Presentation of Melanie McField (PhD), Founder and Director of the Healthy Reefs for Healthy People Initiative (HRI), at the webinar "Herbivorous Fish to improve Coral Reef Health: Scientific and regional regulatory measure", held on June 25th, 2020.

1. Melanie McField
Patricia Kramer
Ana Giró Mélina
Soto Nicole Craig
Marisol Rueda. Ian
Drysdale
Herbivory to Improve Reef Health
Webinar June 25, 2020
Collaborative monitoring and reporting protect parrotfish
and improve reef health in the Mesoamerican Reef

2. Mesoamerican Reef Ecoregion
Healthy Reefs Initiative
rBegan in 2004
Report Cards on reef health
Eco-Audits of management
implementation
Collaboration for catalyzing
conservation solutions

3. espacios reducidos o cuando se presenten varios socios, que dificulte la
pleto en piezas como: folletos, plegables, calendarios

4. Building scientific capacity over the last decade
Purposeful Monitoring embedded in Management
256 database users
250 trained biologists
16 regional trainers certified
19 week long training courses
in reef monitoring

5. www.healthyreefs.org
Assessible Data in User-friendly Formats
mapped, color coded, report ready

7. State of the
Mesoamerican Reef
286 sites monitored
82 surveyors
26 organizations
16% critical
46% poor
29% fair
8% good
1% very good
(Belize & Cozumel)

8. 19% MAR
17% Belize
20% MAR
19% Belize
729 g/100m2 MAR
824 Belize
2389 g/100m2 MAR
2744 Belize
Just hit ‘good’
Mesoamerican Reef Stats
23 organizations evaluated 286 reef sites in 2018
75% parrotfish
25% surgeonfish

9. Reef health has declined for the first time in 12 years of
monitoring
Changes is Mesoamerican Reef Health Index
2389 g/100m21196 g/100m2

10. Belize Trends in Key Indicators
Parrotfish protection
~5 years time lag for fish response
~ 8 years for macroalgae

11. Guatemala 12 year trends
Parrotfish protection

12. México 12 year trends
Parrotfish protection

13. Honduras
Partial parrotfish protection
Disputed election results & social unrest
Eroded enforcement
12 year trends

14. Change in Parrotfish Biomass in Honduras: 2016 vs 2018
data in prep. For publication
no
change

15. Change in Commercial Fish Biomass in Honduras: 2016 vs 2018
data in prep. For publication
no change

16. 7,373 fish
61 surveys
121 / survey
21,220 fish
256 surveys
83 / survey
75,138 fish
761 surveys
99 / survey
3,652 fish
22 surveys
166 / survey
Parrotfish Abundance and Size Frequency by Depth
all MAR sites all years

17. A Diverse Assemblage of Herbivores Can Best
Decrease Macroalgae and Promote Reef Health
©Brian Sherry/NatGeo
©Michael Webster
Region wide parrotfish
protection
Diadema urchin recovery
King Crab
enhancement
Reduce nutrients and
pathogen contamination
Active restorationSpecies or Fisheries Protection
Improve Wastewater
treatment
Reduce Agriculture and
Livestock Runoff

18. Data is more straightforward than Policy
Each country needs a different pathway to attain
protection for parrotfish
Use methods that work for your country

19. 2008 International Society for Reef Studies statement
includes recommendation to protect parrotfish.
2008 HRI Report Card also recommends it – directly to
Belize’s Prime Minister at the first launch event.
Community based management and science - WCS / Glovers reef study showed
parrotfish had become a big part of their fishery which helped gets fisher support.
HRI Video plays on national TV – many NGOs promote this as part of the solution

20. Parroyfish slide
Way to go Belize!
2009 Belize Protects Key Herbivores
Parrotfish and Surgeonfish
through a regulatory Fisheries SI
HRI Presents this recommended
management action to SIDS at
the COP in 2010

21. Photo: Rachel Graham,WCS
Be Ready for the Unexpected: Jamaican fish
traps arrive in Belize in 2010
One country’s protection may be another’s $$ Opportunity

