Kendra Anne Karr

Coral reefs provide environmental goods and services that support biodiversity and people but face diverse threats. To assess the human factors that might be influencing the status of Cuban coral reefs, we collected and analyzed data from three sources: observations made on a research cruise that circumnavigated Cuba’s waters, expert knowledge, and updated published information. Our results show that small-scale fisheries are predominant among human factors influencing Cuban coral reefs, with more than 97% of the fishing incidents detected in situ during the expedition. Many Cuban reefs are heavily fished, have low levels of contamination, and enjoy high legal protection but experience inadequate enforcement. Tourism occurs on many reefs but could be sustainably increased based on its role in supporting enforcement and compliance and reducing fishing pressure. Densities of marine debris were generally lower in Cuban waters than other Caribbean locations and even lower within protected areas. Many human factors are likely acting synergistically, making management a challenge. This is the first at-sea comprehensive visual survey of human factors in Cuban waters and evaluation of marine debris on Cuba’s reefs, establishing a baseline for future assessments. These findings highlight potential human impacts that must be addressed to safeguard the health of Cuba’s marine ecosystem.

Marine protected areas (MPAs) can allow some fish populations to rebuild within their borders in areas impacted by overfishing, but the effectiveness of reserves is highly dependent on how effectively fishing mortality is controlled, which in turn depends on the level of fishery management implementation. In Cuba’s Gardens of the Queen MPA, the largest in the Caribbean, a variety of fishery management measures have been implemented to ensure the social, economic, and political viability of protecting such a large area. Here, we evaluate the biological response, in terms of fish density and the biomass of commercially valuable and ecologically important reef fish species, to a spatial gradient of fishery management enforcement, in terms of fish density and biomass, of commercially valuable and ecologically important reef fish species. The enforcement gradient is characterized by the level of protection, fishing effort, patrolling effort, distance to the nearest fishing port, and fishing intensity. Fish density and biomass were estimated from visual scuba surveys. Areas with higher levels of enforcement support higher levels of average biomass (up to 1378 kg/ha) and density (up to 2367 indv./ha) of commercially important fishes in comparison to areas with very low or no enforcement (estimates of 757 kg/ha average biomass and 1090 indv./ha average density, respectively). These fish density and biomass levels can serve as proxies in the development of harvest control rules that adjust fishing pressure according to the ratio of fished density or biomass to unfished density or biomass, through the use of the MPA Density Ratio method.

Marine finfish landings in Cuba have decreased during the last 30 years. However, in Cuba’s most productive fishing region, certain species, including rays, herrings, and snappers, have had increased landings over the past decade. Despite these anomalies, no comprehensive analysis of the interactions among multispecies landing dynamics, environmental factors, and fishing efforts has been carried out. This study estimates the dynamics of multispecies finfish landings between 1981 and 2017 on the southeastern coast of Cuba. A log-normal generalized additive model (GAM) was fit to evaluate the effects of various environmental and effort-related variables on the total landings. During the period analyzed, the finfish landings and fishing effort decreased by 46% and over 80%, respectively. Despite concerns about overfishing, landings per unit of effort (LPUE) increased by 2.8 times. The total fish landings were significantly related to changes in the fishing effort, coastal vegetation, rainfall, chlorophyll-a, and the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI). This study highlights the changing relationship between the landings and fishing effort, suggesting that LPUE may not accurately reflect true stock abundance. The findings of this study will assist in integrating the dynamics of finfish species, ecosystem status, and management actions for Cuba’s most productive fishing zone.

Marine finfish landings in Cuba have decreased during the last 30 years. However, in Cuba's most productive fishing region, certain species, including rays, herrings, and snappers, have increased landings over the past decade. Despite these anomalies, no comprehensive analysis of the interactions between multispecies landing dynamics, environmental factors, and fishing effort has been carried out. This study estimates the dynamics of multispecies finfish landings between 1981 and 2017 on the southeastern coast of Cuba. Dynamic factor analyses (DFA) were performed to identify common landing trends across multiple species and their relationship with fishing effort and environmental variables. During the period analyzed, finfish landings and fishing effort decreased by 46% and over 80%, respectively. Despite concerns about overfishing, landings per unit of effort (LPUE) increased by 2.8 times, suggesting the decline in landings was closely linked to decreasing fishing effort and Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation cycles, with delays of 2 and 3 years. The study highlights the changing relationship between landings and fishing effort, suggesting that LPUE may not accurately reflect true stock abundance. The findings of this study will assist in integrating the dynamics of finfish species, ecosystem status, and management actions for Cuba’s most productive fishing zone.

Both the ecological and social dimensions of fisheries are being affected by climate change. As a result, policymakers, managers, scientists and fishing communities are seeking guidance on how to holistically build resilience to climate change. Numerous studies have highlighted key attributes of resilience in fisheries, yet concrete examples that explicitly link these attributes to social‐ecological outcomes are lacking. To better understand climate resilience, we assembled 18 case studies spanning ecological, socio‐economic, governance and geographic contexts. Using a novel framework for evaluating 38 resilience attributes, the case studies were systematically assessed to understand how attributes enable or inhibit resilience to a given climate stressor. We found population abundance, learning capacity, and responsive governance were the most important attributes for conferring resilience, with ecosystem connectivity, place attachment, and accountable governance scoring the strongest across the climate‐resilient fisheries. We used these responses to develop an attribute typology that describes robust sources of resilience, actionable priority attributes and attributes that are case specific or require research. We identified five fishery archetypes to guide stakeholders as they set long‐term goals and prioritize actions to improve resilience. Lastly, we found evidence for two pathways to resilience: (1) building ecological assets and strengthening communities, which we observed in rural and small‐scale fisheries, and (2) building economic assets and improving effective governance, which was demonstrated in urban and wealthy fisheries. Our synthesis presents a novel framework that can be directly applied to identify approaches, pathways and actionable levers for improving climate resilience in fishery systems.

