Human impact on Paracentrotus lividus: the result of harvest restrictions and accessibility of locations

Habitat traits and patterns of abundance of the purple sea urchin, Paracentrotus lividus (Lamarck, 1816), at multiple scales along the north Portuguese coast

“…between quadrats and between sites) as the most relevant for the variability of the distribution of almost all size classes of Paracentrotus lividus, though the distribution of the largest individuals varied considerably also between shores located some kilometers apart. The small-scale patchy distribution of present populations of sea urchins, particularly of relatively small individuals, agrees with previous studies which have demonstrated the main variability of the distribution of sea urchins at spatial scales from centimeters to meters rather than at larger scales (Hereu et al, 2004;Ceccherelli et al, 2009Ceccherelli et al, , 2011Addis et al, 2012;Bertocci et al, 2012b). Several biological and abiotic factors and processes, separately or possibly through complex interactions, can be responsible for such patterns, including competition (Guidetti et al, 2004), predation (Sala and Zabala, 1996;Hereu et al, 2005;Guidetti, 2006), recruitment (Tomas et al, 2004;Rius and Zabala, 2008) and topographic complexity (Benedetti-Cecchi and Cinelli, 1995;Barnes and Crook, 2001b;Hereu et al, 2005).…”

The science of European marine reserves: Status, efficacy, and future needs

“…Even worse, establishing 'paper parks' often creates social friction without producing any benefits; increasing the risk that public opinion may dismiss marine reserves and MPAs as effective tools. Numerous studies from European coastal waters indicate that without enforcement and social compliance, reserves fail to achieve their goals [91][92][93]. Indeed, it is becoming widely recognized that conservation of natural heritage, proper management of natural resources and eventual recovery after impact require proper surveillance and rules enforcement [94].…”

Lack of recreational fishing compliance may compromise effectiveness of Rockfish Conservation Areas in British Columbia

“…In reserves in the Indian Ocean, McClanahan et al (2009) found that zones with high enforcement showed significant trends in fish size and age, whereas zones with less enforcement and implied weaker compliance showed lower responses. In the Mediterranean, no-take zones that were accessible by car had a lower abundance of harvested sea urchins than inaccessible no-take zones (Ceccherelli et al 2011). The impacts of noncompliance may be much greater for long-lived species with low recruitment rates such as rockfishes (Bergseth et al 2015).…”