Navigating social-ecological trade-offs in small-scale fisheries management : an agent-based population model of stoplight parrotfish (Sparisoma viride) for a Caribbean coral reef fishery

Abstract

Parrotfish (family Scaridae) consume macroalgae, an essential process for sustaining the ecological health of coral reefs. They have become fisheries targets in several Caribbean locations, a practice that provisions food and income but also puts reefs at risk. Some countries have banned parrotfish harvest, but this would inflict substantial hardship for resource-poor fishers in some places, given the high proportion of parrotfish species in their catches. This research informs development and assessment of options for achieving the greatest level of population rebuilding with the least hardship imposed on fishers. The empirical portion of this study took place in the Dominican Republic.