Alan M. Friedlander
Y. Golbuu
2011
<p><span>In Palau, Ngerumekaol and Ebiil Channels are spawning aggregation sites that have been protected from fishing since 1976 and 2000, respectively. Groupers and other targeted fisheries species were monitored monthly over a 1.5 year period at these two spawning aggregations and two nearby exploited reference sites where grouper formerly aggregated to spawn. At the protected aggregation sites, three grouper species (</span><span><i>Plectropomus</i> areolatus</span><span>, </span><span><i>Epinephelus</i> polyphekadion</span><span>, and </span><i>Epinephelus fuscoguttatus</i><span>) accounted for 78% of the abundance and 85% of the biomass of all resource species surveyed but comprised <1% of the total abundance and biomass at reference sites not protected from fishing that formally harbored spawning aggregations. Abundance and biomass of grouper species pooled were 54% and 72% higher, respectively, at Ngerumekaol compared to Ebiil. Comparisons with data from the same locations in 1995–1996 showed order of magnitude declines in abundance of </span><i>E. polyphekadion</i><span> at both locations. The lower numbers of </span><i>E. fuscoguttatus</i><span> and the near absence of </span><i>E. polyphekadion</i><span> at Ebiil may reflect the effects of previous and current overexploitation.</span></p>
application/pdf
10.1016/j.ecss.2010.12.034
en
Elsevier
Spatial and temporal characteristics of grouper spawning aggregations in marine protected areas in Palau, western Micronesia
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