Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Reef Fish Spawning Aggregations: Biology, Research and Management pp 371–404Cite as

Management of Spawning Aggregations

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Part of the book series: Fish & Fisheries Series ((FIFI,volume 35))

Abstract

This chapter examines the needs and tools for managing reef fish spawning aggregations. We present a global overview of the management of aggregations, and explore management options. We evaluate conventional fishery management and marine protected area options in relation to aggregation conservation, and examine examples of management successes and failures. Most management to date has been reactive, and there remains an overwhelming need for proactive management of aggregations. Long-term monitoring, appropriate fishery policy and extensive fisher and community consultation and outreach are key elements in instituting effective and adaptive management of spawning aggregations.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • Aguilar-Perera A (2004) Detection of fishing effects on a Nassau grouper spawning aggregation from southern Quintana Roo, Mexico. Proc Gulf Caribb Fish Inst 55:543–556

    Google Scholar 

  • Beets J, Friedlander A (1998) Evaluation of a conservation strategy: a spawning aggregation closure for red hind, Epinephelus guttatus, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Environ Biol Fish 55:91–98

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belize Fisheries Regulations (2009) Statutory instrument – Nassau grouper and species ­protection, 2 p

    Google Scholar 

  • BREEF (2002) Nassau grouper and queen conch in the Bahamas – status and management options, report by MacAlister Elliott and partners

    Google Scholar 

  • Burton ML, Brennan KJ, Munoz RC, Parker RO Jr (2005) Preliminary evidence of increased spawning aggregations of mutton snapper (Lutjanus analis) at Riley’s hump two years after the establishment of the Tortugas South Ecological Reserve. Fish Bull 103:404–406

    Google Scholar 

  • Bush PG, Lane ED, Ebanks-Petrie G, Luke K, Johnson B, McCoy C, Bothwell J, Parsons E (2006) The Nassau grouper spawning aggregation fishery of the Cayman Islands – an historical and management perspective. Proc Gulf Caribb Fish Inst 57:515–524

    Google Scholar 

  • Caribbean Fishery Management Council (CFMC) (2009) Quick reference to the fishing regulations history in the US Caribbean (prepared by Graciela García-Moliner)

    Google Scholar 

  • Claro R, Lindeman KC (2003) Spawning aggregation sites of snapper and grouper species (Lutjanidae and Serranidae) on the insular shelf of Cuba. Gulf Caribb Res 14:91–106

    Google Scholar 

  • Claro R, Baisre JA, Lindeman KC, García-Arteaga JP (2001) Cuban fisheries: historical trends and current status. In: Claro R, Lindeman KC, Parenti LR (eds) Ecology of the marine fishes of Cuba. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Claro R, Sadovy YS, Lindeman KC, García-Cagide A (2009) Historical analysis of commercial Cuban fishing effort and the effects of management interventions on important reef fishes from 1960–2005. Fish Res 99:7–16

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cowie-Haskell BD, Delaney JM (2003) Integrating science into the design of the tortugas ecological reserve. Mar Technol Soc J 37(1):68–79

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Day J, Fernandes L, Jago B (2005) Planning for the future of the Great Barrier Reef. Qld Plan 45(3):12–14

    Google Scholar 

  • Eklund AM, McClellan DB, Harper DE (2000) Black grouper aggregations in relation to protected areas within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Bull Mar Sci 66:721–728

    Google Scholar 

  • Eristhee N, Kadison E, Murray PA, Llewlyn A (2006) Preliminary investigations into the red hind fishery in the British Virgin Islands. Proc Gulf Caribb Fish Inst 57:373–384

    Google Scholar 

  • FAO (Fisheries and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations) (1995) Code of conduct for responsible fisheries. FAO, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • Gibson J, Pott RF, Paz G, Majil I, Requena N (2007) Experiences of the Belize spawning aggregation working group. Proc Gulf Caribb Fish Inst 59:455–462

    Google Scholar 

  • Gillett R, Moy W (2006) Spearfishing in the Pacific Islands: current status and management issues, vol 19, FAO/FishCode review. FAO, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • Graham RT, Carcamo R, Rhodes KL, Roberts CM, Requena N (2008) Historical and contemporary evidence of a mutton snapper (Lutjanus analis Cuvier 1828) spawning aggregation fishery in decline. Coral Reefs 27:311–319

    Google Scholar 

  • Graham RT, Castellanos DW (2005) Courtship and spawning behaviours of carangid species in Belize. Fish Bull 103:426–432

    Google Scholar 

  • Heyman WD, Kjerfve B (2008) Characterization of transient multi-species reef fish spawning aggregations at Gladden Spit, Belize. Bull Mar Sci 83:531–551

    Google Scholar 

  • Heyman WD, Graham RT, Kjerfve B, Johannes RE (2001) Whale sharks Rhincodon typus aggregate to feed on fish spawn in Belize. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 215:275–282

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heyman WD, Kjerfve B, Graham RT, Rhodes KL, Garbutt L (2005) Spawning aggregations of Lutjanus cyanopterus (Cuvier) on the Belize Barrier Reef over a 6 year period. J Fish Biol 67:83–101

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heyman WD, Carr LM, Lobel PS (2010) Diver ecotourism and disturbance to reef fish spawning aggregations: it is better to be disturbed than to be dead. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 419:201–210

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hilborn R (2005) Faith-based fisheries. Fish 31(11):554–555

    Google Scholar 

  • Hornell J (1927) Report on the fisheries and fish resources of the Seychelles Islands. H.M.S.O, London, 76 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Johannes RE (1978) Traditional marine conservation methods in Oceania and their demise. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 9:349–364

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johannes RE (1982) Traditional conservation methods and protected marine areas in Oceania. Ambio 11:258–261

    Google Scholar 

  • Johannes RE (1998) The case for data-less marine resource management: examples from tropical nearshore finfisheries. Trends Ecol Evol 13:243–246

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kadison E, Nemeth RS, Herzlieb S, Blondeau J (2007) Temporal and spatial dynamics of Lutjanus cyanopterus (Pisces: Lutjanidae) and L. jocu spawning aggregations in the United States Virgin Islands. Rev Biol Trop 54(Suppl 3):69–78

    Google Scholar 

  • Koenig CC, Coleman FC, Grimes CB, Fitzhugh GR, Scanlon KM, Gledhill CT, Grace M (2000) Protection of fish spawning habitat for the conservation of warm-temperate reef-fish fisheries of shelf-edge reefs of Florida. Bull Mar Sci 66:593–616

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindeman KC, Pugliese R, Waugh GT, Ault JS (2000) Developmental patterns within a multispecies reef fishery: management applications for essential fish habitats and protected areas. Bull Mar Sci 66:929–956

    Google Scholar 

  • Luckhurst BE (1996) Trends in commercial fishery landings of groupers and snappers in Bermuda from 1975 to 1992 and associated fishery management issues. In: Arreguin-Sanchez F, Munro JL, Balgos MC, Pauly D (eds) Biology, fisheries and culture of tropical groupers and snappers, ICLARM Conf Proc 48. ICLARM, Makati

    Google Scholar 

  • Luckhurst BE (1998) Site fidelity and return migration of tagged red hinds (Epinephelus gutttatus) to a spawning aggregation site in Bermuda. Proc Gulf Caribb Fish Inst 50:750–763

    Google Scholar 

  • Luckhurst BE (2003) Development of a Caribbean regional conservation strategy for reef fish spawning aggregations. Proc Gulf Caribb Fish Inst 54:668–679

    Google Scholar 

  • Luckhurst BE (2010) Observations of a black grouper (Mycteroperca bonaci) spawning aggregation in Bermuda. Gulf Caribb Sci 22:1–8

    Google Scholar 

  • Luckhurst BE, Trott TM (2009) Seasonally-closed spawning aggregation sites for Red Hind (Epinephelus guttatus): Bermuda’s experience over 30 years (1974–2003). Proc Gulf Caribb Fish Inst 61:331–336

    Google Scholar 

  • Luckhurst BE, Ward JA (1996) Analysis of trends in Bermuda’s fishery statistical database from 1975 to 1990 with reference to fishery management measures implemented during this period. Proc Gulf Caribb Fish Inst 44:306–324

    Google Scholar 

  • Luckhurst BE, Donaldson TJ, Sadovy de Mitcheson Y, Russell M (2009) Biology and management of spawning aggregations – lessons learnt and panel discussion: a half-day symposium sponsored by the Society for the Conservation of Reef Fish Aggregations (SCRFA). Proc Gulf Caribb Fish Inst 61:338–343

    Google Scholar 

  • Macintosh A, Bonyhady T, Wilkinson D (2010) Dealing with interests displaced by marine protected areas: a case study on the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Structural Adjustment Package. Ocean Coast Manag 53(9):581–588

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matos-Caraballo D (2002) Portrait of the commercial fishery of the Red hind Epinephelus guttatus in Puerto Rico during 1992–1999. Proc Gulf Caribb Fish Inst 53:446–459

    Google Scholar 

  • Matos-Caraballo D, Posada JM, Luckhurst BE (2006) Fishery-dependent evaluation of a spawning aggregation of tiger grouper (Mycteroperca tigris) at Vieques Island, Puerto Rico. Bull Mar Sci 79:1–16

    Google Scholar 

  • Munro JL, Blok L (2005) The status of stocks of groupers and hinds in the Northeastern Caribbean. Proc Gulf Caribb Fish Inst 56:283–294

    Google Scholar 

  • National Research Council (NRC) (1999) Sustaining marine fisheries. National Academy Press, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Nemeth R (2005) Population characteristics of a recovering US Virgin Islands red hind spawning aggregation following protection. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 286:81–97

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nemeth R, Kadison E, Herzlieb S, Blondeau J, Whiteman EA (2006) Status of a yellowfin (Mycteroperca venenosa) grouper spawning aggregation in the US Virgin Islands with notes on other species. Proc Gulf Caribb Fish Inst 57:543–558

    Google Scholar 

  • Olsen DA, LaPlace JA (1979) A study of a Virgin Islands grouper fishery based on a breeding aggregation. Proc Gulf Caribb Fish Inst 31:130–144

    Google Scholar 

  • Pina Amargós F (2008) Efectividad de la Reserva Marina de Jardines de la Reina en la conservación de la ictiofauna. PhD dissertation. Universidad de la Habana, Centro de Investigaciones Marinas

    Google Scholar 

  • Ray GC, McCormick-Ray MG, Layman CA, Silliman BR (2000) Investigations of Nassau grouper breeding aggregations at High Cay, Andros: Implications for a conservation strategy. Report to Department of Fisheries, Nassau, The Bahamas

    Google Scholar 

  • Rhodes KL, Sadovy Y (2002) Temporal and spatial trends in spawning aggregations of camouflage grouper, Epinephelus polyphekadion, in Pohnpei, Micronesia. Environ Biol Fish 63:27–39

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rhodes KL, Tupper M (2007) A preliminary market-based analysis of the Pohnpei, Micronesia, grouper (Serranidae: Epinephelinae) fishery reveals unsustainable fishing practices. Coral Reefs 26:335–344

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rhodes KL, Tupper M (2007) A preliminary market-based analysis of the Pohnpei, Micronesia,grouper (Serranidae: Epinephelinae) fi shery reveals unsustainable fi shing practices. Coral Reefs 26:335–344

    Google Scholar 

  • Russell M (2006) Leopard coral grouper (Plectropomus leopardus) management in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, Australia. SPC Live Reef Fish Inf Bull 16:10–12

    Google Scholar 

  • Russell M (2009) Adaptive management of fish apawning aggregations on the Great Barrier Reef. Aust Proc Gulf Caribb Fish Inst 61:324

    Google Scholar 

  • Sadovy Y (2007) Report on current status and exploitation history of reef fish spawning aggregations in Palau. Western Pacific Fishery Survey Series: Society for the Conservation of Reef Fish Aggregations, vol 3. SCRFA and the Palau Conservation Society, www.SCRFA.org

  • Sadovy Y, Domeier M (2005) Are aggregation-fisheries sustainable? Reef fish fisheries as a case study. Coral Reefs 24:254–262

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sadovy Y, Eklund AM (1999) Synopsis of biological data on the Nassau grouper, Epinephelus striatus (Bloch 1792) and the Jewfish, E. itijara (Lichtenstein 1822). NOAA Technical Report NMFS 146

    Google Scholar 

  • Sadovy YJ, Donaldson TJ, Graham TR, McGilvray F, Muldoon GJ, Phillips MJ, Rimmer MA, Smith A, Yeeting B (2003) While stocks last: the live reef food fish trade. Manila: Asian Development Bank. http://www.adb.org/Documents/Books/Live_Reef_Food_Fish_Trade/default.asp

