The protection effects of marine protected areas on exploited molluscs from an oceanic archipelago

Abstract

Abstract Limpets are one of the most successful intertidal algal grazers in the north‐eastern Atlantic. They provide valuable ecosystem services, playing a pivotal role in maintaining rocky shore ecological balance and have an important economic value, being subject to high levels of exploitation in several oceanic archipelagos. Limpets represent one of the most profitable economic activities of small‐scale fisheries in the Madeira archipelago. However, limpets are extremely vulnerable to anthropogenic impacts, such as overharvesting, habitat fragmentation, and pollution. The protection effects and the effectiveness of marine protected areas (MPAs) on the population dynamics of two historically highly exploited limpet species, Patella aspera and Patella candei, were analysed through a comparative study of size, reproduction, and biomass in the Madeira archipelago. The effects of protection from MPAs on limpet populations resulted in a differential increase on size at first maturity, shell size, and capture per unit effort according to the degree of protection. Old and enforced MPAs showed the best‐preserved limpet populations in the study area, and both variables (age and enforcement) best explained the observed variability among the MPAs studied. A thorough and multidisciplinary study is necessary to obtain a reliable picture of commercial stocks of the two targeted species (P. aspera and P. candei). Genetic analysis and studies on the food source of limpets may shed light to develop integrative conservation strategies.