Sustainability of exploited marine ecosystems through protected areas: A viability model and a coral reef case study

Overexploitation of marine resources remains a problem worldwide. Many works advocate for the use of marine reserves as a central element of future stock management in a sustainable perspective. In the present paper, we address the influence of protected areas upon fisheries sustainability within an eco-systemic framework through a dynamic bio-economic model integrating a trophic web, catches and environmental uncertainties. The model is spatially implicit. The evaluation of the ecosystem is designed through the respect along time of constraints of both conservation and guaranteed captures. Using the mathematical concept of invariance kernel in a stochastic context, we define different MPA effects according to biodiversity, catches or mixed points of view. Numerical simulations inspired from data of Aboré coral reef reserve in New Caledonia illustrate the main concepts. In this case, it is pointed out how MPA conservation effect is not necessarily conflicting with MPA catches effect. It is shown that such a co-viability requires medium exploitation rate. Moreover, the climatic changes represented by rise in cyclonic events seem to reinforce these assertions.