiveness of the MPA rules and their application (Culioli,
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