Establishment and management of fisheries refugia in Phu Quoc Marine Protected Area, Vietnam

Abstract

and management of fisheries refugia have recently been recognized as important tools in sustainable use/ management of fish stocks and their associated habitats. To initiate the fisheries refugia management approach in Phu Quoc, several activities were conducted to collect baseline information for establishment of fisheries refugia in Phu Quoc Archipelago since 2007, including local consultations and field surveys involving local communities and concerned stakeholders. Site selection for the establishment of model/ fisheries refugia was based on scientific data and consultations with local communities and based on criteria of habitat representativeness, target species diversity and abundance and site management potential. Results from the baseline surveys recorded 11 spawning and nursery grounds of several target species including; octopus ( Octopus dollfusi), cuttlefish (Sepioteuthis lessoniana ), the Strombus shell (Strombus canarium), swimming crab (Portunus pelagicus), seahorses (Hippocampus spp.), rabbitfishes (Siganus spp.) associated with seagrass habitat and squids (Loligo spp.) associated with sandy bottom habitat. In the coral reef habitats, there were 10 locations where nursery grounds of barred-cheek coral trout (Plectropomus maculatus) were found in the waters surrounding most of the group of islands (An Thoi) in the southern part of Phu Quoc big island. Two pilot sites were selected for fisheries refugia management, one to protect the nursery grounds of grouper associated with coral reef habitats at Hon Roi fishing village and the other to protect the spawning/nursery grounds of the Strombus shell, octopus, swimming crab and seahorses associated with the sea