MPAs A Lifeline For Fisheries, Spring 2006

MPAs – a lifeline
for fisheries?
The UK has an important sea fishing industry with one of the One reason for the lack of marine
reserves is that fishers are naturally
largest fishing fleets and fish processing industries in Europe. wary of new restrictions over their
fishing activity, fearing that they will
But reducing stocks, due in part to over-fishing have put
make a difficult occupation ever
pressures on the industry’s very sustainability. Could Marine harder. This was one reason that led to
the rejection of a proposal in 2005 to
Protected Areas (MPAs) have the answer? Professor Callum phase in a new marine reserve zone in
Roberts puts the case forward. the Skomer Marine Nature Reserve off
the Welsh Coast. Despite the
reassuring name, marine life remains
largely unprotected there.
M
arine reserves are areas common, and species that had been
that are protected from all but lost can return. Such gains Sometimes the struggle to establish
all fishing and other indicate two things: first that the marine reserves is seen as a battle
extractive or harmful depletion of marine life by fishing is between conservationists (fish
human uses. They provide refuges for severe and pervasive; and second that huggers) and exploiters (fish gutters).
marine wildlife from the near it can be reversed. But exploiters and conservationists
ubiquitous reach of fishing hooks, have many common goals that are
nets, trawls and dredges that supply At present, relatively few marine often missed in the heated exchanges
our ever-growing appetite for seafood. reserves have been established in between them. Both want more
In places where long-established, well- Europe and they are scattered and productive seas with bigger
managed reserves have been studied, small in size. Britain has only a single populations of fish. Both would like a
this protection has been shown to marine reserve zone covering just better future in which fish stocks
yield astonishing increases in the 3.3km2 adjacent to the Island of remain productive and can be relied
quantity and diversity of life present. Lundy, one of only three Marine upon to sustain livelihoods.
With sustained management effort, Nature Reserves in the country. This
the aggregate weight of commercial amounts to just 1/230,000th part of For many years, fishery managers have
fish in reserves can rise by five, 10 or national waters, a staggeringly small tried to deliver such security for the
even 20-fold in as many years of fraction in comparison to the area we fishing industry by limiting how
protection. Rare species become more protect in terrestrial nature reserves. much fish can be landed and how
Fishing trawler Mackerel
10 The edge Spring 2006

they can be caught. In Europe, as in tunicates and myriad other species. mature fish that the prospect is bleak.
many other parts of the world, lack of The complex biological web they Marine reserves provide refuges for
political will and inherent limitations weave is home and refuge for many large, old fish and help maintain the
of this approach weaken regulations to commercially-important species like reproductive capacity of stocks at
the point of impotence. The result has cod, halibut, ling and rockfish. Only levels high enough to with-
been a spiral of decline in catches, permanent trawling bans or marine stand environmental crises without
contraction of the industry and the reserves will reduce the frequency of collapsing.
collapse of fishing communities. trawl impact sufficiently for these
Fishery management, as currently delicate communities to establish Marine reserves are not the only reform
practised, suffers from serious flaws. and persist. Reserves offer the needed to breathe new life into the
On the whole, it tries to deal with advantage that they provide benefits oceans and the fishing industry. Other
species as if they were independent of to the wider community of animals, measures must be taken, such as
one another, has scant regard for the not just those at risk from trawls. abolishing the process of quota setting
habitats species depend on, and by political competitive bargaining,
operates at or beyond the margins of Increasing resilience of and reducing excess fishing capacity.
safety. Adopting marine reserves as an populations to But I believe they are an essential part
integral part of management, I argue, environmental fluctuations of the management package if fisheries
can offer a lifeline to fisheries that no Marine reserves also increase the are to have a future. Without them, the
reform of the Common Fisheries resilience of exploited populations to best we can hope for is to slow the rate
Policy, or decommissioning exercise, environmental fluctuations. Long- of decline. To reverse decades of
can achieve on its own. term weather cycles, like the North mismanagement, however, we need
Atlantic Oscillation or El Niño, drive more than a few Lundy reserves.
Marine reserves can provide critical populations up and down over Scientists estimate that marine reserve
elements missing from fisheries decadal timescales. Animals living in networks that protect 20-30% of the sea
management, increasing the health of the sea, including species we exploit, will maximise benefits to fisheries and
our seas and the sustainability of have adapted to such fluctuations by provide adequate refuges for the full
fisheries. evolving long lifespans during which spectrum of marine life. Britain and
animals reproduce at regular Europe have a long way to go before
Protecting habitats intervals. The presence of large, old their marine life and fishing industries
First and foremost, they protect fish enables populations to persist are secure.
habitats. Many fishing methods harm through periods when conditions for
habitats as they remove fish. Bottom offspring survival are poor. When For further information on the subject
trawling and dredging are the worst conditions improve, populations can covered in this article, see C.M. Roberts,
offenders. Trawls now thunder over bounce back as these fish reproduce J.P. Hawkins and F.R. Gell. 2005. ‘The
the seabed on heavy steel or rubber successfully once more. But modern role of marine reserves in achieving
rollers that allow them to roll over or fishing practices erode resilience by sustainable fisheries’. Phil. Trans. Royal
mow down obstructions and penetrate removing large, old fish. The cod Soc. B. 360: 123-132. Available from the
areas of rugged ground that were once stock in the North Sea, for example, author.
inaccessible. Places that are frequently once had 10 or 20 reproductively-
trawled support few animals that live active year classes but has been Professor Callum M. Roberts is a marine
above the surface. They are far reduced to one or two by intensive conservation biologist at the University of
different from regions that have never fishing. There are no large old fish York: Environment Department, University
been trawled, which bristle with left today, and hopes for recovery are of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK.
corals, sea anemones, sea-fans, vested in such a small number of Email: [email protected]
Sea anenome Cuttlefish
The edge Spring 2006 11

MPAs A Lifeline For Fisheries, Spring 2006

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

MPAs A Lifeline For Fisheries, Spring 2006

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

MPAs A Lifeline For Fisheries, Spring 2006

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

MPAs – a lifeline

Fishing trawler Mackerel

10 The edge Spring 2006

Sea anenome Cuttlefish

The edge Spring 2006 11

You might also like