The potential use of marine fishery reserves (MFRs) for managing fishe
ries on tropical Pacific coral reefs was assessed with an extension of
the Beverton-Holt model. The effects of year-round fishery closures o
n harvests in adjacent, exploited areas were evaluated. Potential chan
ges in spawning stock biomass per recruit (SSB/R) and yield per recrui
t (Y/R), when varying fractions of exploitable reef area were closed t
o fishing, were estimated from published data, approximated natural an
d fishing mortality rates, size- and maturity-at-age distributions, an
d ''transfer'' (emigration and immigration) rates. For select cases, f
undamental transfer rates were adjusted for possible density-dependent
emigration from closed areas as relative densities decreased in surro
unding non-closed areas because of continued fishing. Three hypothetic
al ''fish types'' were constructed, bracketing the likely extremes in
fundamental transfer rates and related life-history parameters of Paci
fic coral reef fishes: a small-bodied, fast-growing and short-lived, s
trongly philopatric species of damselfish was contrasted with a large-
bodied, relatively slow-growing, long-lived, vagile species of jack. A
''surgeonfish'' type was used to represent intermediate parameter val
ues. Simulations corroborate previous observations that MFRs contribut
e little, if anything, towards increasing Y/R. Results for the highly
vagile jack confirm that rapid transfer rates will negate potential ga
ins in SSB/R resulting from closures. At the opposite extreme, small r
eef philopatriots like damselfishes would almost never be harvested, b
ecause of negligible transfer rates, unless the MFR was periodically o
pened to fishing. The simulations suggest that the SSB/R of the surgeo
nfish type is the most likely to benefit from MFRs, because moderate v
agility allows biomass to accumulate within the closure despite harves
ting in the non-closed area. Results further suggest that growth rate,
fishing effort in the non-closed (open) area, natural mortality, and
maturity and harvesting schedules importantly influence the potential
of MFRs to augment SSB when transfer rates are low to moderate.