Creating a Large Marine Reserve in the Dry Tortugas Florida: The Role of Science, People, Process, & Persistence Tayrona.org John H. Hunt & William C. Sharp Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission Fish & Wildlife Research Institute

Dry Tortugas National Park Marathon Key West Small group of islands ~ 70 miles west of Key West, Florida Established by the NPS in 1935 to protect historic Fort Jefferson Name changed in 1992 to Dry Tortugas National Park Habitat less disturbed than rest of Florida Keys

Spiny Lobster Size-Frequency DTNP Florida Keys - Fishery Male 120 60 180 100 20 Female 700 350 Size (mm carapace length) frequency frequency

Tortugas 2000 Process 1998: Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) and NPS stakeholder working group processes Goal: create “ecological reserves” in the Dry Tortugas Balance resource protection and marine- related stakeholder activities Considered factors such as coral reef and fish spawning locations and popular fishing areas

General Management Plan National Park Service General Management Plan Publish Draft Plan & Environmental Assessment Develop Alternatives Develop Draft Plan & Environmental Assessment Implementation Begins Project Scoping Publish Final Plan Spring Summer Fall Winter 1998 1999 Winter 2000 Summer 2001 Fall/Winter Fall Implementation Begins Develop Draft Supplemental EIS Project Scoping Publish Draft Supplemental EIS Publish Final Supplemental EIS Develop Alternatives Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Tortugas 2000 Process

Geography and Oceanic Circulation Downstream Transport From Tortugas The Tortugas region is at the interface of the Loop Current in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the Florida Current through the Straits of Florida. This interface aids in the formation of gyres and large eddies that support the retention and dispersal of locally and foreign-spawned larvae. Current-driven upwelling enhances food availability that supports larval growth. These two major current systems, seasonally form the Tortugas Gyre, a large anticlockwise rotating gyre that forms just south of the Tortugas. The Tortugas Gyre (in the center of the figure) can attain 125 miles in size and persist for 2-3 months. This system of currents and gyres plays an essential role in replenishing reef organisms by transporting larvae downstream throughout the Tortugas, the Florida Keys, and perhaps into Southeast Florida. (Lee and Clark 1994; Lee and Williams 1999; Lindeman et al. 2001; Kourafalou et al. 2005). Retention & recruitment pathways for local & foreign larvae Larvae from Tortugas spread via gyres, currents and eddies Upwelling and convergence provides food supply to larvae

Habitats Within Park and RNA Benthic or bottom habitats of Dry Tortugas National Park have been mapped by researchers dating back to 1883. The most recent effort was published in 2003 and classifies approximately 60% of the combined total areas of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) and DTNP (Franklin et al. 2003). Approximately 31% of the Park has not been mapped or classified, and much of this area is sand, rubble, and seagrass habitats greater than 30 meters in depth. Of the approximate 72 square nautical miles that have been mapped and classified in the Park, just over half is low-relief hard-bottom habitat forming the outer rims of the Park. Low-relief and high-relief hard-bottom habitat is associated with high fish and invertebrate species diversity. 54% of hard-bottom habitat type occurs outside the RNA boundaries. (Franklin et al. 2003)

Socio-economic Assessment Lobster Catch Diving Reef Fish Rec Fish

Tortugas Ecological Reserve Final Action Selected by the Tortugas 2000 Working Group & the Sanctuary Advisory Council Area of ~ 151 nm2

Dry Tortugas National Park Research Natural Area: The 5-Year Report Review and Discussion June 27, 2012 Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Fish and Wildlife Research Institute Division of Marine Fisheries Management

RNA Topic 1: Quantify changes in abundance and size-structure of fish species Status of reef fish of the Tortugas region based on fishery-independent visual and trap survey assessments TNER Density = 0.04 Occupancy = 5.3% DRTO Density = 0.10 Occupancy = 10.7% TBO Density = 0.19 Occupancy = 21.9% RNA HAU A 2000-2011: Assessments of the coral reef fishes in the Tortugas region were conducted by a collaborative team of research divers from the Univ. Miami, NOAA, NPS, and the FWC TNER Density = 0.32 Occupancy = 42.6% DRTO Density = 0.26 Occupancy = 33.9% TBO Density = 0.27 Occupancy = 29.0% RNA HAU Within DRTO Occupancy RNA = 34.7% Open-Use = 32.3% B Since RNA implementation, abundance and size-structure of legal-sized red grouper, mutton snapper, yellowtail snapper, and hogfish has increased in TNER & DRTO compared to nearby areas open to fishing

Tortugas North Ecological Reserve Tortugas Bank --Open-Use Area RNA Topic 1: Quantify changes in abundance and size-structure of fish species Tortugas North Ecological Reserve Density = 0.04 Occupancy = 5.3% DRTO Density = 0.10 Occupancy = 10.7% Tortugas Bank --Open-Use Area Density = 0.19 Occupancy = 21.9% Future RNA 2000

RNA Topic 1: Quantify changes in abundance and size-structure of fish species Nursery function of seagrasses within the Dry Tortugas National Park Research Natural Area Surveys were conducted of fish associated with seagrass inside and outside the RNA Juvenile red and black groupers were most frequently collected in the shallow seagrass beds of the RNA Seagrass beds within the RNA likely function as an important nursery habitat for juveniles of these exploited reef fish species in the Tortugas region

RNA Topic 2: Monitor immigration & emigration of targeted species in the RNA Regional connectivity of fishes within the Tortugas region of Florida Listening Posts Riley’s Hump is a well known mutton snapper spawning aggregation site Mutton snapper were acoustically tagged within the RNA & Riley’s Hump and tracked with a network of underwater ‘listening outposts’

SPAWNING MIGRATION CORRIDOR RNA Topic 2: Monitor immigration & emigration of targeted species in the RNA Regional connectivity of fishes within the Tortugas region of Florida Identified a migratory corridor used by mutton snapper between the RNA and a spawning aggregation at Riley’s Hump Some mutton snapper moved from the RNA to Riley’s Hump as many as four times per spawning season SPAWNING MIGRATION CORRIDOR

DRTO TNER RNA TSER May June July 83° 05’ 83° 00’ 82° 55’ 82° 50’ 24° 40’ 24° 35’ Spawning Corridor 24° 30’ TSER

RNA Topic 2: Monitor immigration & emigration of targeted species in the RNA Regional connectivity of fishes within the Tortugas region of Florida Date Number of Fish Observed May 27, 20021 75-100 June 15, 20031 200+ July 4, 20041 300 July 3, 20072 100+ June 11, 20093 ~ 4,000 1 Burton et al. 2005. 2 Michael Burton, NOAA, pers. comm. 3 FWC study Number of mutton snapper observed at Riley’s Hump during expected spawning times at full moon increased after the implementation of the RNA Mutton snapper spawning aggregation in the Tortugas region In 2009, a large aggregation of mutton snapper and repeated spawning events were documented for the first time in Florida

RNA Topic 5: Assess reproductive potential of exploited fishes by evaluating egg production & larval dispersal Larval transport modeling to assess the reproductive potential of reef fish spawning in the Tortugas region Model indicates that spawning at Riley’s Hump supplies new reef fish recruits to the Florida Keys and along the east and west coasts of Florida

Staff Recommendation Staff recommends the Commission continue to support the Special Regulations established for the RNA that prohibit fishing and anchoring