Study

Marine Protected Area monitoring in the nearshore waters of Grenada, Eastern Caribbean: Benthic cover and fish populations

  • Published source details Anderson R., Morrall C., Jossart J., Nimrod S., Bolda E., Musser K., Berg C. & Balza R. (2014) Marine Protected Area monitoring in the nearshore waters of Grenada, Eastern Caribbean: Benthic cover and fish populations. Revista de Biología Tropical, 62, 273-286.

Actions

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

    A replicated, before-and-after, site comparison study in 2008–2012 at five coral reef sites off the southwest coast of Grenada (Anderson et al. 2014) found that in protected areas that prohibited some fishing and collection, hard coral cover was similar and soft coral cover higher than outside protected areas and neither changed following protection. Hard coral cover did not change following protection (after: 10–15%, before: 12–19%), and was similar to cover in the unprotected areas (after: 9–13% and before: 12–16%). Soft coral cover did not change following protection (after: 3%, before: 5%), but was higher in protected areas than in unprotected areas before protection in two of two cases (protected: 5%, unprotected: 1–2%) and higher after protection in one comparison (protected: 3%, unprotected: 1%) but similar in a second (protected: 3%, unprotected: 2%). Authors also reported cover by different coral forms (massive, branching and encrusting, see paper for details). Fishing restrictions were implemented at two sites in 2010. An additional three sites with no restrictions were selected. Annual surveys were carried out at all sites in 2008–2012. Four 30 m parallel transects were surveyed at each of the five sites, with substrate type recorded at 50 cm intervals. This was combined with photograph surveys along the transects to give two assessments of coral cover.

    (Summarised by: William Morgan)

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