Evaluating Management Scenarios for Fished Resources of the New Caledonian Lagoon Using a Spatially-Explicit Model

摘要

In the New Caledonian lagoon, fish populations live in a highly-fragmented habitat and seascape, and many are exploited by commercial, recreational and subsistence fishers. Although fishing has been increasing over decades, fisheries sustainability has not been assessed. We used the ISIS-Fish tool to build a spatially-explicit dynamic model for two major fish resources: spangled emperor and coral trout. The model was constructed and parameterized from many existing data habitat, fish populations, and fishing pressures. After calibration, it was used to simulate the outcomes of several management scenarios including MPA, size limitation, and increase in commercial fisher number. Results showed that depending on the species, an MPA could result in a significant resource increase within its boundaries. Size limitation highly reduced line fishing catches, but its benefits depended on the survival rate of released fish. Increasing the number of commercial fishers significantly affected spangled emperor but not coral trout.