Managing mobile species with MPAs: the effects of mobility, larval dispersal, and fishing mortality on closure size

The use of closed areas (marine protected areas, marine reserves, no-take zones) has been suggested as a possible solution to the perceived global fisheries crisis. However, to optimize the design and evaluate the effectiveness of closed areas, we need to understand the interaction between larval dispersal, adult mobility, and fishing mortality. In this paper, a simple, spatially explicit dynamic population model was developed to examine the effects of these interacting factors on optimal closure size and resulting yields. The effect of using one large or several smaller closed areas was also examined. Our model confirmed previous results: closed areas do not improve the yield of populations that are optimally managed or underexploited and, as mobility increases, optimum closure size increases. The model also predicted some interesting counter-intuitive results; for overexploited stocks, the greatest benefit from closed areas can be obtained for stocks with highest mobility, although this may require closure of 85% of the total area. For the tested parameter settings, adult spillover had greater potential to improve yield than larval export, and using several small closed areas rather than a single larger one had the same effect as increasing the mobility of the population.