Exploring trade-offs between fisheries and conservation of the vaquita porpoise (Phocoena sinus) using an Atlantis ecosystem model.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Minimizing fishery bycatch threats might involve trade-offs between maintaining viable populations and economic benefits. Understanding these trade-offs can help managers reconcile conflicting goals. An example is a set of bycatch reduction measures for the Critically Endangered vaquita porpoise (Phocoena sinus), in the Northern Gulf of California, Mexico. The vaquita is an endemic species threatened with extinction by artisanal net bycatch within its limited range; in this area fisheries are the chief source of economic productivity.

Methodology/principal findings

We analyze trade-offs between conservation of the vaquita and fisheries, using an end-to-end Atlantis ecosystem model for the Northern Gulf of California. Atlantis is a spatially-explicit model intended

SUBMITTER: Morzaria-Luna HN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3419746 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature