TY - JOUR
T1 - Effects of gear restriction on the abundance of juvenile fishes along sandy beaches in Hawai'i
AU - Donovan, Mary K.
AU - Friedlander, Alan M.
AU - Usseglio, Paolo
AU - Goodell, Whitney
AU - Iglesias, Ily
AU - Schemmel, Eva M.
AU - Stamoulis, Kostantinos A.
AU - Filous, Alexander
AU - Giddens, Jonatha
AU - Kamikawa, Keith
AU - Koike, Haruko
AU - McCoy, Kaylyn
AU - Wall, Christopher B.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the Harold KL Castle Foundation, without whom this would have never been possible. Logistical support was provided by the Oceanic Institute, the University of Hawai‘i Foundation and Department of Biology. Many volunteers contributed to the data collection effort across 17 years, including those from Oceanic Institute and University of Hawai‘i. We thank the staff at the Oceanic Institute, including Peter Craig, Reiji Masuda, Robert Cantrell, Steve Arce, Scott Bloom, Tom Ogawa, Don Dela Pena, Rich Hall, Karl Keller and Dave Ziemann, plus all of the volunteers who were invaluable to surveys. We are grateful for the help of Patrick Curry in providing database and lositical support. We also thank the Hawai‘i Cooperative Fishery Research Unit for providing institutional resources from 2007–2013. Commerical landings data were provided by the State of Hawai‘i Division of Aquatic Resources. Thank you to H. Patterson, C. Haak, and one anonymous reviewer for comments that greatly improved the manuscript.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Donovan et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
PY - 2016/5/1
Y1 - 2016/5/1
N2 - In 2007, due to growing concerns of declines in nearshore fisheries in Hawai'i, a ban on gillnets was implemented in designated areas around the island of O'ahu in the main Hawaiian Islands. Utilizing a 17 year time-series of juvenile fish abundance beginning prior to the implementation of the gillnet ban, we examined the effects of the ban on the abundance of juveniles of soft-bottom associated fish species. Using a Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI) sampling design, we compared the abundance of targeted fishery species in a bay where gillnet fishing was banned (Kailua, O'ahu), and an adjacent bay where fishing is still permitted (Waimānalo, O'ahu). Our results show that when multiple juvenile fish species were combined, abundance declined over time in both locations, but the pattern varied for each of the four species groups examined. Bonefishes were the only species group with a significant BACI effect, with higher abundance in Kailua in the period after the gillnet ban. This study addressed a need for scientific assessment of a fisheries regulation that is rarely possible due to lack of quality data before enactment of such restrictions. Thus, we developed a baseline status of juveniles of an important fishery species, and found effects of a fishery management regulation in Hawai'i.
AB - In 2007, due to growing concerns of declines in nearshore fisheries in Hawai'i, a ban on gillnets was implemented in designated areas around the island of O'ahu in the main Hawaiian Islands. Utilizing a 17 year time-series of juvenile fish abundance beginning prior to the implementation of the gillnet ban, we examined the effects of the ban on the abundance of juveniles of soft-bottom associated fish species. Using a Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI) sampling design, we compared the abundance of targeted fishery species in a bay where gillnet fishing was banned (Kailua, O'ahu), and an adjacent bay where fishing is still permitted (Waimānalo, O'ahu). Our results show that when multiple juvenile fish species were combined, abundance declined over time in both locations, but the pattern varied for each of the four species groups examined. Bonefishes were the only species group with a significant BACI effect, with higher abundance in Kailua in the period after the gillnet ban. This study addressed a need for scientific assessment of a fisheries regulation that is rarely possible due to lack of quality data before enactment of such restrictions. Thus, we developed a baseline status of juveniles of an important fishery species, and found effects of a fishery management regulation in Hawai'i.
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U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0155221
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0155221
M3 - Article
C2 - 27171404
AN - SCOPUS:84969560123
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 11
JO - PloS one
JF - PloS one
IS - 5
M1 - e0155221
ER -