Abstract
The effectiveness of marine protected areas depends largely on whether people comply with the rules. We quantified temporal changes in benthic composition, reef fish biomass, and fishing effort among marine park zones (including no-take areas) to assess levels of compliance following the 2005 rezoning of the government-controlled Karimunjawa National Park (KNP), Indonesia. Four years after the rezoning awareness of fishing regulations was high amongst local fishers, ranging from 79.5±7.9 (SE) % for spatial restrictions to 97.7±1.2% for bans on the use of poisons. Despite this high awareness and strong compliance with gear restrictions, compliance with spatial restrictions was weak. In the four years following the rezoning reef fish biomass declined across all zones within KNP, with >50% reduction within the no-take Core and Protection Zones. These declines were primarily driven by decreases in the biomass of groups targeted by local fishers; planktivores, herbivores, piscivores, and invertivores. These declines in fish biomass were not driven by changes in habitat quality; coral cover increased in all zones, possibly as a result of a shift in fishing gears from those which can damage reefs (i.e., nets) to those which cause little direct damage (i.e., handlines and spears). Direct observations of fishing activities in 2009 revealed there was limited variation in fishing effort between zones in which fishing was allowed or prohibited. The apparent willingness of the KNP communities to comply with gear restrictions, but not spatial restrictions is difficult to explain and highlights the complexities of the social and economic dynamics that influence the ecological success of marine protected areas. Clearly the increased and high awareness of fishery restrictions following the rezoning is a positive step. The challenge now is to understand and foster the conditions that may facilitate compliance with spatial restrictions within KNP and marine parks worldwide.
Highlights
Throughout much of the tropics, the continued provision of goods and services from marine habitats is threatened by escalating human population densities, habitat degradation, destructive fishing methods, and increased market access and mobility of fishing fleets (e.g., [1,2,3,4,5,6])
This, coupled with human population growth, limited employment opportunities, dwindling land area and quality for agriculture, and the open access to fisheries has led to increased dependence on coastal marine resources This increased dependence on coastal marine resources is being compounded by a range of global and local stressors that are threatening the productivity of these systems (e.g., [16,17,18,19])
In 1989 the zoning for allowable use of marine resources in Karimunjawa National Park (KNP) was legislated by the Park Authority with negligible stakeholder input, and included no-take Core and Protection Zones where all forms of fishing were prohibited, and Buffer and Utilisation Zones in which traditional fishing activities were permitted (Figure 1b)
Summary
Throughout much of the tropics, the continued provision of goods and services from marine habitats is threatened by escalating human population densities, habitat degradation, destructive fishing methods, and increased market access and mobility of fishing fleets (e.g., [1,2,3,4,5,6]). This, coupled with human population growth, limited employment opportunities, dwindling land area and quality for agriculture, and the open access to fisheries has led to increased dependence on coastal marine resources This increased dependence on coastal marine resources is being compounded by a range of global (e.g., climate change) and local stressors (e.g., pollution, destructive fishing practices, coastal development) that are threatening the productivity of these systems (e.g., [16,17,18,19]) Given these threats, improved management is necessary to ensure the sustainability of Indonesia’s marine resources and into the future
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