Abstract
With the continued human development of coastal areas, resource management will increasingly have to deal with the quantity, quality, and spatial arrangement of habitat affecting biota that use these coastal areas. The aim of a no-take Marine Protected Area (NTMPA) is twofold. From a commercial perspective it is to increase population density outside of a closed area by the export of individuals from inside. This is called spill-over effect. If such spill-over is not an effect of the closure the incitement for the closure is lost. There is today no consensus on how well NTMPAs work to increase stock biomass in surrounding areas. NTMPA may also exist for a conservation initiative. In such a case, spill-over may be a positive side effect. Lobster is a species of great value, to both recreational and commercial fishing. With an increased fishing effort and decreasing stocks, the call for NTMPA is raised. Lobsters are long-lived and migration distances rarely exceed 2 km. However, the pelagic larval stage of 1-2 weeks is potentially a more long-range mode of dispersal. Hence, adults are immobile enough to secure future reproduction and the larval stage renders both retention of larvae, to supply the own population, and the supply of larvae to surrounding areas. This species is therefore well suited for a study of the role of NTMPAs for conservation and spill-over effects. Setting up an Individual-Based Model I can from a mechanistic angle assess ecological effects of NTMPAs.
Sweden