Description

In 2018, the government of Escalante city sought to improve the sustainability of marine resource
utilisation within Escalante waters as part of a larger overhaul of sustainable resource use within its
borders. As part of this effort, Conservation Diver was approached to provide an ecological assessment
of species richness and ecosystem health within Escalante, with a particular focus on assessing the
suitability of the Marine Protected Area (MPA) within Escalante waters, 15 years after its initial
designation. Surveys were conducted at multiple locations throughout the Escalante coastline to provide
an initial inventory of species found, with further ecological assessments being carried out in coral reefs
at various sites. A total of 714 species were recorded in Escalante waters during the survey period. Coral
reefs surveyed were found to be highly variable in their community structure and coral cover, and were
found to support generally low abundances of reef-associated fish and invertebrates, particularly of those
groups which were known to be of commercial value. Surveys of the fish market yielded remarkably
high levels of legal and illegal catch from within reef areas. Surveys within the currently designated
MPA revealed very little coral cover and drastically lower biodiversity or commercially valuable marine
resources of virtually any kind when compared to most surveyed locations within Escalante waters. We
therefore propose alternative zonation strategies and improvements to the sustainability of resource use
at Escalante and provide an initial framework for further assessment and development of sustainability
within Escalante waters.
By Rahul Mehrotra, Coline Monchanin, Maggie Seida, Ellen G. Funesto, Harrison Carmody and Sarocha Pakeenuya