User group perceptions of the short-term impacts of marine reserves in Key West

Transcription

1 Proceedings 9 th International Coral Reef Symposium, Bali, Indonesia October 2000, Vol. 2. User group perceptions of the short-term impacts of marine reserves in Key West T. J. Dobrzynski 1 and E. E.Nicholson 2 ABSTRACT Marine reserves, discrete ocean areas where extractive uses such as fishing are prohibited, have the potential to reverse declines in the marine environment. Lack of understanding for their social and economic impacts has impeded their establishment in U.S. waters. We conducted a pilot study to investigate users perceptions of short-term (2-year) social and economic impacts of the marine reserve system established in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) in 1997 on dive/snorkel operators, commercial fishers, and charter fishing operators in the Key West region of the Sanctuary. Our findings show that users perceived reserves to have had a low economic impact and higher relative social/psychological impact, in terms of increased crowding and conflict on the water and a heightened sense of uncertainty for the future. Additionally, non-extractive users perceived ecological benefits inside reserves and attributed this directly to the presence of reserves. All groups voiced support for the concept of marine reserves, but showed less support for the process used by the FKNMS to establish the marine reserves. These findings indicate the importance of adopting strategies that ensure local stakeholder influence and promote equity among user groups in the marine reserve establishment process. Additionally, these findings denote the importance of incorporating social, economic, and ecological considerations into marine reserve establishment efforts. Keywords Marine reserve, Marine protected area, Social impact, Economic impact, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, User group, Resource management. Introduction Traditional single-species-oriented marine resource management has inadequately protected marine resources, resulting in resource overexploitation, habitat degradation, and loss of marine biodiversity. By limiting human disturbance throughout an entire area and effectively protecting species, habitat, and ecological interactions therein, marine reserves may offer benefits for marine ecosystems that other management tools do not (Pauly et al. 1998, Roberts 1997, Bohnsack 1990). While much is known about the ecological impacts of marine reserves, little is known about their social and economic impacts (Sanchirico 2000). Lack of information about their social and economic impacts has been a major obstacle to marine reserve implementation in the United States, where only one small planned reserve system exists (totaling approximately 15 square nautical miles at the time of this study), in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS 1996). In this paper, we investigate users perceptions of short-term social and economic impacts of the FKNMS first reserve system, implemented in July 1997, on both extractive (commercial fishers and charter fishing operators) and non-extractive (dive/snorkel operators) marine users in Key West. Additionally, we investigate users perceptions of ecological changes in the Key West marine environment since the reserves took effect, and their general attitudes towards the concept of reserves and the manner in which the FKNMS established the reserve system. We chose Key West as our study site because at the time of our study the Key West region contained Approximately 70% of the Sanctuary s reserve system, home to the Western Sambos Ecological Reserve (ER), three Sanctuary Preservation Areas, and one Special Use Area. Methods Our pilot study involved observations of user-group activities, focus groups with key informants from the Key West community, and the development and implementation of three distinct semi-structured survey instruments for each user group we interviewed. Data were collected over five months (September 1999 to January 2000), slightly more than two years after the reserve system was implemented. Given our time constraints and the inability to define working populations for some user groups, we found it most effective to use three non-probability sampling methods---purposive sampling, site-intercept sampling, and snowball sampling (Rea and Parker 1997)-- -to identify respondents and to collect information on social, economic, and ecological trends over a period including pre- and post-marine reserve conditions. We specifically used snowball sampling to identify displaced commercial fishers who used to fish in areas now zoned as no-take. These individuals represented the majority (61%) of our commercial fisher sample. These nonprobability sampling methods are not statistically representative of the total population of each user group except in the case of dive/snorkel operators where we were able to sample 100% of that population in Key West. However, we established specific decision criteria to ensure that our samples included major data points for each user group and would reflect the major characteristics of each group s total population. Table 1 shows the sampling methods, sample size, and response rate for each user group sample N. Pierce Street #6, Arlington, VA tjd6@duke.edu Tilden Street NW, Washington D.C betsy.nicholson@noaa.gov

