Evidence for protection of targeted reef fish on the largest marine reserve in the Caribbean

Abstract

Marine reserves can restore fish abundance and diversity in areas impacted by overfishing, but the effectiveness of reserves in developing countries where resources for enforcement are limited, have seldom been evaluated. Here we assess whether the establishment in 1996 of the largest marine reserve in the Caribbean, Gardens of the Queen in Cuba, has had a positive effect on the abundance of commercially valuable reef fish species in relation to neighboring unprotected areas. We surveyed 25 sites, including two reef habitats (reef crest and reef slope), inside and outside the marine reserve, on five different months, and over a one-and-a-half year period. Densities of the ten most frequent, highly targeted, and relatively large fish species showed a significant variability across the archipelago for both reef habitats that depended on the month of survey. These ten species showed a tendency towards higher abundance inside the reserve in both reef habitats for most months during the study. Average fish densities pooled by protection level, however, showed that five out of these ten species were at least two-fold significantly higher inside than outside the reserve at one or both reef habitats. Supporting evidence from previously published studies in the area indicates that habitat complexity and major benthic communities were similar inside and outside the reserve, while fishing pressure appeared to be homogeneous across the archipelago before reserve establishment. Although poaching may occur within the reserve, especially at the boundaries, effective protection from fishing was the most plausible explanation for the patterns observed.

Reboot Gitmo for U.S.-Cuba research diplomacy

“…More than an "accidental Eden" (8), Cuba has extensive protected areas, a constitution with strong environmental provisions, and an aggressive stance on climate change, putting it at the center of Caribbean conservation efforts. It has established the largest marine park in the Caribbean, the Jardines de la Reina (Gardens of the Queen), with abundant sharks and groupers (9).…”

Biophysical connectivity of snapper spawning aggregations and marine protected area management alternatives in Cuba

“…This site is used by mutton, lane, grey, dog and cubera snapper within the western margin of the Jardines de la Reina (Figure ), and has been in the PNJDR boundaries since 2012. There is evidence of enforcement success for some reef fishes in the eastern park (Pina‐Amargós et al., ). Relative isolation and high within‐region retention (Kough et al., ; Paris et al., ) may underlie the relative stability of regional catches (Claro & Valle, ).…”

“…There is evidence of effective fishery protection in areas of the large Parque Nacional Jardines de la Reina (PNJDR; Pina-Amargós, González-Sansón, Martín-Blanco, & Valdivia, 2014). Puritz (2017) examined management effectiveness between PNJDR and PN Punta Frances (PNPF) concluding that potentially higher performance at JDR was primarily due to contributions of ecotourism to park management.…”

Impact of Herbivory, Structural Complexity, and Sediment on Caribbean Coral Reefs

“…The Cuban mainland is the largest island in the Caribbean and exhibits significant variation of coastal geomorphology (e.g., wide and shallow shelf with patch reefs to narrow shelf with a series of terrace reefs) bordered by coral reefs with varying levels of human impact , Pina-Amargos et al 2013. The less impacted reefs are typically fully protected and distant from major cities (e.g., Gardens of the Queen)…”

“…whereas others, such as the reefs in northwestern Cuba near Havana, are heavily impacted by anthropogenic activities (Gonzalez-Diaz et al 2003, Gonzalez-Sanson et al 2009, Pina-Amargos et al 2013). Yet temporal analyses of the trajectory of Cuban coral reefs are surprisingly rare (but see ).…”