Abstract

Around the world, the thriving fishing industry employs several million people and provides food for trillions. In Haiti, for example, the fishing sector is a socio-economic activity with an important place in the national economy. This is the case in the Caracol bay, where artisanal maritime fishing represents one of the key sectors of the local economy. However, a major phenomenon is likely to deteriorate the stocks of fishery resources: overfishing. Therefore, the objective of this research is to show to what extent overfishing has adverse bioecological effects on parrotfish and sea cucumbers, which are purifying species for the marine environment. Through a mixed (quantitative and qualitative) and transdisciplinary methodology including the assembly of a biometric database with The Nature Conservancy (TNC), in situ scuba diving observations with Reef Check Haiti, focus groups and semi- structured interviews with fishermen and other local actors, the harms of this uncontrolled fishing were observed and discussed in depth. According to the results of the biometric and social survey on the two species studied, overfishing is indeed a major socio-ecological threat for Caracol Bay, as it leads to: the capture of immature species, the reduction of the reproductive potential of the species, the decline of abundance, the use of illegal fishing gear, the degradation of the coral reef and the abusive exploitation of mangroves. This is also linked to the social and economic precariousness of fishermen who unknowingly threaten their means of survival.underestimate species densities compared to belt transect and species-specific roving surveys. We compared density estimates across reef fish species for all three survey types using data from the Florida Keys region to determine SVC performance and looked at these differences in relation to predictors such as habitat traits. survey traits. and species traits using linear mixed effects models. We additionally compared density and frequency of occurrence estimations across survey methods for all recorded species and SVC focal species and invasive lionfish individually. Variation was found in SVC performance compared to transect and roving surveys. with transect surveys recording higher densities across most species and roving surveys recording lower average densities and higher frequencies of occurrence for most. including two SVC focal species (red and black grouper) and lionfish. Several traits were significant predictors of density differences. including commonalities such as poorer SVC performance for cryptic species. Our results suggest variable SVC performance depending on the species and traits. and we caution managers to take species and habitat traits into account when designing accurate survey techniques.

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