Abstract
Marine protected areas (MPAs) are considered a useful tool for marine biodiversity and ecosystems conservation and management. Nevertheless, concern has arisen about the negative effects experienced on marine reserves with low levels of protection. In terms of fish conservation, small MPAs cannot provide effective protection for highly mobile species but can serve as reserve for low-mobility fishes. Therefore, these species could serve as indicators for small MPAs effectivity assessment. In this study, rapid surveys on fish assemblages were carried out in a small (1.8km long, 0.8km wide) no-take/no-entry zone of El Estrecho Natural Park (Alboran Sea, Spain) and a directly adjacent non-protected zone. Species of commercial interest and showing homing behaviour were used as indicators of reserve effect. Species with homing behaviour and of commercial interest could be good indicators of small coastal MPAs effectivity. Nevertheless, fish abundance and community structure did not vary in composition between protected and unprotected areas, which could suggest low to no protection for fish species in El Estrecho Natural Park. Additionally, insufficient resources for effective enforcement have been reported for this MPA. Therefore, management and effective surveillance of this marine protected area should be properly implemented to make protection effective in the studied area.
Highlights
The establishment of marine protected areas (MPAs) is a universal conservation tool and an ever-increasing trend [1,2]
Fish species with schooling behaviour tend to approach to divers and come up several times during samplings and they are not indicated for rapid assessment methods carried out by divers or snorkelers, which are commonly used on citizen science [21,22].The present study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a small Marine protected areas (MPAs) in terms of fish abundance
Because of its size, the no-take/no-entry zone of Tarifa Island in El Estrecho Natural Park may have little to nonpositive effects on the conservation of fish populations, even for those showing low mobility or homing behaviour [17,18, 29]
Summary
The establishment of marine protected areas (MPAs) is a universal conservation tool and an ever-increasing trend [1,2]. The main objectives when establishing an MPA are to obtain a series of benefits from areas in which extractive activities have been prohibited These benefits are known as the reserve effect [3]. One of those benefits is to increase fish biomass and stock inside the MPA and enhance the migration of the stock from protected zones to nearby areas [4,5]. When this occurs, the reserve effect generates a transition border between protected and unprotected areas in which fish abundance diminishes progressively [6]. This transition border can be used to monitor and evaluate MPA effectiveness, especially for big MPAs, where the reserve effect can be tested a larger scale [7]
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