Marine protected areas and resilience to sedimentation in the Solomon Islands

Published source details Halpern B.S., Selkoe K.A., White C., ALBERT S., ASWANI S. & Lauer M. (2013) Marine protected areas and resilience to sedimentation in the Solomon Islands. Coral Reefs, 32, 61-69.
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This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

	Action	Category
	Designate a Marine Protected Area and prohibit some fishing and collection (including where restrictions are unspecified) Action Link

Designate a Marine Protected Area and prohibit some fishing and collection (including where restrictions are unspecified)

A replicated, paired, site comparison study in 2005–2010 in six coral reef sites in a lagoon and three on a barrier reef off New Georgia Island, the Solomon Islands (Halpern et al. 2013) found that in protected areas that prohibited some fishing and collection, coral cover in a lagoon was similar in the protected areas compared to adjacent fished areas, but lower than on a fished barrier reef. Live coral cover was similar in protected areas in a lagoon (26–27%) and adjacent fished locations (23–30%), but lower than in fished areas out on the barrier reef (70%). At the level of individual protected areas, the same trend was seen at two of three sites. At the third, coral cover was higher in 2005 in the protected than fished area (protected: 30%, fished: 19%) but lower in 2010 (protected: 39%, fished: 48%), but again, cover was highest on the fished barrier reef (65%). Three protected areas within a lagoon were selected, with protection in place for 6–10 years. Areas were managed by Resource Management Committees from local villages, which included chiefs and elders, church authorities, and women representatives. Three paired sites within the lagoon that were fished were selected, along with three fished sites on the barrier reef. Six transects (30 × 4 m) were sampled at each site, and coral cover was sampled with 1 m² quadrats. Lagoon sites were sampled in 2005 and 2010, and barrier reef sites in 2010 only.

(Summarised by: William Morgan)