Big Fish

Cooperative monitoring and

conservation of a network of marine
hotspots
Sustainable Fishing and the Health of the Oceans
National Press Foundation

Dr. William Heyman

12 July 2018
Questions for NPF Fellows
• What are the most pressing threats to sustainable
fisheries and healthy ocean systems?

• What are the best solutions to address these

threats?
Context: Situation and
threats
• Coastal population growth
• Climate change
• Cumulative threats to marine systems
• Upland sources of pollution
• Coastal development
• Illegal, unsustainable, and unreported fishing
• Increasing fishing effort

Limited resources for management

Context: Desired State
• Resilient marine ecosystems and communities
• Sustainable fisheries
• Ecosystem based management
• Stakeholders involved in management
• Food security
• Regional monitoring and management systems

Efficient, holistic, cost effective solutions

Acknowledging Fishers: Thank you!

Thank you!
Buddy Guindon Jack Cabral
Eloy Cuevas

Peter Gladding
Anselmo Nunez Sonny Garbutt
Talk Outline
• Story time
• Pornographic video
• A bit more background and context
• Big Fish Vision of a holistic solution
• Big Fish Initiative progress and next steps
• Story ideas and contacts
 Story time!

My 20 year pathway to
the Big Fish Initiative
Case Study: Belize
spawning aggregations
Fisher interviews reveal

Monthly Mutton Snapper Landings

20,000
Mean Landings (lbs)

15,000

10,000

5,000

0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Month
Data summarized from interviews of 8 commercial boat owners, representing 23
fishers at Gladden Spit (Heyman, 1996).
Groupers and snappers
migrate to spawn

Fishermen know
where and when
Gladden Spit Spawning Aggregations
Gladden Spit serves as a
multi-species spawning
aggregation site
What is a spawning
aggregation?
• Grouping of conspecific fish, congregated for
reproduction
• Spawning aggregation indicators
• 3-fold increase in density
• Hydrated eggs
• Courtship and spawning behavior
• Elevated CPUE
• Continuum between “resident” and “transient”
aggregations
Spawning Waltz
National Cooperative Study in Belize

• Developed and used

standardized protocol
• Tens of institutions;
hundreds of people
involved, including many
fishermen
Tested Hypothesis: Multi-species reef
fish spawning aggregations occur at:
• Reef promontories (convex bending reef)
• Adjacent to shelf edges
• 30 – 50 m depth
• Top of dropoff into deep waters (> 500 m)
 RESULTS:
As many as 20
species
spawning at
each site
including
Nassau grouper,
other grouper,
snappers, and
jacks

Heyman and Kjerfve, 2008;

Kobara and Heyman 2010
 Minister created 11
new marine
protected areas
(MPAs) in 2003

• Sites monitored through

2017
• Some sites are recovering
• Source of National pride

Heyman, 2011
Predict and Verify: Lighthouse Reef, Belize

Predicted spawning
aggregation site
20 species of snappers,
groupers and jacks
Mexico
• NGO COBI trained fishermen in aggregation monitoring
• Used standardized protocol to characterize, map and
monitor FSAs
• Documented multi species FSAs at reef promontories
• 5 sites protected at request of fishermen
 San Juan

Mexico Mero y
Abadejo

Punta Xoxen

Cubera Snapper

Dog Snapper
Ocean Triggerfish
Niche Haibin
Mero

Mutton Snapper
Nassau Grouper Mutton Snapper
Yellowfin Grouper Horse-eye Jack

Punta
Pájaros
Cuba FSAs
 Big Fish in Havana
November 2016

Fabian Pina Julio Baisre Rodolfo Claro Katie Thompson

Cheyla Roberto Gonzalez de Zayas Ana Salceda
108 confirmed sites evaluated
Techniques applied in the
US South Atlantic

Go Pro cameras
Biological data collection
Georgetown Hole FSAs

Yellowedge grouper
Greater amberjack Snowy grouper
Blueline tilefish
scamp
Mutton snapper

scamp
Warsaw
scamp
grouper
South Atlantic Fisheries
Management Council took
action
• Amendment 36 to Snapper Grouper FMP
Establishes management framework to create new
Spawning Special Management Zones (summer
2017)
• Established network of 5 initial spawning SMZs,
including Georgetown Hole
Riley’s Hump
Florida Keys National Marine
Sanctuary

Utilization of Riley’s Hump

Black and Scamp

Grouper

Mutton Snapper
Cubera Snapper
Success at Riley’s Hump
• 400% increase in Mutton snapper biomass
• Re-forming aggregations of Cubera snapper,
dog snapper, black grouper, and other species.
• More mutton being caught on eastern Florida.
 What about the Gulf of
Mexico?
RESTORE Act Science Program supported:
• Literature survey of over 800 references
• Determined spawning seasons
• Mapped known sites
• Expanded monitoring protocol
• All data available at: http://geo.gcoos.org/restore/
Cooperative Monitoring Program for Spawning
Aggregations in the Gulf of Mexico:
An assessment of existing information, data gaps, and research priorities

NOAA RESTORE Act Science Program

Brad Erisman, Will Heyman, Shinichi Kobara, Christopher Biggs, Nick Farmer,
Susan Lowerre-Barbieri, Mandy Karnauskas, Jorge Brenner
Monitoring techniques refined and
applied in the Gulf of Mexico
FSAs in the Gulf of Mexico

• Surveyed literature of over 800 references

• Examined historical 8 collections
histology
3 7
5 6 12
• Collected reliable
4
11 accounts and personal 9
2observations
10 from5fishermen’s logbooks
1
• Used data collected by the authors. 13
14 16
• Mapped known sites 15 17
23 18
22 21 19
20
Depth contours in m

