The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP) is the largest network of marine reserves in the world, yet little is known of the efficacy of no-fishing zones in the relatively lightly-exploited remote parts of the system (i.e., northern regions). Here, we find that the detection of reserve effects is challenging and that heterogeneity in benthic habitat composition, specifically branching coral cover, is one of the strongest driving forces of fish assemblages. As expected, the biomass of targeted fish species was generally greater (up to 5-fold) in no-take zones than in fished zones, but we found no differences between the two forms of no-take zone: ‘no-take’ versus ‘no-entry’. Strong effects of zoning were detected in the remote Far-North inshore reefs and more central outer reefs, but surprisingly fishing effects were absent in the less remote southern locations. Moreover, the biomass of highly targeted species was nearly 2-fold greater in fished areas of the Far-North than in any reserve (no-take or no-entry) further south. Despite high spatial variability in fish biomass, our results suggest that fishing pressure is greater in southern areas and that poaching within reserves may be common. Our results also suggest that fishers ‘fish the line’ as stock sizes in exploited areas decreased near larger no-take zones. Interestingly, an analysis of zoning effects on small, non-targeted fishes appeared to suggest a top-down effect from mesopredators, but was instead explained by variability in benthic composition. Thus, we demonstrate the importance of including appropriate covariates when testing for evidence of trophic cascades and reserve successes or failures.

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The study investigated the perceptions of fishers on the relationships between catch, fish sizes and the attitudes of fishers towards marine protected areas (MPA) along the coasts of coasts of selected municipalities of Batanagas Province in the Philippines, their benefits, their benefits to fisheries, and the attitudes of local fishers towards MPAs. Data and information from a select group of 209 fisher respondents from the selected MPAs that represented young MPAs (0-5 years since establishment), moderate (10-15 years since establishment) and old MPAs (more than 20 years since establishment). young, moderate and old MPAs. The catches and fish sizes reportedly dropped after MPA establishment at locations with young, moderate and old MPAs. Nevertheless, attitudes of fishers towards MPAs were positive especially at locations with long-established MPAs. Tourism-based livelihoods accounted for the positive attitude of fishers towards MPAs at the young and old MPA sites where tourism was better developed. At least 65% of the respondents from the young MPA and 35% of the respondents from the old MPA sites were engaged in tourism-related activities.

Establishing the effectiveness of habitat features to act as surrogate measures of diversity and abundance of juvenile reef fish provides information that is critical to coral reef management. When accurately set on a broader spatial context, microhabitat information becomes more meaningful and its management application becomes more explicit. The goal of the study is to identify coral reef areas potentially important to juvenile fishes in Ngederrak Reef, Republic of Palau, across different spatial scales. To achieve this, the study requires the accomplishment of the following tasks: (1) structurally differentiate the general microhabitat types using acoustics; (2) quantify microhabitat association with juvenile reef fish community structure; and (3) conduct spatial analysis of the reef-wide data and locate areas optimal for juvenile reef fish settlement. The results strongly suggest the importance of branching structures in determining species count and abundance of juvenile reef fish at the outer reef slope of Ngederrak Reef. In the acoustic map, the accurate delineation of these features allowed us to identify reef areas with the highest potential to harbor a rich aggregation of juvenile reef fish. Using a developed spatial analysis tool that ranks pixel groups based on user-defined parameters, the reef area near the Western channel of Ngederrak is predicted to have the most robust aggregation of juvenile reef fish. The results have important implications not only in management, but also in modeling the impacts of habitat loss on reef fish community. At least for Ngederrak Reef, the results advanced the utility of acoustic systems in predicting spatial distribution of juvenile fish.