Test of multi-species spawning aggregations

Spawning aggregations are an essential phase in the life history of most commercially important finfish species of the Caribbean including snappers and groupers. These aggregations are under increasing threat from overfishing. This special symposium was designed to examine the ecology of spawning aggregations, the socio-economics of their exploitation, and examples of their effective management. Region-wide similarities in the ecology of aggregations and the threats to them may require consistency in monitoring approaches and management measures. Belizean fishermen, national fisheries managers, and local and international conservation organizations recognized declines in the endangered Nassau grouper (Epinephelus striatus) and have conducted coordinated national monitoring efforts during 2001 - 2003. Data from these field surveys confirm that Nassau grouper stocks are depleted compared to historical records. These surveys also provided strong support for the hypothesis that multi-species spawning aggregations consistently occur at the shelf edge of windward facing reef promontories that jut into deep waters. With new understanding from nation-wide surveys and unanimous support from conservationists and fishers alike, Belize enacted year-round fishing closures at 11 of these multi-species spawning aggregation sites within new Marine Reserves in November 2002, along with new closed season for Nassau grouper from January through March. This symposium has brought together over 50 aggregation fishers and a total of 450 scientists and managers from around the Caribbean Basin to address the issue of spawning aggregation monitoring and conservation at local and regional scales. The goal of the symposium was to foster shared regional efforts to conserve and manage spawning aggregations throughout the Gulf and Caribbean.