the national marine sanctuary program - coral reefthe national marine sanctuary program. successful...

The National Marine Sanctuary ProgramSuccessful Trends in the Ecological Reserves in the

Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary

Billy D. Causey, Ph.D.Southeast Regional Director

Office of National Marine SanctuariesSan Juan, Puerto Rico

November 3, 2009

US Coral Reef Task ForceSteering Committee Meeting


• 2900 nm2 / 9800 km2

• Jurisdiction to mean high tide• Surrounds Florida Keys• Co-trustee Management with

State of Florida• 60% State Waters• 40% Federal Waters• 1600 Keys / 1800 miles of shoreline

Threats to Coral Reefs

• Climate Change

• Land-based Sources of Pollution

• Habitat Loss and Destruction

• Overfishing

Threats to Coral Reefs

OverfishingCan be Managed

AtLocal Levels

An “average day”of fishing in theFlorida Keys inthe 1930s-1950s.

What the Florida Keys reef fishery used to be?

Ault et al, 2008

Commercial Fishing

Commercial lobster vessel cited for possession of egg bearing and undersize spiny lobster

Recreational Fishing

Southeast Florida Regional Reef Fish Landings Composition

Reef Fish Landings68% Recreational5% Headboat27% Commercial100% Total

0

50000

100000

150000

200000

250000

1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

Year

Regist

ered

Ves

sels

Recreational

Commercial

0

1,000,000

2,000,000

3,000,000

4,000,000

5,000,000

6,000,000

1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Year

S. F

L Po

pulation

Size

02000000400000060000008000000

10000000120000001400000016000000

1830 1860 1890 1920 1950 1980 2010

Year

Popu

lation

Size

Florida South Florida

South Florida Fishing Fleet

Florida’s Human Population Growth Dynamics

Dade, Broward, Palm Beach,Monroe, Collier,

Ault et al. 2005. Bulletin of Marine Science

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

BlackConeyGagGoliathGraysbyN

assauRedRed H

indRock H

indScam

pSpeckled H

indYellowedgeYellowfinYellowm

outhBlackBlackfinCuberaD

ogGrayH

ogfishLaneM

uttonRedSchoolm

asterSilkVerm

illionYellowtailM

argateBluestripedCottonwickFrenchSailorsTom

tateW

hite

Exploited Coral Reef Fishes

% S

pawn

ing

Pote

ntia

l Rat

io

Ault, J.S,, Bohnsack, J.A., and G.A. Meester. 1998. Fishery Bulletin 96:395-414(Best Publication Award in Fishery Bulletin & NOAA Certificate of Achievement 2002)

Ault, J.S., Smith, S.G., and J.A. Bohnsack. 2005. ICES Joournal of Marine Science 62:417-423

Current Management Benchmarks: FL Keys Multispecies Reef Fish Community

GROUPERS SNAPPERS GRUNTS

Overfishing (30% SPR)


Marine Zones• Sanctuary Preservation Areas• Special-Use Areas• Ecological Reserves• Wildlife Management Areas• Existing Management Areas

FKNMS Marine Zoning Plan

• 18 Sanctuary Preservation Areas• 4 Research-Only Areas• 2 Ecological Reserves

(1997 and 2001)

• 27 Wildlife Management Areas• 19 Existing Management Areas

TakeNo

Zones

Ecological Reserves• 2 Areas - 9 snm and 151 snm

• Areas of high habitat and species diversity

• Representative Keys marine ecosystem

• Generally good water quality

• Encompass large enough areas to include a range of habitats

• Provide natural spawning, nursery, andpermanent residence areas for thereplenishment and genetic protection ofmarine life

• Protect and preserve all habitats andspecies particularly those not protected byfishery management regulations.

Ecological ReservesWestern Sambo Ecological Reserve - 9 snm

Tortugas Ecological ReserveImplemented

July 1, 2001518 sq k

151 sq mi

7 Separate Jurisdictions• South Atlantic FMC• Gulf of Mexico FMC• Highly Migratory FM• Nat’l Park Service• Nat’l Marine Sanctuary• State of Florida – FWC• State – Gov & Cabinet

Dry Tortugas NPMarch 200842² nm RNA

Fishery Reserves for Spiny Lobsters:

Are they Effective?