  • Sadovy de Mitcheson Y (2009) Biology and ecology considerations for the fishery manager. Chapter 2. In: Cochrane KL, Garcia SM (eds) A fishery manager’s guidebook, 2nd edn. FAO/Blackwell Publishing, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Sadovy de Mitcheson Y, Cornish A, Domeier M, Colin PL, Russell M, Lindeman KC (2008) Reef fish spawning aggregations: a global baseline. Conserv Biol 22(5):1233–1244

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sadovy de Mitcheson Y, Liu M, Suharti S (2010) Gonadal development in a giant threatened reef fish, the humphead wrasse Cheilinus undulatus, and its relationship to international trade. J Fish Biol 77:706–718

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sala E, Ballesteros E, Starr RM (2001) Rapid decline of Nassau grouper spawning aggregations in Belize: fishery management and conservation needs. Fish 26(10):23–30

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Semmens BX, Luke KE, Bush PG, Pattengill-Semmens CV, Johnson B, McCoy C, Heppell S (2007) Investigating the reproductive migration and spatial ecology of Nassau grouper (Epinephelus striatus) on Little Cayman Island using acoustic tags – an overview. Proc Gulf Caribb Fish Inst 58:199–206

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith CL (1972) A spawning aggregation of Nassau grouper, Epinephelus striatus (Bloch). Trans Am Fish Soc 101:257–261

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Starr RM, Sala E, Ballesteros E, Zabala M (2007) Spatial dynamics of the Nassau grouper Epinephelus striatus in a Caribbean atoll. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 343:239–249

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vilaró Díaz DJ (1884) Corrida y arribazón de algunos peces cubanos. Manuel Gómez de la Maza, La Habana, Cuba

    Google Scholar 

  • Vilaró Díaz DJ (1884) Corrida y arribazón de algunos peces cubanos. Manuel Gómez de la Maza, La Habana, Cuba

    Google Scholar 

  • Whaylen L, Pattengill-Semmens CV, Semmens B, Bush PG, Boardman MR (2004) Observations of a Nassau grouper, Epinephelus striatus, spawning aggregation site in Little Cayman, Cayman Islands, including multi-species spawning information. Environ Biol Fish 70:305–313

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whaylen L, Bush P, Johnson B, Luke K, McCroy C, Heppell S, Semmens B, Boardman MR (2007) Aggregation dynamics and lessons learned from five years of monitoring at a Nassau grouper (Epinephelus striatus) spawning aggregation in Little Cayman, Cayman Islands. BWI Proc Gulf Caribb Fish Inst 59:479–487

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Janet Gibson, Graciela Garcia-Moliner, Newton Eristhee, Rodolfo Claro, Michelle Meadows and Kim Iverson for assistance with Table 11.1. Rodolfo Claro and Richard Appeldoorn assisted with reviews of information. A Doherty Fellowship in the Department of Marine and Environmental Systems, Florida Institute of Technology, supported the work of Ken Lindeman. We also thank Jan Robinson, Seychelles Fishing Authority, for providing review comments, and Vicki Nelson, Madam En-dash Editing and Proofreading, for chapter edits.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Society for the Conservation of Reef Fish Aggregations, c/o 215/1000 Ann Street, Brisbane, Queensland, 4006, Australia

    Martin W. Russell

  2. Marine Resources Division, Department of Environmental Protection, Ministry of the Environment, Bermuda Government, c/o 2-4 Via della Chiesa, Umbria, Acqualoreto, 05020, Italy

    Brian E. Luckhurst

  3. Department of Marine & Environmental Systems, DMES, Florida Institute of Technology, FIT, 150 W. University Blvd., Melbourne, FL, 32937, USA

    Kenyon C. Lindeman

Authors
  1. Martin W. Russell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Brian E. Luckhurst
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Kenyon C. Lindeman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Martin W. Russell .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Division of Ecology and Biodiversity, University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam Road, Hong Kong, Hong Kong/PR China

    Yvonne Sadovy de Mitcheson

  2. Coral Reef Research Foundation, Koror, Palau

    Patrick L. Colin

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Russell, M.W., Luckhurst, B.E., Lindeman, K.C. (2012). Management of Spawning Aggregations. In: Sadovy de Mitcheson, Y., Colin, P. (eds) Reef Fish Spawning Aggregations: Biology, Research and Management. Fish & Fisheries Series, vol 35. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1980-4_11

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation