Browsing by Author "Costa, Bárbara Horta e"
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- Assessment of catches, landings and fishing effort as useful tools for MPA managementPublication . Batista, Marisa I.; Costa, Bárbara Horta e; Gonçalves, Leonel; Henriques, Miguel; Erzini, Karim; Caselle, Jennifer E.; Gonçalves, Emanuel João; Cabral, HenriqueMarine protected areas (MPAs) have been widely recognized as a tool to achieve both fisheries management and conservation goals. Simultaneously achieving these multiple goals is difficult due to conflicts between conservation (often long-term) and economic (often short-term) objectives. MPA implementation often includes additional control measures on fisheries (e.g. vessel size restrictions, gear exclusion, catch controls) that in the short-term may have impacts on local fishers’ communities. Thus, monitoring fisheries catches before, during and after MPA implementation is essential to document changes in fisheries activities and to evaluate the impact of MPAs in fishers’ communities. Remarkably, in contrast with standard fisheries-independent biological surveys, these data are rarely measured at appropriate spatial scales following MPA implementation. Here, the effects of MPA implementation on local fisheries are assessed in a temperate MPA (Arrábida Marine Park, Portugal), using fisheries monitoring methods combining spatial distribution of fishing effort, on-board observations and official landings statistics at scales appropriate to the Marine Park. Fisheries spatial distribution, fishing effort, on-board data collection and official landings registered for the same vessels over time were analysed between 2004 and 2010. The applicability and reliability of using landings statistics alone was tested (i.e. when no sampling data are available) and we conclude that landings data alone only allow the identification of general patterns. The combination of landings information (which is known to be unreliable in many coastal communities) with other methods, provides an effective tool to evaluate fisheries dynamics in response to MPA implementation. As resources for monitoring socio-ecological responses to MPAs are frequently scarce, the use of landings data calibrated with fisheries information (from vessels, gear distribution and on-board data) is a valuable tool applicable to many worldwide coastal small-scale fisheries.
- Fishers’ Behaviour in Response to the Implementation of a Marine Protected AreaPublication . Costa, Bárbara Horta e; Batista, Marisa I.; Gonçalves, Leonel; Erzini, Karim; Caselle, Jennifer E.; Cabral, Henrique; Gonçalves, Emanuel JoãoMarine Protected Areas (MPAs) have been widely proposed as a fisheries management tool in addition to their conservation purposes. Despite this, few studies have satisfactorily assessed the dynamics of fishers’ adaptations to the loss of fishing grounds. Here we used data from before, during and after the implementation of the management plan of a temperate Atlantic multiple-use MPA to examine the factors affecting the spatial and temporal distribution of different gears used by the artisanal fishing fleet. The position of vessels and gear types were obtained by visual surveys and related to spatial features of the marine park. A hotspot analysis was conducted to identify heavily utilized patches for each fishing gear and time period. The contribution of individual vessels to each significant cluster was assessed to better understand fishers’ choices. Different fisheries responded differently to the implementation of protection measures, with preferred habitats of target species driving much of the fishers’ choices. Within each fishery, individual fishers showed distinct strategies with some operating in a broader area whereas others kept preferred territories. Our findings are based on reliable methods that can easily be applied in coastal multipurpose MPAs to monitor and assess fisheries and fishers responses to different management rules and protection levels. This paper is the first in-depth empirical study where fishers’ choices from artisanal fisheries were analysed before, during and after the implementation of a MPA, thereby allowing a clearer understanding of the dynamics of local fisheries and providing significant lessons for marine conservation and management of coastal systems.
- Habitat associations and behavioural patterns of Symphodus spp. (Pisces: Labridae)Publication . Rodrigues, Diana Duarte; Costa, Bárbara Horta e; Cabral, Henrique; Gonçalves, Emanuel JoãoThe complexity and diversity of physical and biotic habitats are important features influencing the composition of shallow water reef fish assemblages, especially in temperate regions where abundant and diverse algal cover may have an important habitat-forming role. Coastal fish have adapted to these diverse habitats and to the temporal and spatial variations of algal assemblages in different ways. Wrasses are an important group of coastal rocky reef fish which present particular associations to algae in temperate systems. In this study, habitat associations were analysed in three species of wrasses: Symphodus bailloni, Symphodus melops and Symphodus roissali, and their behaviour was recorded. Eight main behavioural categories (comprising a total of 42 different behaviours) were identified: exploring, foraging, resting, agonistic interactions, cleaning, courtship, reproduction and nesting. S. melops occurred on shallower depths and was frequently involved in both intra- and interspecific agonistic interactions with the other wrasse species, although rarely with S. bailloni. S. roissali was associated with microhabitats of smaller size where it frequently hides. Feeding occurred mostly on bedrock habitat when compared to other microhabitats. Foraging and resting showed a marked seasonality in the three wrasses, related to shifts in biotic habitat structure and to changes in the behavioural repertoire during the breeding season.
- Ichthyofauna of the Selvagens Islands. Do small coastal areas show high species richness in the northeastern Atlantic?Publication . Almada, Frederico José Oliveira de; Abecasis, David; Villegas-Ríos, David; Henriques, Sofia; Pais, Miguel P.; Batista, Marisa I.; Costa, Bárbara Horta e; Martins, Joana; Tojeira, Inês; Rodrigues, Nuno Vasco; Araújo, Ricardo; Souto, Miguel; Alonso, Hany Rafael de Drummond Ludovice Garcia; Falcón, Jesús M.; Henriques, Filipe; Catry, Paulo; Cabral, Henrique; Biscoito, Manuel; Almada, Vítor CarvalhoThe Selvagens Islands are located in the northeastern Atlantic between the Canary Islands and Madeira Island. As a result of their small size, remote location and harsh sea conditions only a few studies have been conducted to describe their marine species diversity. We were able to identify 29 new coastal fish species, an increase of 33% in the ichthyofauna described for these islands (n = 88). There is a prevalence of species with tropical affinities and only 2.3% (n = 2) are endemic to Macaronesia. Considered a stepping-stone colonization vector from the nearest continental shore, as proposed by other authors for this region, the Selvagens Islands host 34.1% of the ichthyofauna described for the much larger Canary Islands (nspecies = 258, submerged area nSelvagensIs. = 2.3%) and 47.3% of the ichthyofauna described for the more distantly located Madeira Island (nspecies = 186, submerged area nSelvagensIs. = 17.9%). Interestingly, 6.8% (n = 6) of the species failed to bridge the gap between the Selvagens Islands and Madeira Island. Data collected so far showed no trend toward an increasing number of species with high dispersal capability. The Selvagens Islands are an example of a high coastal species diversity occurring even in very small areas of the northeastern Atlantic Ocean.
- Marine partially protected areas: drivers of ecological effectivenessPublication . Zupan, Mirta; Fragkopoulou, Eliza; Claudet, Joachim; Erzini, Karim; Costa, Bárbara Horta e; Gonçalves, Emanuel João
- A regulation-based classification system for marine protected areas (MPAs)Publication . Costa, Bárbara Horta e; Claudet, Joachim; Franco, Gustavo; Erzini, Karim; Caro, Anthony; Gonçalves, Emanuel JoãoMarine protected areas (MPAs) are a global conservation and management tool to enhance the resilience of linked social-ecological systems with the aim of conserving biodiversity and providing ecosystem services for sustainable use. However, MPAs implemented worldwide include a large variety of zoning and management schemes from single to multiple-zoning and from no-take to multiple-use areas. The current IUCN categorisation of MPAs is based on management objectives which many times have a significant mismatch to regulations causing a strong uncertainty when evaluating global MPAs effectiveness. A novel global classification system for MPAs based on regulations of uses as an alternative or complementing, the current IUCN system of categories is presented. Scores for uses weighted by their potential impact on biodiversity were built. Each zone within a MPA was scored and an MPA index integrates the zone scores. This system classifies MPAs as well as each MPA zone individually, is globally applicable and unambiguously discriminates the impacts of uses.
- A regulation-based classification system for marine protected areas: A response to Dudley et al. [9]Publication . Costa, Bárbara Horta e; Claudet, Joachim; Franco, Gustavo; Erzini, Karim; Caro, Anthony; Gonçalves, Emanuel JoãoDudley et al. [9] commented on our paper [11], arguing that the current IUCN objective-based categorization of protected areas, which is also used in marine protected areas (MPAs), should not be abandoned and replaced by the new regulation-based classification system [11]. Here we clarify that we do not advocate replacing the current IUCN categories, but highlight the benefits of using both the objective-based IUCN categories and the new regulation-based classification when applied to MPAs. With an increasing number of MPA types being implemented, most of them multiple-use areas zoned for various purposes, assessing ecological and socioeconomic benefits is key for advancing conservation targets and policy objectives. Although the IUCN categories can be used both in terrestrial and marine systems, they were not designed to follow a gradient of impacts and there is often a mismatch between stated objectives and implemented regulations. The new regulation-based classification system addresses these problems by linking impacts of activities in marine systems with MPA and zone classes in a simple and globally applicable way. Applying both the IUCN categories and the regulationbased classes will increase transparency when assessing marine conservation goals.
- Vessels’ site fidelity and spatio-temporal distribution of artisanalfisheries before the implementation of a temperate multiple-usemarine protected areaPublication . Costa, Bárbara Horta e; Gonçalves, Leonel; Gonçalves, Emanuel JoãoMarine protected areas (MPAs) are increasingly proposed as a fisheries management tool besides theirconservation purposes. When assessing the ecological, economic, and social-cultural impacts of protec-tion, the dynamics of fisheries and fishers reallocation within and around multiple-use MPAs should beanalyzed. Despite this, few studies incorporate the baseline information of fisheries distribution, there-fore compromising an understanding of fishers’ preferences, choices and constrains before losing fishinggrounds through the establishment of zoning and protection measures. To fulfil this gap, here we assessthe spatial and seasonal fishers’ preferences from local artisanal fisheries (nets, traps, jigs and longlines)before the implementation of a MPA management plan (the Arrábida Marine Park, Portugal). Zero inflatedmodelling, hotspot analysis, vessels distribution range and site fidelity statistics showed that the maindrivers of fishing effort allocation are the placement of preferred fishing grounds which are likely relatedto the distribution of target species and associated habitats. Proximity to port, weather conditions anddistance to coast are also important factors influencing, in different ways, these artisanal fisheries. Ourfindings highlight the complex dynamics of the distribution of artisanal fisheries operating multiple-gearsand targeting multiple-species and are likely transferable to many coastal multiple-use MPAs where nobaseline data exist. Moreover, the variety of responses and preferences found between gears and fish-ers before the establishment of zoning are important to understand the dynamics of local fisheries, tocontribute to an ecosystem-based management and to improve both conservation and fisheries manage-ment decisions. Our study is one of the few characterizing fisheries dynamics and fishers’ preferencesbefore protection measures are implemented providing important lessons to the management of coastalfisheries where artisanal fisheries prevail.