Evaluating conservation and fisheries management strategies by linking spatial prioritisation software and ecosystem and fisheries modelling tools

1. Well-designed marine protected area (MPA) networks can deliver a range of ecological, economic and social benefits, and so a great deal of research has focused on developing spatial conservation prioritization tools to help identify important areas. 2. However, whilst these software tools are designed to identify MPA networks that both represent biodiversity and minimize impacts on stakeholders, they do not consider complex ecological processes. Thus, it is difficult to determine the impacts that proposed MPAs could have on marine ecosystem health, fisheries and fisheries sustainability. 3. Using the eastern English Channel as a case study, this paper explores an approach to address these issues by identifying a series of MPA networks using the Marxan and Marxan with Zones conservation planning software and linking them with a spatially explicit ecosystem model developed in Ecopath with Ecosim. We then use these to investigate potential trade-offs associated with adopting different MPA management strategies. 4. Limited-take MPAs, which restrict the use of some fishing gears, could have positive benefits for conservation and fisheries in the eastern English Channel, even though they generally receive far less attention in research on MPA network design. 5. Our findings, however, also clearly indicate that no-take MPAs should form an integral component of proposed MPA networks in the eastern English Channel, as they not only result in substantial increases in ecosystem biomass, fisheries catches and the biomass of commercially valuable target species, but are fundamental to maintaining the sustainability of the fisheries. 6. Synthesis and applications. Using the existing software tools Marxan with Zones and Ecopath with Ecosim in combination provides a powerful policy-screening approach. This could help inform marine spatial planning by identifying potential conflicts and by designing new regulations that better balance conservation objectives and stakeholder interests. In addition, it highlights that appropriate combinations of no-take and limited-take marine protected areas might be the most effective when making trade-offs between long-term ecological benefits and short-term political acceptability.

1. 设计合理的海洋保护区（Marine Protected Area, MPA）网络能够带来多维度的生态、经济与社会效益，因此大量研究聚焦于开发空间保护优先级规划工具，以辅助识别具有关键保护价值的海域。
2. 然而，尽管这类软件工具旨在构建既能涵盖生物多样性、又能最大程度降低对利益相关者影响的海洋保护区网络，但它们并未考量复杂的生态过程。因此，难以评估拟建海洋保护区可能对海洋生态系统健康、渔业及渔业可持续性产生的具体影响。
3. 本研究以英吉利海峡东部海域为案例，探索了一套可解决上述问题的方法：通过Marxan及Marxan with Zones保护规划软件构建一系列海洋保护区网络，并将其与基于Ecopath with Ecosim开发的空间显式生态系统模型进行耦合。随后，我们利用该框架探究采用不同海洋保护区管理策略可能带来的权衡关系。
4. 限捕型海洋保护区会限制部分渔具的使用，尽管其在海洋保护区网络设计研究中通常关注度较低，但仍可为英吉利海峡东部海域的保护工作与渔业发展带来积极效益。
5. 不过，我们的研究结果也明确显示，禁捕型海洋保护区应成为英吉利海峡东部海域拟建海洋保护区网络中不可或缺的组成部分：这类保护区不仅可显著提升生态系统生物量、渔业捕捞量及具有商业价值的目标物种生物量，更是维持渔业可持续性的核心要素。
6. 综合与应用。将现有Marxan with Zones与Ecopath with Ecosim软件工具结合使用，可形成一套高效的政策筛查方法。该方法可通过识别潜在冲突、制定更能平衡保护目标与利益相关者权益的新规则，为海洋空间规划提供决策参考。此外，研究还表明，在权衡长期生态效益与短期政治可接受度时，合理搭配禁捕型与限捕型海洋保护区或许是最优方案。