Use of a counterfactual approach to evaluate the effect of area closures on fishing location in a tropical tuna fishery.

ABSTRACT: Spatial closures are widely used in marine conservation and fisheries management and it is important to understand their contribution to achieving management objectives. Many previous evaluations of closed area effects have used before-after comparisons, which, without controlling for a full range of factors, cannot ascribe changes in fleet behaviour to area closures per se. In this study we used a counterfactual approach to disentangle the effect of two closed areas on fishing location from other competing effects on the behaviour of the Indian Ocean tuna purse seine fishery. Our results revealed an inconsistent effect of the one of the closed areas between years, after taking into account the influence of environmental conditions on fleet behaviour. This suggests that the policy of closi

SUBMITTER: Davies TK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5371335 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature