Evaluating the effects of three forms of marine reserve on northern abalone populations in British Columbia, Canada

Marine reserves have been suggested ns tools for assisting the management o f fisheries by protecting vulnerable marine species from overexploitation. Although there is a theoretical basis for believing that marine reserves ma y serve as management tools, there are few marine reserves in the world in which to test their effectiveness. My research evaluated three forms of mar ine reserve on the south coast of Vancouver Island,, British Columbia, Cana da, I used northern abalone (Haliotis kamtschatkana), a severely depleted s hellfish in this region, ns an indicator of the effectiveness of the reserv es Abalone populations in eight sites receiving different degrees of spatia l protection were counted and measured ill situ during the spring of 1996 a nd 1997 In all sites with enforced harvest closures, populations of abalone were greater, and one site with nearly 40 years of protection had on avera ge much larger (older) abalone. Reproductive output, as a function of abund ance and size, was also greater in the enforced reserve areas. Larval dispe rsal from reserves, and hence the benefit to exploited areas, was not forma lly surveyed. Nevertheless, the results of my study, combined with knowledg e of present abalone populations, life history, and regional hydrodynamics, suggest that establishment of reserves is justified in the absence of perf ect knowledge of larval dispersal.