Fish Community Structure Changes

The urgent need to improve protection and management of marine areas is becoming more and more apparent as the number and status of many important fish stocks continue to deteriorate. It has become evident that the vast majority of attempts to manage fisheries resources in a sustainable fashion have been unsuccessful, and resource managers are beginning to seek alternatives to traditional management strategies. Marine protected areas (MPAs) are viewed as important tools in reducing the risks associated with current fisheries management practices. MPAs are areas of ocean that are protected from various human activities (Côté, François, and Jessica Finney, 2006).