22. We Complimented Species
protection with Gear
Restrictions
We Supported the Legislation
with Education
Education materials
for Target Audience:
Fishers and Public

23. Bay Islands National Marine Park
First protection: 2004 (Ministerial decree)
Complete protection: 2010 (MPA
Declaration)
2010 Honduras Creates Large Bay Islands MPA
protecting parrotfish – no spearfishing or fish traps.
Final step of a IDB conservation project (PMAIB)
Bay Islands Marine Park

24. First protection: 2012 (Municipal decree)
Second protection: 2013 (Ministerial decree)
Third protection: 2018 (Congressional decree)
Complete protection: 2021? (Management Plan)
Tela Bay Marine Wildlife Refuge
A longer but more inclusive process – many
community meetings & key local leaders

25. Working with fishermen and the fisheries department for over a year
communicating the importance of herbivores on the reef such as parrotfish.
Public consultation with fishermen. All participants (over 250) voted in favor of
declaring a fishing ban for 5 years.
Parrotfish protection was declared through the MinisterialAgreement 175-2015
Fishing ban for all species of Parrotfish for 5 years: 2015 - 2020.
Guatemala 2015 - 5 year moratorium

26. 0
200
400
600
800
1000
2015 2018
Biomass of herbivorous fish
g/100m2
What has happened since the declaration of the ban in 2015?
Biomass of key herbivores increased from 433 to 873 g/100 m2
Although biomass has
doubled, it is still in
“Critical” condition.
1860 needed for ‘fair’
condition;
990 for ‘Poor” condition

27. Guatemala expande its protection for 5 more years
2020 – 2025 included more species:
• Parrotfish–Labridae family
• Surgeonfish- Acanthuridae family
• Butterflyfish- Chaetodontidae family
• Angelfish- Pomacanthidae family
© Ana Giró © Ana Giró
Protection declared through the Ministerial Agreement 23-2020

28. After years of Report Cards and strategic
communication about the need to protect parrotfish in
Mexico, 2 legislations now fully protect them using
MPAs and ‘protected species”
In 2018, fishing parrotfish (all species) has been
prohibited by the management plan for the Biosphere
Reserve of the Mexican Caribbean (CONANP), covering
an important part of the mexican MAR
In 2019, in collaboration with the Wildlife Direction
(DGVS),CEMDA, CasaWayuu A.C. and Alianza Kanan
Kay, 10 species of caribbean parrotfish were
successfully added to the Protected Species List under
the “special protection” category recognising their
ecological importance.
Fishing of these 10 speces is now prohibited in all the
Mexican caribbean waters.
©Melina Soto
Common name Scientific name
Midnight Scarus coelestinus
Blue Scarus coeruleus
Guacamaya Scarus guacamaia
Striped Scarus iseri
Princess Scarus taeniopterus
Queen Scarus vetula
Red band Sparisoma
aurofrenatum
Red tail or Green Sparisoma
chrysopterum
Yellow tail Sparisoma
rubripinne
Stoplight Sparisoma viride
MEXICO

29. For EACH species,We submitted a complete
Evaluation Risk Method Study.
Based on data, measuring each criteria:
• Distribution of the species
• Habitat state
• Biological vulnerability of the species
• Impact of human activity on the species
For copies (in Spanish) contact Melina:
Soto@healthyreefs.org

30. © Ana Giró
What reef do we want?
© Francesca Diaco
© Ian Drysdale
REEFS WITH HERBIVOROUS FISH REEFS WITHOUT HERBIVOROUS FISH
© Ian Drysdale

31. www.healthyreefs.org
mcfield@healthyreefs.org
Healthy Reefs for
Healthy People
@HealthyReefs
@HealthyReefsMX
HealthyReefs
ENFORCE environmental regulations
CREATE more fish replenishment zones
ENGAGE with private sector to support
and incentivize sustainability
2020 Recommendations