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Transient fish spawning aggregations (FSAs) are critical life‐cycle events for many commercially important species, in which fish congregate in huge numbers to spawn at predictable times and places. This behavior makes them exceptionally vulnerable to fishing. The “illusion of plenty” and poor access to monitoring tools and techniques has resulted in some FSAs being overfished or unwittingly eliminated. We present a co‐conservation network, formally linking site‐focused partners who cooperatively monitor and actively manage multispecies FSAs. FSA sites and networks offer great potential as conservation bright spots to replenish fished populations, rehabilitate marine ecosystems, and ensure the flow of ecosystem services to the millions of people that rely upon them for their wellbeing. We call for urgent global recognition of FSAs as effective spatial nexus for addressing multiple interconnected global policy targets for a sustainable ocean.

The Cayman Crown is a recently identified, highly resilient coral reef ecosystem in the deep-water channel between Belize and Guatemala. We collected single and multi-beam sonar data to map bathymetry and describe the unique reef morphology and high resilience. The morphology is the result of the setting of the reef along the edge of the North American tectonic plate at the southwestern apex of the Cayman Trench. Our data were used to support the creation of newly declared marine reserves.

Managed reef fish in the Atlantic Ocean of the southeastern United States (SEUS) support a multi-billion dollar industry. There is a broad interest in locating and protecting spawning fish from harvest, to enhance productivity and reduce the potential for overfishing. We assessed spatiotemporal cues for spawning for six species from four reef fish families, using data on individual spawning condition collected by over three decades of regional fishery-independent reef fish surveys, combined with a series of predictors derived from bathymetric features. We quantified the size of spawning areas used by reef fish across many years and identified several multispecies spawning locations. We quantitatively identified cues for peak spawning and generated predictive maps for Gray Triggerfish (Balistes capriscus), White Grunt (Haemulon plumierii), Red Snapper (Lutjanus campechanus), Vermilion Snapper (Rhomboplites aurorubens), Black Sea Bass (Centropristis striata), and Scamp (Mycteroperca phenax). For example, Red Snapper peak spawning was predicted in 24.7-29.0°C water prior to the new moon at locations with high curvature in the 24-30 m depth range off northeast Florida during June and July. External validation using scientific and fishery-dependent data collections strongly supported the predictive utility of our models. We identified locations where reconfiguration or expansion of existing marine protected areas would protect spawning reef fish. We recommend increased sampling off southern Florida (south of 27° N), during winter months, and in high-relief, high current habitats to improve our understanding of timing and location of reef fish spawning off the southeastern United States.

The vulnerability of a fish stock to becoming overfished is dependent upon biological traits that influence productivity and external factors that determine susceptibility or exposure to fishing effort. While a suite of life history traits are traditionally incorporated into management efforts due to their direct association with vulnerability to overfishing, spawning behavioral traits are seldom considered. We synthesized the existing biological and fisheries information of 28 fish stocks in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico to investigate relationships between life history traits, spawning behavioral traits, management regulations, and vulnerability to fishing during the spawning season. Our results showed that spawning behavioral traits were not correlated with life history traits but improved identification of species that have been historically overfished. Species varied widely in their intrinsic vulnerability to fishing during spawning in association with a broad range of behavioral strategies. Extrinsic vulnerability was high for nearly all species due to exposure to fishing during the spawning season and few management measures in place to protect spawning fish. Similarly, several species with the highest vulnerability scores were historically overfished in association with spawning aggregations. The most vulnerable species included several stocks that have not been assessed and should be prioritized for further research and monitoring. Collectively, the results of this study illustrate that spawning behavior is a distinct aspect of fish ecology that is important to consider for predictions of vulnerability and resilience to fisheries exploitation.

Coral reefs are the most biodiverse ecosystems on earth and are presently experiencing severe declines globally. Shallow coral reef ecosystems (<30 m) have been studied extensively while mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCE) are poorly studied. As a result, MCE are rarely included in marine reserve design and management, despite their ecological importance and connectivity to shallow reefs. In this study, we assessed the fine-scale topographic complexity, a proxy for structural complexity, for a group of coastal coral reefs in a marine park in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico, in depths between 2 and 49 m. We conducted hydrographic surveys using a semi-portable multibeam echosounder system to produce 3D bathymetry digital terrain models (DTM) with a 2.5 m spatial resolution for three submerged bank reefs and two emerging reefs. From these models, descriptive terrain parameters were calculated for each reef, including slope, aspect, curvature, rugosity and ruggedness. Results show that all reefs are predominantly northeast-southwest oriented, with well-defined leeward and windward sides. For the three submerged bank reefs, structural complexity increased with depth. Estimated mean ruggedness and rugosity were highest at 20–40 m depth range on windward side slopes. Emerging reefs showed high structural complexity, particularly at the 25–40 m depth range. We identified a spur and groove zone with maximum ruggedness (0.26) and rugosity (3.17) values, and four channels with steep slopes (68°) and dispersed mounds. We found that at mesophotic depths (>30 m), southern reefs basements from two distinct reefs merge to form a continuous complex. This has important management implications since presently, only 28.7% of this reef complex (mostly shallow areas) are within the existing limits of the marine park’s core zone. Considering the newly recognized importance of MCE, we propose expanding and reshaping the core zone to include the entire reef complex which mostly encompasses MCE with high structural complexity. Our study illustrates the value of semi-portable MBES for marine planning in developing countries and remote poorly studied areas.

