The Southwest Marine Fisheries Center is proposing that a marine reserve be set

Question

The Southwest Marine Fisheries Center is proposing that a marine reserve be set aside to serve as a refuge for several species including lobsters (benthic species) and rockfish (demersal species). Absolutely no fishing will be allowed in these areas. It is expected that fish/invertebrates in these areas will provide larvae/juveniles for surrounding areas as well, thus maintaining population sizes outside the refuge. How would you determine which areas should be designated as a refuge? What physical and biological aspects would need to be examined? For example, how would prevailing currents impact your choice? How many refuges (and how large) would be desirable and how would they be related to each other? How would you design your refuge system to withstand potential climate changes? For instance, how might El Niño or ocean warming due to climate change affect survival in your refuge and what might the impacts be to fisheries?

Explanation / Answer

Refuge area determination is based upon several factors. several criterion like the biological social economic and pragmatic criterion have to be identified before designating the area of refuge. For a given species the size shape, location of the habitat or species protected and the distance from other refuges have to be considered. A number of common approaches can be taken to design refuge networks including identifying and protecting areas rich in biological diversity and identifying areas that are unique or important habitats. Fisheries scientists may take a different approach that considers population models, habitat preferences, and survey data to locate and design refuges.most guidelines for selecting individual refuge sites have been general to date, knowledge gained from studies on rockfish and lingcod in Puget Sound and in nearby areas provides an opportunity to identify specific needs and criteria for selecting refuges for rocky habitat species.

As far as the physical and biological aspects that are to be considered before refuge selection include physical factors like the rock strata, wave pattern and wave exposure , surface temperature play important role.While te biological factors include the availability of food competition, predation have significant say in the devlopment of the refuge.

El Niño events are associated with physical and biological changes in our oceans that affect fish distribution.  changes in sea-surface temperatures, changes in the vertical, thermal structure of the ocean (particularly in coastal regions), and altered coastal and upwelling currents. These changes can directly affect the species composition and abundance of fishes. Mny  rockfish species move from nearshore areas to deeper or more northerly and cooler waters. Several life history characteristics of Pacific rockfish require that they be managed more conservatively than most marine fishes.Uncertainty associated with actual harvest levels, spawning biomass, and annual recruitment must be buffered with conservation measures such as reduced fishing mortality, long-term species-specific monitoring, habitat protection,

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