Recovery of functional groups and trophic relationships in tropical fisheries closures

Published source details McClanahan T.R. (2014) Recovery of functional groups and trophic relationships in tropical fisheries closures. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 497, 13-23.
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This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

	Action	Category
	Designate a Marine Protected Area and prohibit all types of fishing and collection Action Link

Designate a Marine Protected Area and prohibit all types of fishing and collection

A replicated, site comparison study in 1987–2010 at eight coral reef sites along the coast of Kenya (McClanahan 2014) found that in protected areas that prohibited all types of fishing and collection, hard and soft coral cover was not higher compared to unprotected areas and did not increase with time since protection. For hard and soft corals, cover was not higher in protected areas (hard: 9–50%, soft: 0–7%) compared to fished areas (hard: 9–22%, soft: 1–9%). For hard corals there was no trend with time since protection. For soft corals, cover was 0–7% after 35–40 years of closure and 1–9% when open to fishing, with authors suggesting some evidence for a decline with time since closure. Five areas were selected that excluded all fishing and collection: four were protected areas and one was a community enforced closure. Three areas open to fishing were also selected. The five sites closed to fishing had closure dates of 1968, 1972, 1973, 1991 and 2005. Areas were surveyed 18 times at 1–3-year intervals in 1987–2010, with 1–4 sampling sites selected/area, and 9–12 transects (10 m long) surveyed at each site. Coral cover was compared across different sites in terms of the numbers of years since closure (with zero years = open to fishing).

(Summarised by: William Morgan)