The energy system in the United States has a significant opportunity to meet society’s needs for reliable, affordable, and clean energy by utilizing offshore wind. Development is moving quickly in the Atlantic Ocean, with the first large-scale utility project approval anticipated in December 2020. Offshore wind will have positive and negative impacts on existing ocean resources and ocean users, yet there is no precedent in the United States for evaluating effects on fisheries and fishers from utility-scale development. US regulations stipulate that wind developers conduct extensive surveys and impact monitoring for the approximate 30-year life of each project. This requirement creates an unprecedented and exciting opportunity for regional-scale, multi-decade, and cooperative monitoring and research that can inform decision-making for US regulators managing wind development and fisheries. This paper offers a vision for creating collaborative science partnerships designed to help build trust and transparency among two important US industries—fishing and offshore wind.

In the U.S. Gulf of Mexico (U.S. GOM), the identification and characterization of transient fish spawning aggregation (FSA) sites is recognized as a regional priority for conservation, but progress is hindered by a lack of understanding of FSA distributions for most exploited species. We employed information compiled in regional databases on FSAs and monitoring for the U.S. GOM to fit species distribution models and produce maps showing the areas likely to host single- and multi-species transient FSA sites. Our results revealed two distinct regions of the U.S. GOM for prioritizing monitoring and conservation efforts for transient FSAs: the coastal waters surrounding major bay systems, particularly those of Texas and Louisiana, and portions of the continental shelf edge (the Flower Garden Banks area and the West Florida shelf edge). The next step would be to locate and characterize actual transient FSA sites in the U.S. GOM by surveying within the areas we identified.

Fish populations undertaking ontogenetic or spawning migrations pose challenges to marine protected area (MPA) planning because of the large extent of their distribution areas. There is a need to identify the juvenile and spawner hotspots of these populations that could be set aside as MPAs. Species distribution models making comprehensive use of available monitoring data and predicting the realized juvenile and spawner hotspots of migratory fish populations will assist resource managers with MPA planning. We developed a statistical modelling approach relying on multiple, regional monitoring datasets for assisting spatial protection efforts targeting the juveniles, spawners, or both life stages, of migratory fish species and species complexes. This approach predicts juvenile and spawner hotspot indices, and critical life stage (CLS) hotspot indices, which integrate both juvenile and spawner hotspot indices. We applied the approach to 11 vulnerable species of the grouper–snapper complex of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, which all form fish spawning aggregations (FSAs). The CLS hotspot index was predicted to be highest in the Pulley Ridge and Flower Garden Banks areas, followed by the West Florida Shelf, southwestern Florida waters and portions of the Louisiana‐Mississippi‐Alabama shelf. The Pulley Ridge Habitat Area of Particular Concern and Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary are two important existing MPAs of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, whose possible expansion is being considered. The predicted CLS hotspot indices suggest that expanding these MPAs or increasing harvest regulations within them would offer substantial protection to both the juveniles and spawners of many FSA‐forming species of the grouper–snapper complex. Synthesis and applications. As the number of marine protected areas (MPAs) continues to increase worldwide, statistical modelling approaches making comprehensive use of available data are urgently needed to support resource managers’ abilities to establish sound and efficient spatial protection plans. The outputs of our statistical models can serve as inputs to conservation planning software packages seeking optimal marine protected areas configurations or can be directly employed by resource managers for formulating spatial protection plans. As the number of marine protected areas (MPAs) continues to increase worldwide, statistical modelling approaches making comprehensive use of available data are urgently needed to support resource managers’ abilities to establish sound and efficient spatial protection plans. The outputs of our statistical models can serve as inputs to conservation planning software packages seeking optimal marine protected areas configurations or can be directly employed by resource managers for formulating spatial protection plans.

Bonefish (Albula vulpes) are an important resource for catch-and-release fishing in the Caribbean Sea. Understanding movements within and between the Caribbean Coast (CC) and Chetumal-Corozal Bay (CB) in Mexico and Belize is crucial for identifying and protecting home ranges, migration routes, pre-spawning and spawning sites. We used a mixed-methods approach to document dynamics of bonefish movement. We collected fishers’ local knowledge (LK) using qualitative methods including workshops, key informant interviews, participant observation and field notes about bonefish seasonal movements. We then used mark-recapture (8816 tagged, 569 recaptured) method to understand bonefish movements by size, location and season. Bonefish were significantly larger in CC than in CB. We documented several seasonal movement patterns. A southward movement within CB during the rainy season was likely driven by salinity changes. This was followed by an eastward long-distance migration during the norths or cold front season between the bay and the Caribbean Sea, likely for spawning, as we document likely spawning readiness, pre-spawning behavior and synchronized to the fore-reef at one of two pre-spawning aggregation sites in a World Heritage Site in the CC of Belize during November and December of 2018. There was then a northward movement during the dry season as a journey back to home ranges. The information presented herein can inform resource management and protected areas planning towards a bi-national conservation and management of bonefish and its habitats.