A feedback management procedure based on controlling the size of marine protected areas

A feedback management procedure is proposed that is based on controlling the size of a Marine Protected Area (MPA): increasing the size of the MPA when the population is below a predetermined target level and reducing its size when it is above. The objective of fisheries management is to have the population size approximate the target level. Local stability was analyzed, to determine whether a population could remain close to the target level with small perturbations, using a generalized population dynamics model without including an age structure. The procedure was able to sustain the population at the target level if the target was set at a level that gives the maximum sustainable yield and if drastic changes in the MPA size were avoided. Global stability was analyzed numerically to determine whether a population would always approach the target level regardless of the present population size, using a specified model that allowed for temporal changes in the spatial distribution of a sedentary population. The procedure, which did not require direct control of catch quota or fishing effort, appeared to attain the objective successfully.