Positive Catch & Economic Benefits of Periodic Octopus Fishery Closures: Do Effective, Narrowly Targeted Actions ‘Catalyze’ Broader Management?

OverviewEight years of octopus fishery records from southwest Madagascar reveal significant positive impacts from 36 periodic closures on: (a) fishery catches and (b) village fishery income, such that (c) economic benefits from increased landings outweigh costs of foregone catch. Closures covered ~20% of a village’s fished area and lasted 2-7 months.Fishery Catches from Each Closed SiteOctopus landings and catch per unit effort (CPUE) significantly increased in the 30 days following a closure’s reopening, relative to the 30 days before a closure (landings: +718%, pFishery Income in Implementing VillagesIn villages implementing a closure, octopus fishery income doubled in the 30 days after a closure, relative to 30 days before (+132%, pNet Economic Benefits from Each Closed SiteLandings in closure sites generated more revenue than simulated landings assuming continued open-access fishing at that site (27/36 show positive net earnings; mean +$305/closure; mean +57.7% monthly). Benefits accrued faster than local fishers’ time preferences during 17-27 of the 36 closures. High reported rates of illegal fishing during closures correlated with poor economic performance.Broader Co-ManagementWe discuss the implications of our findings for broader co-management arrangements, particularly for catalyzing more comprehensive management.