Reserve effect of a small North-East Atlantic marine protected area (Arrabida, Portugal) on soft-sediment fish species

• Published in: Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems
• Main Authors: Martínez Ramírez, Lucas, Priester, Carl Robert, Sousa, Inês, Erzini, Karim, Abecasis, David
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: WILEY 2021
• Subjects: BACI; Conservation assessment; Fish; Fisheries; Marine protected areas; Monitoring; Environmental Sciences & Ecology; Marine & Freshwater Biology; Water Resources; North East Atlantic
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/16995; https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.3577

The implementation of marine protected areas (MPAs) has been widely used as a tool to manage and conserve marine resources and services. Yet, to date, the reserve effect is still weakly evaluated, particularly for soft-sediment habitats. The Arrabida MPA, considered as a biodiversity hotspot, was fully established in 2009 on the west coast of Portugal and is characterized by large expanses of soft-sediment habitats. This MPA was established to protect biodiversity and to ensure the livelihood of the local small-scale fisheries community. Beyond before-after-control-impact (BACI) analyses were carried out on catch data (abundance and biomass) of 351 trammel net sets from experimental fishing campaigns (2007-2019) to study the reserve effect on demersal fish populations. The results show a declining trend in abundance inside and outside the protected area, with significant positive effects only found for undersize commercial species and Solea senegalensis, and a general increase in fish species total length. Despite the lack of any obvious reserve effect, the increase in fish length can be considered as a first sign. Anthropogenic pressures are generalized around the area, and transgressions of the restrictions are frequently observed inside the no-take zone. These can, among other aspects, delay or prevent the expected reserve effects. Therefore, enforcement and/or modification of the spatial plan must be incentivized to achieve the goals of the MPA. Fundacao para a Ciencia e a TecnologiaPortuguese Foundation for Science and TechnologyEuropean Commission [DL 57/2016/CP1361/CT0036, UID/Multi/04326/2020]; LIFE programme [LIFE06 NAT/P/000192]; POSEUR [POSEUR-03-2215-FC000047] info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion