Fisher's perceptions about a marine protected area over time

The perceptions of fishers towards the Arrábida Marine Park, a marine protected area (MPA) in the west coast of Portugal, were studied through face-to-face interviews in two different moments of the MPA life cycle. Fishers' perceptions about the MPA and the impact it had on the fishing activity over time were identified just before the full implementation of the zoning and regulations of the management plan and 10 years later. This study aimed to investigate fishers' knowledge, acceptance and perceptions about the MPA changed with time, if support for the MPA was linked to the impact of the MPA on the fishing activity, and if fishers' perceptions about the impact of the MPA on the fishing activity match with local landings trends. Results show that although knowledge about the marine park significantly improved over time, fishers' acceptance did not. A decrease on fishers' support was not substantial but occurred. Issues such as the disagreement with regulations reinforced concerns raised during the implementation of the marine park, particularly in relation to the top-down decision-making, which commonly confers minor participation, recognition and legitimacy to fishers. Apparently, fisheries benefits were still not perceived by local fishers, though they are central for fishers' support. Further, the perceived negative impacts of the park seemed to be more related to social aspects and individual interests than to impacts on catches. Addressing adequate management, enforcement and participation of local fishers is still possible and are advocated here as to contribute to the expected socioecological outcomes and respective support, leading to the future successful performance of the Arrábida Marine Park. Assessing fishers’ perceptions towards an MPA over time is central and should be included on periodical socioecological monitoring and inform an effective adaptive managementFudação ciência e Tecnologia - FCT