Effects of fisheries closures and gear restrictions on fishing income in a Kenyan coral reef

Published source details McClanahan T.R. (2010) Effects of fisheries closures and gear restrictions on fishing income in a Kenyan coral reef. Conservation Biology, 24, 1519-1528.
Share Tweet Email

Actions

This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

	Action	Category
	Cease or prohibit mobile fishing gears that catch bottom (demersal) species and are dragged across the seafloor Action Link

Cease or prohibit mobile fishing gears that catch bottom (demersal) species and are dragged across the seafloor

A replicated, before-and-after, site comparison study in 1996–2007 of three coral reef areas in the Indian Ocean, off Kenya (McClanahan 2010) found that landing sites in two management areas (with and without areas closed to all fishing) where beach and all other seine nets had been prohibited for three to six years, had higher average fish lengths of two of five groups, increased overall fish catch rates and varied catch rates of individual fish groups compared to an unrestricted fishing area. Overall, average length was higher in management areas where seine nets were eliminated than in an openly fished site for goatfish Mullidae (managed: 19 cm, open: 13 cm) and parrotfish Scaridae (managed: 18–19 cm, open:14 cm), and no differences were found for the other three groupings of rabbitfish Siganidae, scavengers Lethrinidae, Lutjanidae, Haemulidae and ‘rest of catch’ (managed: 16–19 cm, open: 14–17 cm) (see paper for separate group averages). In the period after beach seines were eliminated (2002–2007), total catch rates increased from 3.0–3.2 to 3.7–3.8 kg/fisher/day in managed areas and averaged 2.0 kg/fisher/day in the open site. In addition, differences in catch composition were found between areas and catch rates differed for four of the five groups with time and management regime (see original paper for data). Fish data was collected between two and 10 days/month at 10 fish landing sites representing three different management regimes: one intensively managed area (small-mesh beach seine nets prohibited in 2001, next to a 6 km² no-fishing protected area); one moderately managed area (most seine nets prohibited in 2001, and all seine nets in 2004, >30 km from an area closed to fishing); and one with no restrictions on gear (seine nets the dominant gear but also hand lines, spear guns gillnets, traps and fence nets used, 1–10 km from an area closed to fishing). Fish were categorized by the five groups used locally to price and sell the fish. Data for the two managed areas were collected 1996–2007 and for the open area data was collected in 2001–2007.

(Summarised by: Khatija Alliji)