Researchers Find Marine Reserves Can Increase Fishery Landings Despite Closing Fishing Grounds
Housing and Development Newsletter They also found that annual lobster landings more than doubled in the fishing block with the two MPAs during the six years after their establishment despite the 35% reduction in fishing area in that block. In contrast, the annual catch in blocks without MPAs remained relatively unchanged over that timespan. “This study is one of the first to quantify and document that the establishment of marine reserve actually enhanced catch despite reducing the area that fishermen could actually fish,” said Reed. Records indicate that a roughly 225% increase in catch ...