Closing Marine Areas to Fishing Can Save Fish Stocks
29 mar 2007 | Source: DiveSter
Researchers in Madagascar recently concluded that closing marine areas to fishing for even short periods of time can significantly restore depleted fish stocks. The researchers found that after an area off the coast of the island was closed to fishermen for seven months, the number of octopuses caught later rose 13 times while the total weight of the octopus catch jumped 25 times. This should make sense, of course, since most marine stocks are caught faster than they can breed.

"The increase ... was far greater than we ever expected," said Alasdair Harris, scientific director of Blue Ventures, the marine conservation group that conducted the fieldwork. (The group has a permanent field research site off the southwestern Malagasy village of Andavadoaka, which allows citizen scientists like you to sign up and participate in their research.)

Upon the conclusion of the study, hopefully the local community implemented some sustainable fishing practices as opposed to letting the fishermen back into the area and return to overfishing.


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