Small-scale fishers’ perceptions and behavioural responses to marine protected areas implementation

Marine protected area (MPA) implementation can lead to fishers’ displacement and opposition to conservation efforts. Yet, evidence on how MPAs affect fishing operations is limited, especially for the small-scale sector. Surveys and participatory mapping exercises (n=93) were carried out with small-scale fishers in four Mediterranean and one Black Sea MPA to investigate fishers’ behavioural responses and perceptions to MPA implementation. We found that MPAs had a significant impact on small-scale fisheries (SSF) leading to a reallocation of the small-scale fishing footprint, with most fishers choosing to displace their fishing activities to areas previously known to them. Multinomial logistic regression highlighted that the number of fishing gears and perceived impact of MPAs on access to productive fishing grounds were significant predictors of fishing displacement, with fishers using a greater number of gears (i.e. more diverse fishery portfolio) being more likely to reallocate elsewhere, and fishers who perceived increased access to productive areas being less likely to reallocate their fishing efforts to other grounds. MPA implementation did not affect the mean number of fishing gears used. Most fishers felt that they had not adapted their fishing activities following the MPAs’ implementation, and proportion odds models revealed that fishers perceiving higher involvement in decision-making perceived a higher level of adaptation. Our study contributes to fill the knowledge gap about the effect of MPAs on SSF footprint and perceived capacity to adapt, highlighting steps that can be taken to ensure MPAs better meet expectations and needs of local fishing communities.