A habitat-based approach to predict impacts of marine protected areas on fishers

Although marine protected areas can simultaneously contribute to biodiversity conservation and fisheries management, the global network is biased toward particular ecosystem types because they have been established primarily in an ad hoc fashion. The optimization of tradeoffs between biodiversity benefits and socioeconomic values increases success of protected areas and minimizes enforcement costs in the long run, but it is often neglected in marine spatial planning (MSP). Although the acquisition of spatially explicit socioeconomic data is perceived as a costly or secondary step in MSP, it is critical to account for lost opportunities by people whose activities will be restricted, especially fishers. We developed an easily reproduced habitat-based approach to estimate the spatial distribution of opportunity cost to fishers in data-poor regions. We assumed the most accessible areas have higher economic and conservation values than less accessible areas and their designation as no-take zones represents a loss of fishing opportunities. We estimated potential distribution of fishing resources from bathymétrie ranges and benthic habitat distribution and the relative importance of the different resources for each port of total catches, revenues, and stakeholder perception. In our model, we combined different cost layers to produce a comprehensive cost layer so that we could evaluate of trade-offs. Our approach directly supports conservation planning, can be applied generally, and is expected to facilitate stakeholder input and community acceptance of conservation. Aunque las áreas marinas protegidas (AMPs) pueden contribuir simultáneamente a la conservación de la biodiversidady al manejo de las pesquerías, la red global está sesgada hacia tipos particulares de ecosistemas porque las AMPs se han establecido primordialmente de manera ad hoc. La optimización de las compensaciones entre los beneficios de la biodiversidad y los valores socio-económicos incrementa el éxito de las áreas protegidas y minimiza los costos de ejecución a la larga, pero frecuentemente se ignora durante la planeación espacial marina (MSP, en inglés). Aunque la obtención de datos socio-económicos espacialmente explícitos sepercibe como costosa o como un paso secundario en la MSP, es crítico considerar las oportunidade perdidas por las personas cuyas actividades serán restringidas, especialmente las pesquerías. Desarrollamos una estrategia de fácil reproducción con base en el habitat para est