Carrollyn CoxFlorida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission

Fish & Wildlife Research Institute

Western Sambo Ecological Reserve

0 5 10 15 20 Kilometers

N

EW

S

Key West

Hawk ChannelHawk Channel

Reef tract

Reef tract

Western SamboEcological Reserve

9 ² nautical mile32 ² km

Abundance of legal-sized Lobsters

Reserve

Fishery


20052004

20032002

20012000

19991998

1997

Abun

danc

e (n

lobs

ters

/hr +

/-SE

) 70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Cox & Hunt 05

Size-Frequency of Male Spiny Lobsters

Reserve Fishery

Freq

uenc

y

2550

75100

125

25 50 75 100 125


10

20

30

50

40

‘97’99

‘01‘97

’99‘01

‘05‘03 ‘03

‘05

Cox & Hunt 05

Black Grouper, Exploited, Protected and Fished

-0.05

0.00

0.05

0.10

0.15

0.20

0.25

0.30

0.35

1996 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Mea

n D

ensi

ty

1994 -1997

**

** *

*

**

***

* *

Fishery Regulations minimum length: 1985 - 18”, Feb 1990 - 20”,Dec 1998-24”, Jan 1 2001 – 22”; 1986 - 5/fisher/day

(Ault & Bohnsack 2008)

Yellowtail Snapper, Exploited, Protected and Fished

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Mea

n D

ensi

ty

* **

*

1994 -1997

Fishery Regulations: 1985 - 12” Minimum length, 1986 – max 10/day

(Ault & Bohnsack 2008)

Reef Fisheries, Coral Reef Ecosystems & Hurricanes?

2004

2005

Tortugas Ecological Reserve

Schooling permit in Tortugas Bank Ecological Reserve, June 2004.

Building Sustainable Fisheries in Florida’s Coral Reef Ecosystem:Positive Signs in the Dry Tortugas

Jerald S. Ault

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Dep_grid-3 - 0

-6 - -3.01

-9 - -6.01

-12 - -9.01

-15 - -12.01

-18 - -15.01

-21 - -18.01

-24 - -21.01

-27 - -24.01

-30 - -27.01

-33 - -30.01

-36 - -33.01

-39 - -36.01

-50 - 39.01

-1418 - -50.01

No Data

DryTortugas

Tortugas BankFished Dry Tortugas

National Park

Tortugas Bank NTMRBaseline RVC Surveys: 1999 and 2000

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Black Grouper 20000#S

0.001 - 0.75#S

0.75 - 1.5#S

1.5 - 3#S

3 - 5.25#S5.25 - 7.5#S

DryTortugas

Black Grouper 2000

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1.5 - 3#S3 - 5.25#S5.25 - 7.5#S

DryTortugas

Black Grouper 2004

Bank Fished Bank MPA National Park Total Domain Signif.Black Grouper + 84% + 120% + 128% + 124% ***Red Grouper - 43% + 38% - 9% - 2% nsHogfish - 27% + 6% + 50% - 19% nsMutton Snapper - 45% + 303% + 142% + 109% ***Yellowtail Snapper - 19% + 367% + 132% + 181% *Gray Snapper - 96% - 51% + 270% + 39% nsWhite Grunt + 7% + 24% + 2% + 4% nsBluestriped Grunt + 50% + 13% + 242% + 159% nsSpotted Goatfish + 133% + 326% + 175% + 198% ***Redband Parrotfish + 121% + 26% + 26% + 56% nsFoureye Butterfly + 86% - 18% + 32% + 13% nsPurple Reeffish + 31% + 42% + 263% + 76% ***

Percentage Population Size Change in 2004 relative to 1999-2000 Baseline Estimates

(Ault, et al, 2004)

Fished Area

Tortugas Ecological Reserve Tortugas Ecological Reserve

Dry Tortugas National Park Dry Tortugas National Park

Response of Tortugas Reserves to Protection

Exploited PhasePre-exploited

Phase

Fork Length (cm)

Fished Area

Pre-Implementation: 1999-2000 2008 RVC Survey

25.0%

36.2%

8.0%

18.8%

64.0%

37.3%

Rel

ativ

e Fr

eque

ncy

2007-2008 Annual ReportMeasuring impacts of the Tortugas North Ecological

Reserve: A comparative analysis of differing levels of protection on coral reef and adjacent ecosystems of the Tortugas Banks,

FL Principal Investigators:John Selden Burke, [email protected] Shay Viehman, [email protected] A. Piniak, [email protected] J. Christopher Taylor, [email protected]

• Significant changes have occurred in the reef fish community following the establishment of the TNER

• Increase in abundance of large fishes• A general decline in abundance of small fishes was evident • These opposing trends suggest that mortality rates of prey species increased

due to the observed increases in predator abundance • These observed trends provide strong correlative evidence of a reserve effect and

suggest that the TNER has achieved an important initial objective • To reverse the decline of commercially exploited fish stocks around the Tortugas

Findings:

Currents – Dispersal HighwaysFLORIDA

Everglades Nat'l Park

Cape Sable

Bisc

ayne

Bay

Marquesas KeysDry Tortugas

Key West

Florida Bay

Pourtales Terrace

Florida Current

Yucatan

Cuba

Bahamas

Florida

Loop Current

Florida Current

Gulf Stream

Gulf of Mexico Regional Circulation

(Lee and Williams - Univ of Miami)

Current Meters

Bathymetry


Marine Zones• Sanctuary Preservation Areas• Special-Use Areas• Ecological Reserves• Wildlife Management Areas• Existing Management Areas

South Carysfort Reef – February 13, 2009

Photo: Bill Precht - FKNMS

Questions?

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