PerspectiveShould we protect extirpated fish spawning aggregation sites?
Section snippets
Fish spawning aggregation sites
Certain places are critical for species to complete their life cycle. Many animals gather in specific places to breed, nest or rear their young, and return to these sites repeatedly for generations. Salmon return to their natal rivers for spawning (Ueda, 2013), turtles use the same beaches for nesting (Broderick et al., 2007) and some penguin species undertake long migrations to find the right place to breed and rear their young (Ancel et al., 2013). These sites are crucial to guarantee the
The value of fish spawning aggregation sites
FSA sites are critical both in an ecological and conservation context. Because many fishes depend on these sites to produce the next generation, FSA sites are crucial for the persistence of fish populations and have a disproportionately large ecological and conservation value (Erisman et al., 2017b).
Due to their spatial and temporal predictability and the high catch rates at spawning sites, transient FSAs (the focus of this article) are the target of both commercial and small-scale fishers, who
Managing FSAs
Effective management measures are urgently needed to protect exploited FSAs, halt their decline, and support fish populations (Erisman et al., 2017b; Johannes et al., 1999). FSAs can be managed using combinations of standard catch and effort controls and seasonal or spatial closures. The appropriate approach depends on intrinsic (biological) and extrinsic (fisheries and socio economic) factors of the specific species and its fishery (Grüss and Robinson, 2015; Sadovy de Mitcheson, 2016). Effort
Extirpated FSAs, a conservation dilemma
Given the limited budget available for conservation actions, the inclusion of extirpated FSA sites in spatial management plans represents a dilemma. Should these sites be included? Although recent FSA literature advocates for the protection of existing aggregation sites (Erisman et al., 2017b) and raised awareness of their alarming decline (Sadovy de Mitcheson et al., 2008), there is currently no guidance on how to proceed when these two issues meet.
While drafting a spatial management plan one
The case for protecting extirpated FSAs: predictable unique sites
Intrinsic environmental characteristics make FSA sites ideal locations to maximize reproductive success. Because of their predictability, such sites should be protected even if aggregations have ceased to form there. As the location of FSAs is temporally stable, with many spanning several decades and others nearly 100 years (Claro and Lindeman, 2003; Colin, 2012a; Craig, 1969), it is therefore likely that extirpated FSA sites will be “found again” or “reform” and become functional if
The case against investing limited resources to protect extirpated FSAs: critical thresholds and loss of recovery potential
Extirpated FSAs might never re-form. Species with characteristic social behavior such as group mating may be at increased risk of extirpation under heavy exploitation due to Allee effects and depensatory dynamics (Sadovy de Mitcheson and Erisman, 2012). Under low densities critical mass that triggers normal courtship rituals and spawning may not be reached (Carolsfeld et al., 1997; Sadovy de Mitcheson, 2016). For example, in the Caribbean, Nassau grouper has not been reported to spawn in
Evidence from field studies
Evidence of recovery of extirpated FSAs is scarce and it has never been summarized in the literature. Although a recent review indicates there is strong evidence of recovery of extirpated aggregations (Erisman et al., 2017b), most of the literature cited reported increases in abundances after protection, rather than recovery after extirpation has occurred, i.e., in Erisman's study, only three examples of recovery after true extirpation are presented (Beets and Friedlander, 1999; Burton et al.,
Discussion
The collected evidence suggests extirpated FSAs do have the potential to recover after spatial closures have been implemented, supporting the continued protection of these sites after extirpation, and their inclusion in future spatial management plans. Although recovery of extirpated sites was overwhelmingly related to the presence of strong management actions, not all protected aggregations exhibited recovery. Lack of recovery in protected FSAs could be associated with several factors,
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to people that contributed to this work providing key insight into some FSA sites and (sometimes obscure) references: Alejandro Acosta, Andres Alegría, Michael Burton, Don DeMaria, Ron Hill, Cristopher Koenig, Ken Lindeman, Brian Luckhurst, Deb Levinson, John Reed. SF was supported in part by the Summit Foundation, MARFund and the Walton Family Foundation. MAP was supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship.
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