Fish populations thrive near marine protected areas—and so do fishers HEAD TOPICS
Fish populations thrive near marine protected areas—and so do fishers
10/21/2022 5:09:00 PM Carefully-placed no-fishing zones can help to restore tunas and other large iconic fish species
Source Popular Science
Carefully-placed no-fishing zones can help to restore tunas and other large iconic fish species Carefully-placed no-fishing zones can help to restore tunas and other large iconic fish species finds that carefully placed no-fishing zones like Papahānaumokuākea can help restore tuna and other large fish species. “We show for the first time that a no-fishing zone can lead to the recovery and spillover of a migratory species like bigeye tuna,” says co-author John Lynham, a professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s College of Social Sciences, in a press release.The team used data collected from fishing boats and found that the catch rate of yellowfin tuna increased by 54 percent in the fishable waters close to the Papahānaumokuākea protected area since 2010. Additionally, the catch rates for bigeye tuna increased by 12 percent and it was 8 percent for all fish species combined in the years since the MPA was expanded. Read more:
Popular Science » Tuna catch rates soared after creation of no-fishing zone in Hawaii The world's biggest marine reserve seems to be doing its job Texas Importer Sues Government Over Shipment of Protected Fish Near Antarctica Why Did 11 Billion Alaskan Snow Crabs Suddenly Disappear? A Scientist Explains the Mystery. Sterling rallies Nov rate-hike bets scaled back as Liz Truss quits as PM
Sterling rallied on Thursday and investors reined in their bets on a big Bank of England interest rate hike in November as UK Prime Minister Liz Truss announced her resignation just six weeks after she was appointed. Read more >> Tuna catch rates soared after creation of no-fishing zone in HawaiiEnormous size of protected area and its shape could be helping populations to rebound. The world's biggest marine reserve seems to be doing its jobThe number of fish caught just outside a recently expanded marine protected area in Hawai’i has risen, a sign that quadrupling the size of the reserve in 2016 may have bolstered fish populations in the region Texas Importer Sues Government Over Shipment of Protected Fish Near AntarcticaThe importer said the U.S. International Trade Court’s decision to bar importation of Chilean sea bass was arbitrary, illegal, and would cause significant economic harm to its business Why Did 11 Billion Alaskan Snow Crabs Suddenly Disappear? A Scientist Explains the Mystery.Experts are still trying to understand the catastrophic population collapse that has shut down a crucial fishing industry—but they have some theories. Wolf known for genetic value found dead in New MexicoEnvironmentalists are pushing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to do more to protect Mexican gray wolves after one of the endangered predators was found dead in southwestern New Mexico. Science finds that carefully placed no-fishing zones like Papahānaumokuākea can help restore tuna and other large fish species.3 ., strongly suggests the number of fish caught just outside the MPA is higher now than it used to be, based on data collected between early 2010 and late 2019.Texas Schools Send Parents DNA Kits to Identify Their Kids' Bodies in Emergencies Argentina, which claims sovereignty over South Georgia island, has put forward a proposal to blacklist as illegal any vessels authorized by the U. “We show for the first time that a no-fishing zone can lead to the recovery and spillover of a migratory species like bigeye tuna,” says co-author John Lynham, a professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s College of Social Sciences, in a press release . The team used data collected from fishing boats and found that the catch rate of yellowfin tuna increased by 54 percent in the fishable waters close to the Papahānaumokuākea protected area since 2010. The researchers looked at one of the largest such areas in the world, the 1. Additionally, the catch rates for bigeye tuna increased by 12 percent and it was 8 percent for all fish species combined in the years since the MPA was expanded. That is great news as it suggests a robust approach we can use to evaluate and improve protected areas elsewhere. The spillover benefits to fish catches from Hawaii’s Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. The team focused on the Hawaiian ‘deep-set’ longline fishery, which mainly targets yellowfin tuna ( Thunnus albacares Thunnus obesus ). CREDIT: Sarah Medoff, John Lynham, and Jennifer Raynor.S. Both the size of the no-fishing zone (about four times the size of California) and apparent homing behaviors of some tuna species possibly played a role in these positive effects. Then, they compared catch rates at various distances up to 600 nautical miles (1,111 kilometres) from the protected area, before and after its expansion in 2016. To account for effort, catch numbers were divided by the ever-increasing number of fishing hooks in the area. The Hawaiian islands appear to be a nursery for baby yellowfin tuna and many of the fish stay in the region, according to study co-author Jennifer Raynor, a professor in the Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. [Related: A tuna robot reveals the art of gliding gracefully through water.) They found that after the expansion, catch rates — defined as the number of fish caught for every 1,000 hooks deployed — went up, and that the increases were greater the closer the boats were to the no-fishing zone. ] Additionally, the positive results seen in this study aren’t necessarily an isolated global incident.” Hawai’i-based boats account for about two-thirds of regional fishing. “This study echoes , showing large and persistent fishery benefits for highly migratory species,” Boris Worm from the Department of Biology at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia says in an email to Popular Science . Some other types of catch rate also increased, but not by equally significant margins. Southern Cross said in its lawsuit that that the Antarctic commission's rules don't bar fishing for Patagonia toothfish, as sea bass is also known. “It builds a strong case for large-scale marine protected areas not just as biodiversity conservation, but as fishery rebuilding tools. Responsible fishing and conservation do not oppose each other – they are two sides of the same sustainability strategy. It spans about 2,000 kilometres from west to east, protecting large swathes of ocean waters at tropical latitudes. For every 10,000 hooks in the water, the team calculated for the period between 2010 and 2019, fishers were catching on average six more yellowfin and five more bigeye tuna per year after the expansion than before.” Worm was not involved in the study. These big fish are also big business. What’s more, says Raynor, Papahānaumokuākea is a spawning ground for yellowfin tuna. Fortune Business Insights estimates that the global tuna fish market . Photograph by Andrew Gray, NOAA Please be respectful of copyright.S.