Small-scale fishers’ perceptions to inform the design and implementation of a newly established Mediterranean marine reserve

Marine Reserves (MRs) play a central role in international and regional biodiversity strategies, such as the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. The Marine Protected Area (MPA) of “Cape Stupišće” (Croatia, Adriatic Sea), designated in 2025 as a Special Marine Reserve (SMR), aims to conserve marine biodiversity while supporting the recovery of exploited fish stocks. However, the effectiveness of strict marine protection largely depends on local stakeholder support, particularly from small-scale fishers who are directly affected by fishing restrictions. We assess small-scale fishers’ attitudes toward the design of this SMR and its forthcoming implementation, and examine their perceptions of its anticipated ecological and socioeconomic outcomes. Specifically, we investigate whether support for strict marine protection is linked to stakeholder participation in the consultation process and sociodemographic characteristics. Twenty face-to-face interviews were conducted with fishers at Komiža harbor between September and October 2025, representing approximately 40% of the active fishing population in the SMR’s vicinity. We found that participation in the consultation process was not associated with significant differences in fishers’ perceptions of the potential ecological or socioeconomic outcomes of the SMR. However, participation was positively associated with fishers’ willingness to engage in future consultation processes, suggesting that early involvement may facilitate stakeholder engagement during the implementation phase. Fishers also identified several conditions likely to influence the future effective implementation of the Cape Stupišće SMR, including the importance of adequate size to generate ecological benefits, stronger enforcement to address illegal fishing and competing uses (e.g., recreational fishing), and greater integration of fishers’ local ecological knowledge into management processes. Overall, our results highlight the heterogeneity of small-scale fishers’ perceptions and emphasizes the importance of participatory governance for strengthening social acceptance, compliance, and long-term effectiveness of strict marine protection in data-poor Mediterranean contexts while providing insights to inform the design and implementation of MRs in similar small-scale fisheries systems.