Heyman et al., in review

West Florida shelf edge

Source: C Koenig and F. Coleman

 B

C
Coastal multi-species FSAs
• Channel and jetties serve as multi-species spawning
habitat
 A bit more
context and
background
Reef Fish larvae
Life Cycle

juveniles
eggs

adults spawning
aggregation
Marine connectivity
Western Atlantic snapper-grouper
complex transcends many jurisdictions

South Atlantic
FMC
Gulf of Mexico FMC Caribbean
FMC

Caribbean Nations
Nassau Grouper
Black Grouper
 But less than 50% of US stocks
The good news
have been assessed; very few
about rebuilding in the wider Caribbean
(data from
assessed stocks)

National Research Council. 2014

Big Fish Initiative:
Vision and Benefits
Big Fish Vision
A network of fishermen, scientists, and managers
who cooperatively monitor and protect a set of
multi-species spawning aggregations throughout the
Western Central Atlantic and thus support regional
monitoring, recovery and resilience of fisheries,
coastal economies, and marine ecosystems.
Known Sites
 Galveston
Wayne’s Madison
Port Lump Swanson
Flower
Aransas
Garden
Banks

Possible
Cabo
Sentinel Sites Corrientes

Cayo
Punta Allen Bretón
Punta Hererro

Gladden Spit
Cayman Crown
Sentinel Sites with proven and
New Technologies
 Benefits of the Big Fish Initiative
 A regional network of protected FSA sites will promote
sustainable and resilient multi-species fisheries and
resilient coastal economies

 Long-term data stream from FSA network will support:

 Stock assessments for many species
 Protected areas design
 Regional assessment of shared resources and chronic and acute
impacts from natural & anthropogenic stressors, e.g. climate change

 Targeted education and outreach will support:

 Broad understanding and support for FSA management
 Specific conservation action plans in many countries/area
 Management Policies
Big Fish Initiative:
Progress and next
steps
Big Fish Initiative Progress to date
• Produced cooperative monitoring protocols for
Belize, Mexico, US South Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico
• Built database to house monitoring data
• Provided trainings in monitoring
• Documented new FSA sites with fishers (Belize,
Mexico, South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico)
• Supported protected areas declaration in Belize,
Mexico, and US South Atlantic
• Developing pilot in the Mesoamerican Reef
• Completed RESTORE Act Project, Gulf of Mexico
• Established partnerships in Cuba
Progress to date, continued
• Produced 26 peer-reviewed scientific publications
plus many others from partners
• Supported development of the “sentinel sites” in
Mexico that include sound and physical
oceanographic monitoring.
• Present funding support from:
• RESTORE Act Science Program
• Summit Foundation
• MAR Fund
• Convened several regional trainings and meetings
Big Fish Priorities
1. Formalize institutional structure and partnerships.
2. Formalize regional monitoring program, database and
establish pilot “sentinel” sites.
3. Develop and implement education, outreach and
communications strategy.
4. Engage stakeholders from all sectors.
5. Support conservation and management policies and
implementation.
Program Needs
• Startup funding for:
• Administration, management, grant writing
• Film production
• Database and protocol upgrading
• Regional coordination and planning meetings
• Regional status report on FSAs to define priority areas
and sites by country/region.
• Approximately 2 million annual operating costs
Big Fish Initiative News Stories
• Big fish is developing a communications strategy
• 1-hour film for broadcast
• Platforms for communications among partners
• Platform for data sharing
• Country and region-specific strategies and products
• Desire to coordinate with the press to move the
initiative along
Acknowledging Partners

Cuban Center for the

Research of Coastal
Ecosystem (CIEC)
Acknowledging Funders
• RESTORE Act Science Program
• NOAA’s Saltonstall-Kennedy Program
• South Atlantic Fisheries Management Council
• Caribbean Fisheries Management Council
• LGL Ecological Research Associates, Inc.
• BelugaSmile Productions, LLC
• Pew Charitable Trusts
• Fishers: Scott Hickman, Buddy Guindon, Wayne Werner,
Don DeMaria, Mark Marhefka, Jack Cox
• And many others
Newsworthy story
suggestions,
opportunities and
contacts
Talk to Fishermen
• Mark Marhefka, Buddy Guindon, Wayne Werner,
Scott Hickman, Eloy Cuevas, Jack Young, Jack Cox,
• Gladden Memorial Award winners
Big Fish Initiative Stories
• Fisher Exchanges
• SAFMC Amendment 36 development and progress
• COBI’s work with fishers to conserve FSAs
• Biology and management of Nassau grouper or
Goliath grouper
• IUU fishing on FSAs by recreational fishers from
Florida in Bahamas and Cuba
• RESTORE Act science program
• Emerging issues with Big Fish
Contact Dr. Benny Gallaway,
LGL Ecological Research
Associates
• History of the interactions between shrimp and red
snapper management in the Gulf of Mexico
• Fisheries issues surrounding oil and gas platform
removal in the Gulf of Mexico
• Kemps Ridley sea turtle recovery – the history of
management, and interactions with fisheries, oil
spill, and natural environmental variations
Contact Dr. Nathan Putman
LGL Ecological Research
Associates
• Effects of gravitational forces on marine organism
navigation
• Sea turtles
• Salmon
Contact Darren Ireland
LGL Ecological Research
Associates
• Interactions between marine mammal
management and the oil and gas industry
Contact Dr. Brad Erisman
University of Texas
• RESTORE Act Science Program project on Fish
Spawning Aggregations