2 Table 1. Marine user group sampling parameters. Results It must be noted that the occurrence of hurricanes and the implementation of a lobster trap certificate program during the same general time period over which the reserves were implemented may be confounding factors since they may have caused socioeconomic impacts on users. We tried to control these factors by focusing on users perceptions of change for a variety of factors since reserve implementation and asking them what they thought was responsible for those changes. Perceptions of economic impact Operational trends show that the majority of dive/snorkel operators perceived an increase in number of employees, customers served per week, and trip fees from 1995 to While a large percentage (41%) of dive/snorkel operators linked marine reserve establishment with perceived positive economic impacts on their operations (many reported that reserves have produced greater fish abundance and have served as an additional sales tool to lure customers to the Key West region), the majority (53%) reported that they did not think the establishment of marine reserves had had any economic impact on their operations. The majority of commercial fishers perceived no change in landings, effort, or income since the reserves went into effect. Nonetheless, a high percentage of commercial fishers (44%) perceived they have had to spend more time on the water to catch their desired catch and attributed this increase in effort to the need to navigate around reserve areas and find new fishing grounds. The majority of charter fishing operators perceived no change in fleet size, customers served per week, landings, or income since the reserves were established. Fifty-seven percent of charter fishing operators perceived they have had to spend more time on the water to catch their desired catch, and like commercial fishers, attributed this increased effort to displacement from reserve areas and the need to find new fishing grounds and transit around reserves. The majority of commercial fishers (61%) and charter fishing operators (90%) surveyed used to fish in at least one area now zoned as a marine reserve. Table 2 demonstrates that the majority of these displaced fishers did not feel they experienced a change in income or landings. The major of extractive user group respondents- Table 2. Displaced fishers perceptions of changes in income and landings since marine reserve establishment. 61% of commercial fishers and 52% of charter fishing operators did not think the reserves had any economic impact on their businesses in the two years since the reserves were established, consistent with their reports on actual operational trends. Nonetheless, a high percentage of commercial (39%) and charter fishers (48%) perceived a negative economic impact from the reserves, while a high percentage of dive/snorkel operators (41%) perceived a positive economic impact. Perceptions of social impact All three user groups reported an increase in the importance of crowding on the water (in terms of its impact on their operations) since reserve establishment (Fig. 1). Fig. 1. Mean perceptions of change in importance of crowding for three marine user groups indicated using a Likert scale (1 = not important, 5 = very important). 22

3 Commercial fishers and charter fishing operators perceived a slight increase in the importance of conflicts on the water (in terms of its impact on their operations), while dive/snorkel operators perceived a slight decrease (Fig. 2). Fig. 2. Mean perceptions of change in importance of conflict on the water for three marine user groups indicated using a Likert scale (1 = not important, 5 = very important). Seventy-four percent of commercial fishers and 50% of charter fishing operators said they would not encourage their children to pursue fishing in Key West in the future. Perceptions of ecological impact The majority of dive/snorkel operators perceived increased marine life abundance and size inside reserves, particularly of spiny lobster and reef fish, but no changes in biodiversity (Fig. 3). They attributed these changes directly to the presence of marine reserves. Fig. 3. Dive/snorkel operator perceptions of ecosystem change inside reserves. Note: Don t know responses are excluded from this and the following figures. Attitudes towards marine reserves We compared user group support for the marine reserves implemented by the Sanctuary s final Zoning Action Plan (the Plan) with their support for the concept of marine reserves in general. Each user group indicated higher support for the concept of marine reserves than for the actual reserve system instituted by the Sanctuary (Fig.4). Fig. 4 User group support for marine reserves. Discussion Perceptions of economic impacts The majority of respondents in all user groups did not think the reserves had had any economic impact on their operation in the short term. Nonetheless, both commercial fishers and charter fishing operators expressed concern that reserves may spell severe economic losses in the future. In particular, these groups feared what they see as the inevitable addition of more reserves to the system that would ultimately put them out of business. Commercial fishers and charter fishing operators reported that the fear of more reserves in the Key West region was one reason they would not encourage their children to pursue these extractive industries in the future. Perceptions of social impacts Our findings show that users surveyed perceive marine reserves to have had a higher relative social/psychological impact. User groups perceived an increase in crowding (in the case of all three groups) and conflicts (in the case of extractive user groups) in the waters where they conduct their activities since the marine reserves were established. This should be of particular interest to the FKNMS, since one of their objectives in establishing reserves was to minimize conflicts among user groups by separating extractive and non-extractive users in space. Dive/snorkel operators felt that crowding was of higher concern inside reserves than outside and said that it may be a result of a greater number of operators flocking to reserve areas because of anticipated ecological benefits. Interestingly, while dive/snorkel operators perceived increased crowding on the water near Key West, they perceived that the majority of their conflicts with other user groups have either decreased or stayed the same. Both commercial fishers and charter fishing operators attributed increased crowding where they fish to displacement from marine reserves and a consequent reduction of overall extractive use area in the Key West region. Com-

