John H. Hunt & William C. Sharp

1. 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

2. Dry Tortugas National Park Dry Tortugas 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

3. Male Female Male Female 180 100 20 120 60 0 60 120 350 0 350 700 frequency frequency Spiny Lobster Size-Frequency DTNP Florida Keys - Fishery Size (mm carapace length)

5. 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

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

7. Geography and Oceanic Circulation Downstream Transport From Tortugas • Retention & recruitment pathways for local & foreign larvae • Larvae from Tortugas spread via gyres, currents and eddies • Upwelling and convergence provides food supply to larvae

8. Habitats Within Park and RNA (Franklin et al. 2003)

9. Socio-economic Assessment Lobster Catch Diving Rec Fish Reef Fish

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

11. 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

12. RNA Topic 1: Quantify changes in abundance and size-structure of fish species DRTO Density = 0.10 Occupancy = 10.7% TNER Density = 0.04 Occupancy = 5.3% A • Status of reef fish of the Tortugas region based on fishery-independent visual and trap survey assessments RNA HAU • 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 TBO Density = 0.19 Occupancy = 21.9% TNER Density = 0.32 Occupancy = 42.6% DRTO Density = 0.26 Occupancy = 33.9% 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 RNA HAU TBO Density = 0.27 Occupancy = 29.0% Within DRTO Occupancy RNA = 34.7% Open-Use = 32.3%

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

14. 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

15. 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’

16. 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

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

18. RNA Topic 2: Monitor immigration & emigration of targeted species in the RNA • Regional connectivity of fishes within the Tortugas region of Florida • 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

19. 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

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