Daigle Rémi M, Monaco Cristián J, Elgin Ashley K
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3B2, Canada.
Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa.
F1000Res. 2015 Nov 9;4:1234. doi: 10.12688/f1000research.7312.2. eCollection 2015.
Around the world, governments are establishing Marine Protected Area (MPA) networks to meet their commitments to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. MPAs are often used in an effort to conserve biodiversity and manage fisheries stocks. However, their efficacy and effect on fisheries yields remain unclear. We conducted a case-study on the economic impact of different MPA network design strategies on the Atlantic cod ( ) fisheries in Canada. The open-source R package that we developed to analyze this case study can be customized to conduct similar analyses for other systems. We used a spatially-explicit individual-based model of population growth and dispersal coupled with a fisheries management and harvesting component. We found that MPA networks that both protect the target species' habitat and were spatially optimized to improve population connectivity had the highest net present value (i.e., were most profitable for the fishing industry). These higher profits were achieved primarily by reducing the distance travelled for fishing and reducing the probability of a moratorium event. These findings add to a growing body of knowledge demonstrating the importance of incorporating population connectivity in the MPA planning process, as well as the ability of this R package to explore ecological and economic consequences of alternative MPA network designs.
在全球范围内，各国政府正在建立海洋保护区（MPA）网络，以履行其对《联合国生物多样性公约》的承诺。海洋保护区常被用于保护生物多样性和管理渔业资源。然而，其有效性以及对渔业产量的影响仍不明确。我们针对不同海洋保护区网络设计策略对加拿大鳕鱼渔业的经济影响进行了一项案例研究。我们开发的用于分析此案例研究的开源R软件包可进行定制，以便对其他系统开展类似分析。我们使用了一个基于个体的空间明确模型，该模型结合了种群增长和扩散以及渔业管理与捕捞部分。我们发现，既保护目标物种栖息地又在空间上进行优化以改善种群连通性的海洋保护区网络具有最高的净现值（即对渔业最有利可图）。这些更高的利润主要通过减少捕鱼行程距离和降低禁渔事件发生的概率来实现。这些发现进一步丰富了日益增长的知识体系，证明了在海洋保护区规划过程中纳入种群连通性的重要性，以及该R软件包探索替代海洋保护区网络设计的生态和经济后果的能力。
