Abstract

No-Take Marine Fishery Reserves (MFR) have been established worldwide to reduce the impact of overfishing in marine ecosystems and restore fishery stocks. In this study we evaluated the effectiveness of a MFR in Puerto Rico, in enhancing the local population of the commercially important red hind grouper. A mark-recapture study was conducted in six localities inside and outside the MFR to estimate red hind density, size structure, survival and growth rates, plus spillover. Benthic and fish communities were also characterized to separate the effects of reserve protection from habitat variability on the red hind population. 342 red hinds were captured, with a recapture rate of 21.9%. Density significantly differed among localities, however no effect of the reserve was found. Average sizes inside the MFR were significantly higher than outside. Survival and growth rates didn’t vary among localities or between management treatments. Even though the mark-recapture study didn’t show significantly higher survivorship inside the MFR, the differences in size structure between management treatments suggest that red hinds inside are surviving to larger sizes. ANOSIM analyses revealed significant differences in benthic community structure among sites, but not between management treatments. Among sites, the benthic variable relief was negatively correlated to red hind density; and dead coral cover correlated negatively to both density and survival. Red hinds were found in linear, patch reefs and hard grounds, however higher densities were found in hard ground habitats. For this reason, protecting from fishing the reef habitat in general should be more important for this grouper than protecting specific types of habitats. This study suggests that variations in red hind population parameters among sites are more related to habitat differences than to the effect of reserve protection. Management issues should be addressed to increase the potential of this MFR as a reliable fishery management tool

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