Caribbean no-take zones

Areas exist with a wider definition than 'marine reserve'. In these restricted fishing areas restrictions may operate on certain types of gear, forbid extraction of certain species, or be imposed spatially and/or temporally.

Recently reviewed for the Caribbean, the size area of restricted fishing areas varies considerably. The smallest (the Baths National Park in the British Virgin Islands) is a mere 3 ha in area, the largest (Bigi Pan Multiple Use Management Area in Suriname) is 68,000 ha. The median size is 113 ha. In total fishing is restricted in just over 300,000 ha of the Wider Caribbean, although area estimates for 20 restricted fishing zones are not available. One third restrict all types of fishing, and the largest of these is the Parc National de Guadeloupe at 17,300 ha. Gear restrictions, particularly spearfishing and trapping, are common although is banned in less than 5.

Fishing for two species of fish, jewfish (Epinephelus itajara) and Nassau grouper (Epinephelus striatus) is forbidden throughout the EEZs of Puerto Rico and the USVI which cover a very large area (approx. 230,000 km2). Yet with the exception of the Tourmaline Bank, Abrir La Sierra Bank, Luis Pena Channel and Bajo De Sico in Puerto Rico, and the Lang Bank, Hind Bank and the St. Croix Spawning Aggregation reserve in the USVI, all of which are seasonally closed to fishing of all species from 1st March to 30th June, the remainder of the EEZ is open to fishing of all species with any gear types. This is a relatively sophisticated and targeted suite of restrictions, yet nowhere in Puerto Rico or the USVI will meet the strict definition of a no-take zone as an area closed to all fishing at all times.