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Response of a southern rock lobster (Jasus edwardsii) population to three years of Marine Protected Area implementation within South Australia
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 January 2021
Abstract
The Western Kangaroo Island Marine Park (WKIMP) was declared as part of South Australia's representative system of Marine Protected Areas in 2009. Sanctuary Zone 3 (SZ-3) of the WKIMP is a no-take area protected from fishing since 1 October 2014 and is located within the Northern Zone Rock Lobster Fishery (NZRLF). In February 2017, a dedicated survey was undertaken to estimate the relative abundance (catch per unit effort (CPUE), kg/potlift) and size of southern rock lobster (Jasus edwardsii) inside and outside SZ-3. Survey results were then compared with historical estimates of abundance and size obtained from commercial fishery-dependent data. Survey estimates of relative abundance of legal-size lobsters were 4.4 times greater inside SZ-3 compared with outside in 2017. Since 2014, when fishing was last permitted inside SZ-3, the relative abundance of lobsters increased by 75%. The mean size of legal-size female and male lobsters also increased by 4.1% and 12.5%, respectively. The population responses recorded are consistent with the results recorded for southern rock lobster stocks in marine parks in other jurisdictions.
- Type
- Research Article
- Information
- Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 101 , Issue 1 , February 2021 , pp. 141 - 149
- Copyright
- Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
References
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