TY - JOUR
T1 - Characteristics of effective marine protected areas in Hawaiʻi
AU - Friedlander, Alan M.
AU - Donovan, Mary K.
AU - Koike, Haruko
AU - Murakawa, Paul
AU - Goodell, Whitney
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was funded under subcontract from The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Coral Reef Conservation Program to the Hawai?i Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Aquatic Resources (#C30597). We thank the approximately 120 divers working for the various programmes and agencies that collected the data used in this study. Data sharing and collaboration among the various agencies (e.g. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA], Division of Aquatic Resources, University of Hawai?i) and programmes (e.g. The Nature Conservancy's marine programme, National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring Program) were recognized as key components in enabling the method calibration and ultimate publication. Michael Lameier from the NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands Regional Office and the Hawaii Coral Reef Working Group were big proponents of this project. The authors declare no conflict of interest related to this work.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
PY - 2019/10/1
Y1 - 2019/10/1
N2 - Ancient Hawaiians developed sophisticated natural resource management systems that included various forms of spatial management. The state of Hawaiʻi established its first legislated marine protected area (MPA) in 1953, and today there exists a patchwork of spatial marine management strategies along a range of sizes, with varying levels of governance, enforcement, and effectiveness. Approximately 12% of waters within the 50 m depth contour and 5% of waters within state jurisdiction (≤3 nmi) have some form of marine management. No-take areas make up <0.5% of nearshore waters, and combined with highly protected areas account for 3.4% of this habitat. Most of the existing MPAs are small, with a median area of 1.2 km2 (confidence interval 0.2–8.1). Twenty-five datasets, representing 1,031 individual surveys conducted throughout Hawaiʻi since 2000, were used to compare fish assemblage characteristics amongst a subset of MPAs using a regulation-based protection classification scheme. Fully and highly protected areas had significantly greater resource fish biomass than areas with intermediate or low protection did. High human population density adjacent to MPAs had a negative influence on fish trophic structure within MPAs, whereas remote MPAs harboured higher fish biomass. Complex and heterogeneous habitats were important contributors to MPA effectiveness. Long-term monitoring of select MPAs showed mixed and complex trajectories. Resource fish biomass increased after the establishment of the Hanauma Bay Marine Life Conservation District in 1967 but plateaued after ~15 years, followed by changes in assemblage structure from fish feeding and invasive species. The Pūpūkea Marine Life Conservation District, established in 1983, was expanded sevenfold in 2003 and showed dramatic increases in resource fish biomass following increased protection. This information is critical to improving effectiveness of existing MPAs, helping inform ongoing efforts to implement a network of MPAs statewide, and aiding in the development of comprehensive statewide marine spatial planning.
AB - Ancient Hawaiians developed sophisticated natural resource management systems that included various forms of spatial management. The state of Hawaiʻi established its first legislated marine protected area (MPA) in 1953, and today there exists a patchwork of spatial marine management strategies along a range of sizes, with varying levels of governance, enforcement, and effectiveness. Approximately 12% of waters within the 50 m depth contour and 5% of waters within state jurisdiction (≤3 nmi) have some form of marine management. No-take areas make up <0.5% of nearshore waters, and combined with highly protected areas account for 3.4% of this habitat. Most of the existing MPAs are small, with a median area of 1.2 km2 (confidence interval 0.2–8.1). Twenty-five datasets, representing 1,031 individual surveys conducted throughout Hawaiʻi since 2000, were used to compare fish assemblage characteristics amongst a subset of MPAs using a regulation-based protection classification scheme. Fully and highly protected areas had significantly greater resource fish biomass than areas with intermediate or low protection did. High human population density adjacent to MPAs had a negative influence on fish trophic structure within MPAs, whereas remote MPAs harboured higher fish biomass. Complex and heterogeneous habitats were important contributors to MPA effectiveness. Long-term monitoring of select MPAs showed mixed and complex trajectories. Resource fish biomass increased after the establishment of the Hanauma Bay Marine Life Conservation District in 1967 but plateaued after ~15 years, followed by changes in assemblage structure from fish feeding and invasive species. The Pūpūkea Marine Life Conservation District, established in 1983, was expanded sevenfold in 2003 and showed dramatic increases in resource fish biomass following increased protection. This information is critical to improving effectiveness of existing MPAs, helping inform ongoing efforts to implement a network of MPAs statewide, and aiding in the development of comprehensive statewide marine spatial planning.
KW - archipelago
KW - conservation evaluation
KW - fish
KW - fishing
KW - marine protected area
KW - reef
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U2 - 10.1002/aqc.3043
DO - 10.1002/aqc.3043
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85073685700
VL - 29
SP - 103
EP - 117
JO - Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems
JF - Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems
SN - 1052-7613
IS - S2
ER -