4 mercial fishers expressed concern about the severity of conflicts that have ensued within the commercial fishing community as a result of displacement from reserve areas. Displaced fishers have been forced to set traps in remaining fishing grounds, many of which are already claimed by other fishers. The territorial nature of lobster fishing, the predominant commercial fishery in the Keys, and increased competition for space, have led to incidents of severed lobster trap lines and physical conflicts escalating to death threats among commercial fishers, in some cases. Commercial fishers also expressed bitterness toward divers and other non-extractive users who are still permitted inside reserves. They specifically questioned why the reserves had not been made no-use rather than just no-take, explaining that divers and snorkelers negatively impact the marine environment by standing and urinating on coral reefs. This bitterness may underlie commercial fishers perceptions that their conflicts have worsened with the dive/snorkel community in particular. Charter fishing operators expressed annoyance about the increased competition for space as a result of displacement from reserves and, like commercial fishers, they expressed intense bitterness towards non-extractive users for being permitted to use the reserves. Charter fishing operators experienced most of their conflicts (35%) with dive/snorkel operators, which they reported have worsened since the reserves were established. They specifically complained about dive/snorkel operators getting the best of both worlds being permitted inside reserves and still bringing their customers to popular fishing spots outside reserves to dive. Since these two industries potentially compete for the same tourist dollars, charter fishing operators may feel disadvantaged by not having equal access to marine resources. Perceptions of ecological impact Our results indicate that the majority of Key West dive/snorkel operators think the marine reserves are producing ecological benefits in the form of increased abundance and size of marine life inside reserve boundaries. Even more significant, perhaps, is the fact that all respondents who said they thought there had been an increase in these factors attributed the change to the presence of reserves. Attitudes towards marine reserves Not surprisingly, since they tend to benefit from this management tool, 100% of dive/snorkel operators support the concept of marine reserves. Nonetheless, many dive/snorkel operators explained they did not approve of the pre-determined way in which the Sanctuary developed the Plan or the way they designed the system. Several noted that the Sanctuary should have placed the reserves in higher quality habitat. The majority of commercial fishers and charter fishing operators supported the concept of marine reserves and specifically noted the need to have areas of the ocean where stocks and habitat could replenish themselves. When it came to showing support for the actual reserves in the Plan, however, support levels dropped by at least 50% in each of these extractive user groups (Fig.4). Respondents in each group said they did not support the reserves in the Plan because they did not think that the Sanctuary was effective in designing the reserves to maximize ecological benefits, noting specifically that in designing the reserve system the Sanctuary missed known spawning aggregation sites of several valuable fish species. Additionally, several did not think it was fair or wise to prohibit only extractive users from reserves, but thought that the Sanctuary should also prohibit nonextractive users. Respondents pointed to potential adverse impacts caused by the hordes of divers and snorkelers dumped onto the Keys reefs each day, according to one commercial fisher. Key West users also felt that while the FKNMS offered opportunities to comment throughout the Zoning Action Plan development process, few of their comments were reflected in the final Plan. Conclusion Marine reserves are not a new management concept; however, their use in U.S. waters is still in its infancy. While the ecological impacts of reserves are well understood, their social and economic impacts are not. This limited understanding likely underlies the low number of marine reserves in the U.S. However, reserves and other types of marine protected areas are gaining momentum in the U.S., evidenced by issuance of a Presidential Executive Order on marine protected areas in May Our study evaluates Key West user group perceptions of the impacts of the FKNMS reserve system, implemented in 1997, on a variety of social, economic, and ecological factors. This study should help to enhance the scarce information base on users perceptions of the socioeconomic impacts of reserves and demonstrate the importance of continuing to refine marine protected area planning and management to produce maximum ecological benefit while minimizing socioeconomic costs. Improved understanding of users perceptions of reserves impacts can help promote successful reserve implementation initiatives in the future. In general, we offer the follow recommendations to resource managers based on what Key West users told us were their greatest concerns regarding reserve establishment. 1. Incorporate local stakeholder input and expertise into each phase of the reserve establishment process, and provide actual opportunities for stakeholders to influence the outcome of the process. 2. Foster a sense of social equity among user groups by using marine zoning to investigate the relative impacts of a wide variety of human activities. 3. Inform local communities of reserve impacts by quantifying and publicizing reserves earnings and losses in the form of annual reports 44

5 documenting changes in landings, annual tourist expenditures, or resource stewardship patterns, for example. This will help promote the sense that reserves are a sound and responsible public investment and encourage local support for this management tool. 4. Ensure that resulting resource use patterns do not offset benefits. This can be done by estimating the carrying capacity in reserve areas and take steps to regulate the per-mitted activities inside and along the boundaries of reserves so that their resource protection, conflict minimization, and other goals are main-tained. 5. Balance scientific, social, and economic factors in establishing marine reserves to maximize ecological benefits and minimize economic costs, and monitor these impacts to inform future reserve establishment initiatives. Acknowledgements Special thanks to Environmental Defense for funding field work in the Florida Keys and to Dr.Professor Michael Orbach, for his guidance throughout this project. We would also like to thank the following: Staff at the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, Doug Gregory, Edward Little, Manoj Shivlani, Daniel Suman, Jim Bohnsack, Leah Bunce, Michael Hall, NMFS/OHC, NOS/NCCOS/COP, and all the commercial fishers, charter fishing operators, and dive/snorkel operators that participated in our interviews. References Bohnsack JA (1990) The potential of marine fishery reserves for reef management in the U.S. Southern Atlantic. NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS- SEFC-261. Control No. CRD/88-90/04. Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (1996) Final management plan/environmental impact statement, Vols. I-III. Pauly D, Christensen V, Dalsgaard J, Froese R, Torres F Jr (1998) Fishing down marine food webs. Science 279: Rea LM, Parker RA (1997) Designing and conducting survey research: A Comprehensive Guide, Second Edition. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Roberts CM (1997) Ecological advice for the global fisheries crisis. Trends in Ecol. and Evol 12: Sanchirico J (2000) Marine protected areas: can they revitalize our nation s fisheries? Resources 140: 6-9. Suman D, Shivlani MJ, Milon W (1999) Perceptions and attitudes regarding marine reserves: a comparison of stakeholder groups in the FKNMS. Ocean and Coastal Mgmt 42: