Fishing pressure impacts the abundance gradient of European lobsters across the borders of a newly established marine protected area.

ABSTRACT: Marine protected areas (MPAs) are considered viable fisheries management tools due to their potential benefits of adult spillover and recruitment subsidy to nearby fisheries. However, before-after control-impact studies that explore the biological and fishery effects of MPAs to surrounding fisheries are scarce. We present results from a fine-scale spatial gradient study conducted before and after the implementation of a 5 km² lobster MPA in southern Norway. A significant nonlinear response in lobster abundance, estimated as catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) from experimental fishing, was detected within 2 years of protection. After 4 years, CPUE values inside the MPA had increased by a magnitude of 2.6 compared to before-protection values. CPUE showed a significant nonlinear decline

SUBMITTER: Nillos Kleiven PJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6367164 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature