Fishery managers aim to maintain or improve the health of the fish stocks that fishing communities rely on, but they are doing so in an unstable and uncertain environment. Sustained economic health for fishing communities depends on sustained biological health, which in turn requires rational harvest rates and healthy ecosystems. However, there is a question as to whether traditional management efforts have adequately protected our many of our ground fish populations and habitats.
Marine reserves provide an alternative means of controlling fishing mortality. For example, the Council has recommended marine reserve areas to protect cowcod off southern California. In this case, marine reserves were used to eliminate ground fish harvests in areas with high cowcod bycatch rates. (Collins,1990)
Marine reserves can also be a valuable management tool when the status of a fish stock is uncertain. The best available scientific knowledge about stock status may also be highly uncertain and prone to significant changes as we learn more. Also, stock assessments have been done for only about 22 of the 82 ground fish species managed by the Council, so marine reserves may offer some protection for unassisted sedentary species (those that do not move around much relative to the size of the reserve), which are not well-understood.
As a harvest management tool, marine reserves can be particularly helpful for sedentary species that produce dramatically more offspring as they get older. Traditional fisheries often remove these larger, more productive fish. More mobile species may benefit if marine reserves can be used to preserve habitat from damage by fishing gear and other human activities, or to preserve ecosystems that are vital to fish survival.
Marine reserves can also have educational and research value. To successfully manage these resources, managers need better knowledge of the biology, habits, and behaviors of fish stocks and.....
