The Torre Guaceto MPA covers over 22 km2 of the Adriatic Sea in southeastern Italy and includes a 1.8 km² marine reserve, although initially the entire MPA was closed to fishing. Effective enforcement began in 2001, 10 years after the MPA was designated. By 2003, the MPA had 2 to 10 times as many sea breams, which are important commercial fishes, compared to a fully fished area. Sea urchins, which are eaten by sea breams, were 10 times less abundant inside the reserve because of the higher numbers of their fish predators (see figure below). The decrease in urchins, which eat seaweed, cascaded further down the food web, increasing the cover of large seaweed to 47 percent of the seabed inside the reserve. Meanwhile, surrounding fished areas where seaweed is grazed down by urchins had only 15 percent cover of seaweed.
The Torre Guaceto MPA is located adjacent to an artisanal fishing community. In 2005, scientists and fishermen who collaboratively studied the MPA designed an adaptive co-management plan to allow fishing in a partially protected area of the MPA. This plan was designed to sustain fishermen’s income while also limiting fishing impacts. Scientists and fishermen worked together to select fishing gear that would minimize harm to the underwater habitats and protect functionally important fish predators and young fishes. Fishermen also agreed to fish only one day per week in the MPA.
Immediately after fishing was allowed in the partially protected area of the MPA, fishermen saw an increase in their income. Catch rates of commercially fished species including striped red mullet, octopus, and peacock wrasse averaged 4 times higher than catch rates outside of the MPA. After a few years, catch rates within the partially protected area had stabilized to a level that was greater than double the catch rates outside the MPA.
Collaboration and co-management among fishermen, managers and scientists allowed for the maintenance of sustainable fisheries and the avoidance of overfishing in the partially protected area in Torre Guaceto. Many fishermen support the MPA, including the marine reserve portion, because of the long-term benefits they receive for their fishery. Increased trust and collaboration between scientists and fishermen is essential to designing marine reserves within MPAs that can benefit both conservation and fisheries.
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