1. How Effective are No-Take areas on Current and Historic Nassau Grouper Spawning Grounds? P. Bush B.X. Semmens, P. Bush, S.A. Heppell, B. Johnson, C. McCoy, C. Pattengill-Semmens, L. Whaylen, S.S. Heppell

3. Nassau Grouper: Conservation Status Protected in Bermuda since 1970s Protected in Florida since the 1980s IUCN Red Listed as endangered B. Semmens

5. Spawning Aggregations Easy target for fishing Few large (functional?) aggregations left P. Bush In order to manage spawning aggregations, we need to understand how they work

6. Study Objectives Identify the full geographic and demographic ‘sphere of influence’ of a functional aggregation Look for evidence that spawning behavior changes (depensation) after spawning sites have been fished to exhaustion P. Bush

7. Cayman Islands Are the spawning site MPAs warranted? Sphere of influence of a healthy SPAG? Evidence for behavioral depensation?

8. Questions For a Functional Aggregation Where are they coming from? Do all fish aggregate every year? Do older fish aggregate more often?

9. Study Design Ring the island of Little Cayman in hydrophones Acoustically tag 50 fish –30 from the aggregation –20 from various sites around the island Follow them for 2-3 years

10. Questions For a Functional Aggregation Where are they coming from? Do all fish aggregate every year? Do older fish aggregate more often?

11. Fish Locations Blue – Aggregation Red – Off Aggregation

12. Questions For a Functional Aggregation Where Are They Coming From? Do All Fish Aggregate Every Year? Do Older Fish Aggregate More Often?

13. LC Spawning Season 2006

14. Questions For a Functional Aggregation Where are they coming from? Do all fish aggregate every year? Do older fish aggregate more often?

15. Big, Old Fish Bigger fish showed up earlier and stayed longer B. Semmens

16. Questions For a Remnant Aggregation Do fish migrate to spawn? Can fish find the spawning site? If they find the spawning site, do they spawn?

17. Questions For a Remnant Aggregation Do fish migrate to spawn? Can fish find the spawning site? If they find the spawning site, do they spawn?

18. Brac Spawning Season 2007

19. Questions For a Remnant Aggregation Do fish migrate to spawn? Can fish find the spawning site? If they find the spawning site, do they spawn?

20. Do Remnant Aggregations Spawn? BIG NEWS: Spawning observed on all three islands in 2009!!

21. Management Implications? Preserving local spawning sites preserves local spawning stocks (in entirety!) Protecting spawning sites even after exhaustive fishing is a really good idea Given the excessive use of ‘corridors’, conservation of this species may require more than just SPAG site MPAs P. Bush

22. Support Provided By CI Businesses: Little Cayman Beach Resort Head of Bay Pete Hillenbrand McCoy’s Dive and Fishing Lodge Pirate’s Point Southern Cross Club REEF Volunteers Funding: Pew Lenfest Ocean Program NOAA International Coral Reef Conservation Fund PADI Project Aware J. Edward Mahoney Foundation REEF CIDOE Oregon State University Hey Baby!