Abstract

Transboundary conservation is defined by the IUCN as “a process of cooperation to achieve conservation goals across one or more international boundaries”, involving regular communication, information sharing, prior consultation and joint planning and implementation of management decisions. Monitoring and evaluation is critical to the success of any such effort, and must be customised to reflect the specific needs of the collaborative arrangement (Vasilijevic, et al. 2015). The Grenadines Network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) is a network of MPA managers from the neighbouring small island developing states of Grenada and St. Vincent. Their objectives are to improve site level and transboundary management of MPAs and marine spaces through collaborative capacity building and implementation of best practices. At their annual meeting in June 2014, the Grenadines Network of Marine Protected Areas set short-term goals to train at least one staff member from each of the six participating MPAs in coral reef monitoring, and to establish one long-term coral reef monitoring site in each of the MPAs in the coming year (2014 - 2015). The Network selected the Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment (AGRRA) protocol for reef ecosystem monitoring. Small grants under a U.S. National Fish and Wildlife Foundation project were used to sponsor an AGRRA coral reef monitoring training workshop and the first Grenadines-wide field work expedition by and for members of the Grenadines Network of Marine Protected Areas. We will present findings about the condition of coral reefs across two countries and six biologically-connected MPAs and highlight lessons learned for MPA management in this and other locations in the Caribbean. All except for one site exhibited high coral cover and low fleshy macro algal cover relative to the Caribbean regional averages reported by AGRRA. Several MPAs have the potential to tip the balance back towards coral dominated reefs if herbivores are brought back (e.g. by protecting parrot and other fish). Fish biomass, particularly of commercially important species such as groupers and snappers, was found to be significantly lower in the Grenadines MPAs than Caribbean regional averages, indicating strategic directions for education and outreach, enforcement and ongoing monitoring.

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