New Fisheries Regulations Must Be Accompanied by Effective Enforcement: A Gulf of California Case Study

In the northern Gulf of California, new ecosystem-based management (EBM) policies are planned or being implemented to preserve artisanal fisheries and meet conservation objectives, such as saving the vaquita (Phocoena sinus), the endemic porpoise on the verge of extinction.  However, social conditions must be considered in setting regulatory policy.  Analysis using a trophodynamic fisheries model (Atlantis) suggested that regulations, if followed, would go a long ways towards meeting conservation goals but would result in severe short-term economic losses to coastal communities.  Here we evaluate a suite of recently proposed EBM policies including marine protected areas, breeding period closures, changes in hook size and fishing effort and gear-specific spatial closures.  The outcomes are framed in economic and ecological terms and compared to a hypothetical situation in which full compliance with existing regulations is achieved.  Full compliance consistently outperforms these new EBM policies from an ecological perspective, highlighting the need to include monitoring and enforcement as part of an integrated EBM approach.