Evidence that spillover from Marine Protected Areas benefits the spiny lobster (Panulirus interruptus) fishery in southern California

Hunter S Lenihan,Joseph R Peters,Adrian C Stier,Daniel C Reed,Jordan P Gallagher,Jennifer K K Hofmeister

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-82371-5

Hunter S Lenihan, Joseph R Peters + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-82371-5

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Abstract

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are designed to enhance biodiversity and ecosystem services. Some MPAs are also established to benefit fisheries through increased egg and larval production, or the spillover of mobile juveniles and adults. Whether spillover influences fishery landings depend on the population status and movement patterns of target species both inside and outside of MPAs, as well as the status of the fishery and behavior of the fleet. We tested whether an increase in the lobster population inside two newly established MPAs influenced local catch, fishing effort, and catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) within the sustainable California spiny lobster fishery. We found greater build-up of lobsters within MPAs relative to unprotected areas, and greater increases in fishing effort and total lobster catch, but not CPUE, in fishing zones containing MPAs vs. those without MPAs. Our results show that a 35% reduction in fishing area resulting from MPA designation was compensated for by a 225% increase in total catch after 6-years, thus indicating at a local scale that the trade-off of fishing ground for no-fishing zones benefitted the fishery.

Highlights

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are widely recognized as effective conservation tools for protecting marine resources within their b orders[1,2], and are used with increasing frequency in marine spatial m anagement[3]
Goñi et al.[30] examined a heavily exploited lobster fishery in the Mediterranean Sea and found a net gain of 10% in total lobster weight caught after MPA implementation despite there being a decrease in the total number of individual lobsters caught
One of the largest responses was observed in the CA spiny lobster (Panulirus interruptus), which increased dramatically in both biomass and size within multiple MPAs after only five years (2003–2008) of p rotection[21], and exhibited spillover into adjacent fishing zones[36]

Summary

Introduction

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are widely recognized as effective conservation tools for protecting marine resources within their b orders[1,2], and are used with increasing frequency in marine spatial m anagement[3]. Patterns of density-driven spillover with potential benefits to fisheries have most often been observed for exploited species of mobile invertebrates, especially lobsters, in large part because they are intensively fished using stationary traps that can be placed at reserve borders[19,21]. Researchers studying a network of MPAs at the Channel Islands in southern CA documented significant positive effects of protection on a wide variety of fish and invertebrate species within and immediately outside of reserve b orders[34,35]. One of the largest responses was observed in the CA spiny lobster (Panulirus interruptus), which increased dramatically in both biomass and size within multiple MPAs after only five years (2003–2008) of p rotection[21], and exhibited spillover into adjacent fishing zones[36]. Whether the gain in lobster abundance in fishing zones adjacent to MPAs is sufficient to compensate for the reduction in fishable area created by the designation of MPAs has yet to be determined

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