The National Marine Sanctuary Program Successful Trends in the Ecological Reserves in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Billy D. Causey, Ph.D. Southeast Regional Director Office of National Marine Sanctuaries San Juan, Puerto Rico November 3, 2009 US Coral Reef Task Force Steering Committee Meeting
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The National Marine Sanctuary Program - Coral ReefThe National Marine Sanctuary Program. Successful Trends in the Ecological Reserves in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
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The National Marine Sanctuary ProgramSuccessful Trends in the Ecological Reserves in the
Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
Billy D. Causey, Ph.D.Southeast Regional Director
Office of National Marine SanctuariesSan Juan, Puerto Rico
November 3, 2009
US Coral Reef Task ForceSteering Committee Meeting
Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
• 2900 nm2 / 9800 km2
• Jurisdiction to mean high tide• Surrounds Florida Keys• Co-trustee Management with
State of Florida• 60% State Waters• 40% Federal Waters• 1600 Keys / 1800 miles of shoreline
Threats to Coral Reefs
• Climate Change
• Land-based Sources of Pollution
• Habitat Loss and Destruction
• Overfishing
Threats to Coral Reefs
OverfishingCan be Managed
AtLocal Levels
An “average day”of fishing in theFlorida Keys inthe 1930s-1950s.
What the Florida Keys reef fishery used to be?
Ault et al, 2008
Commercial Fishing
Commercial lobster vessel cited for possession of egg bearing and undersize spiny lobster
Recreational Fishing
Southeast Florida Regional Reef Fish Landings Composition
Reef Fish Landings68% Recreational5% Headboat27% Commercial100% Total
0
50000
100000
150000
200000
250000
1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
Year
Regist
ered
Ves
sels
Recreational
Commercial
0
1,000,000
2,000,000
3,000,000
4,000,000
5,000,000
6,000,000
1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Year
S. F
L Po
pulation
Size
02000000400000060000008000000
10000000120000001400000016000000
1830 1860 1890 1920 1950 1980 2010
Year
Popu
lation
Size
Florida South Florida
South Florida Fishing Fleet
Florida’s Human Population Growth Dynamics
Dade, Broward, Palm Beach,Monroe, Collier,
Ault et al. 2005. Bulletin of Marine Science
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
BlackConeyGagGoliathGraysbyN
assauRedRed H
indRock H
indScam
pSpeckled H
indYellowedgeYellowfinYellowm
outhBlackBlackfinCuberaD
ogGrayH
ogfishLaneM
uttonRedSchoolm
asterSilkVerm
illionYellowtailM
argateBluestripedCottonwickFrenchSailorsTom
tateW
hite
Exploited Coral Reef Fishes
% S
pawn
ing
Pote
ntia
l Rat
io
Ault, J.S,, Bohnsack, J.A., and G.A. Meester. 1998. Fishery Bulletin 96:395-414(Best Publication Award in Fishery Bulletin & NOAA Certificate of Achievement 2002)
Ault, J.S., Smith, S.G., and J.A. Bohnsack. 2005. ICES Joournal of Marine Science 62:417-423
Current Management Benchmarks: FL Keys Multispecies Reef Fish Community
7 Separate Jurisdictions• South Atlantic FMC• Gulf of Mexico FMC• Highly Migratory FM• Nat’l Park Service• Nat’l Marine Sanctuary• State of Florida – FWC• State – Gov & Cabinet
Dry Tortugas NPMarch 200842² nm RNA
Fishery Reserves for Spiny Lobsters:
Are they Effective?
Carrollyn CoxFlorida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission
• Significant changes have occurred in the reef fish community following the establishment of the TNER
• Increase in abundance of large fishes• A general decline in abundance of small fishes was evident • These opposing trends suggest that mortality rates of prey species increased
due to the observed increases in predator abundance • These observed trends provide strong correlative evidence of a reserve effect and
suggest that the TNER has achieved an important initial objective • To reverse the decline of commercially exploited fish stocks around the Tortugas