Planning for National Marine Sanctuaries in the Gulf of Mexico: Reducing User Conflicts Using Electronic Logbooks

The Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS) is one of only 13 in the nation.  Together, these Sanctuaries aim to preserve the marine natural heritage of our nation.  The FGBNMS contains some of the healthiest coral reefs in the world. To better meet its mission, the FGBNMS management plan is being revised and includes provisions for boundary expansion. In developing this plan, the Sanctuary is cognizant of the multiple users of these areas (e.g. commercial and recreational fisheries).  This study was designed to identify the overlap between those areas proposed for the inclusion in the Sanctuary and the existing panaeid shrimp fishery.  The National Marine Fisheries Service began an Electronic Logbook (ELB) data collection program for the Gulf of Mexico penaeid shrimp fishery in 2004 and this program has continued to the present.  The ELB uses a GPS unit and data logger to collect location data of approximately 500 vessels at 10-min intervals, allowing mapping of vessel activity (trawling, steaming, anchored).  Using GIS maps of the proposed expansions in Sanctuary boundaries and the ELB data, the spatial overlap in shrimp trawling effort and the proposed Sanctuary boundaries are highlighted along with management alternatives that reduce user conflict.