Recreational fishing is a pillar of the multibillion-dollar tourism sector in the Caribbean, supporting economic development and community livelihoods. However, as climate change drives increased habitat degradation, key recreational target species may experience declines. To effectively prioritize adaptation and mitigation efforts it is critical to project climate change impacts on recreational species and the communities that depend on them. We conducted a comprehensive climate vulnerability assessment (CVA) for three recreationally important tidal flats species in Belize and The Bahamas: bonefish (Albula vulpes), tarpon (Megalops atlanticus), and permit (Trachinotus falcatus). Species vulnerability was assessed by coupling 1) a research-based CVA to evaluate the sensitivity and exposure of species to climate impacts with 2) a participatory workshop involving 17 fishing guides, resource managers, and science and policy experts working in fisheries systems in Belize and/or The Bahamas. The workshop elicited local expert knowledge to resolve and contextualize CVA scoring and to identify strategies to increase climate resilience. According to the research-based CVA, key climate factors in the Caribbean are expected to see a ‘very high’ magnitude of change by 2050. All three species exhibit ‘very high’ vulnerability to these changes based on life history traits and reliance on nearshore habitats that are exposed to rapid temperature increases and storm damage. The expert stakeholder group confirmed a ‘very high’ magnitude of expected climate impacts in the Caribbean region, to which bonefish, the most valuable species, is likely to have a ‘very high’ vulnerability. However, stakeholders perceived tarpon and permit to be less vulnerable to these impacts than the CVA predicted, based on “on the water” observations of their habitat flexibility and resilience to disturbance. The group identified strategies at the individual, community, national, and international levels to enhance climate resilience in the recreational fishing sector. Our work highlights how participatory CVA processes can support a stronger understanding of species’ vulnerability while building capacity and collaboration to increase climate change readiness.

Las pesquerías multiespecíficas de peces en Cuba incluyen alrededor de 150 especies, diferentes artes de pesca que se utilizan simultáneamente y un número elevado de puertos de desembarques, lo que dificulta el monitoreo y la evaluación de estos recursos, por lo cual el manejo ha sido limitado. Por ello nos propusimos evaluar el estado actual, así como las compensaciones futuras en biomasa, captura y ganancias de las especies más vulnerables bajo diferentes estrategias de manejo. Mediante el método Catch-MSY se estimó el estado actual, y un modelo bioeconómico se empleó para realizar las proyecciones a largo plazo de las salidas. Los stocks estudiados se encuentran agotados, y la mayoría con valores que implican un alto riesgo para la sustentabilidad de sus poblaciones. Además, la mayoría están sobreexplotados y sufren pesca ilegal. Sin embargo, a largo plazo bajo estrategias de manejo sustentable, muestran oportunidades de recuperación y de tener pesquerías económicamente rentables siempre que se elimine la pesca ilegal y se apliquen incentivos económicos.

Fish live in communities, and most fisheries catch multiple species, yet fishery management predominately focuses on single species. In many multispecies fisheries, a variety of species are generally caught together at similar rates. Failure to account for this adequately in management has resulted in serial depletion and alterations to the ecosystem. Ideally, multispecies fisheries management should strive to produce good yields from specific valuable stocks and avoid adverse impacts of fishing on marine ecosystems. Moreover, multispecies management should aim to build resilience to changes in stock productivity and distribution driven by climate change. Here, we present tools and pathways that seven fisheries are adopting to achieve these goals. These case studies – from Mexico, Cuba, and Chile – differ in data richness, governance structure, and management resources. The management systems are also in various stages of evolution from unmanaged to complete management of a single species but transitioning to multispecies management. While various analytical tools and decision-making processes are described in the case studies, a common feature is the use of participatory stakeholder processes to build capacity and socialize the importance of multispecies management. We use lessons from these cases to recommend a multispecies management approach to overcome the limitations of current practices (typically single-species catch limits or large spatial restrictions), using the participatory processes and data-limited assessments to create stock complexes that simplify multispecies management (i.e., the “fish baskets” approach). Indicator species for each fish basket are identified to support the development of fishery performance indicators, reference values, harvest control rules, and management measures to create an adaptive management cycle to enhance the fishery’s resilience to impacts induced by climate change and other factors.

Fisheries are critically important for nutrition, food security, livelihoods, and culture of hundreds of millions of people globally. As climate impacts on ocean ecosystems increase, policy-makers are asking critical questions about how to implement reforms at local and national levels to reach goals around improving performance of management systems, sustainability, equity, and resilience to climate change. These goals can be achieved by enhancing the structure, function, and biodiversity of marine ecosystems as climate change proceeds, together with adaptive, sustainable management. However, resource, technical, and governance capacities vary widely across management systems. These capacities will determine, in part, the best policy approaches to build resilience and overcome systemic challenges to equity and sustainability to stressors such as climate change. To illuminate how fisheries resilience can be improved within the constraints imposed by these capacity limits, we present case studies from Myanmar, Belize, Peru, and Iceland, which offer a spectrum of capacity conditions to explore social–ecological resilience challenges and solutions. Using a set of nine social–ecological resilience criteria, we examine each system’s attributes that may confer or undermine resilience and explore interactions between them. We use this assessment to identify policy approaches that can help build resilience in each particular context.