Once the reserves are created, facilitators will work with local government to officially recognize the reserves. After paperwork is finalized, the reserves will need to be monitored and surveilled to avoid illegal fishing, users will need to gather ecological data over time to track progress, and the facilitators need to help implement other viable economic strategies and ensure their success. If feasible, reserves serving as a network should be implemented at relatively the same time to contribute to the success of the network.
In this first phase, facilitators of no-take marine reserves should aim to establish trusted relationships with the local communities and resources users that would likely be impacted from the implementation of a marine reserve. This entails the facilitator assessing the social, financial, and leadership structures to determine what the community needs to motivate creating a reserve. Concurrently, facilitators should gather any necessary baseline data to better populate tools that will help to create the reserve.
Decision Tree
Decision Tree
Other Marine Conservation Options
While many marine resource managers turn to implementing fish refuges for conservation and fisheries management, there are limits to the threats that fish refuges can adequately address. Many conservation and fishery management problems need other regulations and policies for effective protection, whether in parallel with fish refuges or as a better alternative to them.
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Examples of other fishery management control options as outlined by McDonald (2018) are mentioned below. To better grasp how to put these controls in place, what target limits to set, what they protect, and their effectiveness in meeting socioeconomic objectives please visit McDonald AFAM Toolkit Guidance document (2018):
Catch limit. Sets an upper limit on how many fish can be removed by a fishery over a certain period of time. This can be for an entire fishery or can be allocated as catch shares to individuals or groups of individuals (such as a fisher association).
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Bag/trip limit. Limits the number and/or weight of a species that an individual fisher or vessel can take in a single day.
Size limit. Sets minimum and/or maximum bounds on the size of the fish that can be legally caught.
Gear / Vessel Restrictions. Restricts the type, amount, or techniques allowed for a given type of fishing gear used by fishers in a particular fishery (including banning destructive fishing gear such as dynamite, cyanide, and fine mesh nets)
Deployment Limits. Places a cap on the number of gear each fisher can use (such as the number of hooks on a line or fixed traps).
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Sex specific controls. Protect reproductively important individuals by setting sex-specific regulations on fishing activity.
Seasonal Closures. The banning of fishing activity during certain seasons to protect vulnerable life history stages.
Protection of ecologically important species. Restrict fishing of specific species to protect key ecological functions.