Abstract

Because of their life history ecosystem-based management of tropical marine fisheries is complex. Locating suitable marine and coastal habitats for fishes in the Caribbean involves complex judgments that are important for the design of effective Marine Protected Areas networks. This paper evaluates the use of an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management for a single species, that might be expanded for additional or multiple species. In order to determine the distribution of suitable habitat for juvenile Lutjanus analis in Belize, I developed a GIS-based habitat suitability model. The analysis used raster data within a weighted multi-criteria model using ArcGIS 9.2 and IDRISI Andes. Free-access GIS themes with associated metadata from Belize were collected online from the BERDS’ (Biodiversity and Environmental Resource Data System of Belize) Spatial Data Warehouse. Data were then organized and geoprocessed into the model’s raster inputs. Evaluated ecosystem parameters (i.e., raster inputs) included marine habitat type, swimming distance to spawning aggregation sites, distance to sediment sources, and fishing pressure gradient (derived from the 2005 overall catch and fishing effort reported by the Fisheries Department of the Belize Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries). The rudimentary model predicted and mapped the distribution of suitable habitat for mutton snapper along Belize’s coast. Most of these areas are not presently under conservation or management status. This type analysis might facilitate EBM decision making and thus may be useful for fisheries managers in Belize and elsewhere in the Gulf and Caribbean Region.

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