Abstract

For years, the idea of a Marine Protected Area or Fish Sanctuary for Discovery Bay, Jamaica, has been suggested. Through collaboration of the University of West Indies’ Fisheries Improvement Programme (FIP), the Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory, the Alloa Discovery Bay Fishermen’s Association (DBFA), and Kaiser Jamaica Bauxite Company, plans for the Discovery Bay Fishery Reserve (DBFR) are finally nearing implementation.\The organizations and institutions working towards the establishment of DBFR all recognize the need to protect the fishery resources in Discovery Bay. Fish catches have dwindled, some species have disappeared, and the fish caught are small and often immature; therefore, it is likely that local sources of recruitment have deteriorated and the fishery cannot recover unless fishing pressure on at least part of the bredding stocks is relieved.\Current assessment of fish abundance suggests that overfishing has led to small populations of primarily juvenile individuals. The data indicate that parrotfishes are the most abundant commercially valuable fish group in the area of the proposed DBFR, and this is confirmed by catch data obtained by FIP from fishers. Large grazing fish are rare, and damselfishes are the dominant species on the reefs in Discovery Bay.\The Discovery Bay Fishery Reserve is unique in its organization, management and monitoring plans: fish catches have been recorded since 1990, baseline data on tish abundance has been collected in 1992 and 1995, permanent monitoring sites have been established, and funding has been secured for future monitoring of fish abundance and catches in Discovery Bay. Furthermore, local community support for the establishment of the DBFR has been consolidated by the Alloa DBFA, which has been instrumental in its planning. Monitoring of fish abundance and catches in the Reserve will allow for assessment of its effectiveness as a coservation and a fisheries management strategy.

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