Journal of Coastal Zone Management

Abstract

Do Marine Protected Areas in the Red Sea Afford Protection to Megafauna?: A Reassessment Nearly a Decade On

Rouphael AB*, Marshall N, Noor N, El-Gawish S, Baha-El-Din S, Al-Bahry W, Elhalawani S and Abdulla A

Dugongs, sea turtles and sharks are threatened by gill nets worldwide. A Marine Protected Area (MPA) is one potential tool to reduce the impact of humans on these animals. We undertook a face-to-face survey to compare the proportions of fishers inside and outside MPAs who had observed these animals in their nets. We also assessed if the same fishers had collected and eaten turtles eggs. Forty-nine fishers living in Elba or Wadi El Gamal National Parks (NPs), two MPAs in Egypt’s Red Sea, and 23 fishers living outside these MPAs were interviewed. We found similar proportions of fishers using nets irrespective of whether they lived inside or outside the MPAs. But a greater proportion of fishers living outside the MPAs had caught sharks, turtles and dugongs in nets and eaten turtle eggs. Nevertheless, the proportions of fishers living inside the MPAs who had caught sharks (76%), turtles (71%) and dugongs (20%) in nets were still high. Compared with 2006 data, there was little difference in the proportion of fishers living in Elba NP who had caught turtles in nets, but the proportion of fishers who had caught dugongs in nets was higher in the current study. One reason for this was that a greater proportion of fishers were using nets in 2013. Elba and Wadi El Gamal NPs are not providing comprehensive protection for dugongs, turtles and sharks. Given Egypt’s MPAs are some of the oldest and best resourced in the Red Sea, it is unlikely that MPAs in other countries bordering the Red Sea are providing a better level of protection.