552 



Fishery Bulletin 94(3), 1996 



postsettlement fishes and invertebrates from MFR's 

 into fished areas. A recent study (Rakitin and 

 Kramer, 1996), designed to test for emigration of 24 

 fish taxa from the Barbados Marine Reserve, did not 

 provide conclusive proof that the reserve allowed for 

 exportation of fishes into the surrounding waters. 

 Without solid data, managers will continue to face 

 criticism from fishermen and other special interest 



groups that reserves are of no advantage to them or 

 the environment. 



In this study, a comparison of population struc- 

 ture of the commercially and culturally significant 

 gastropod Strombus gigas, queen conch, was made 

 between a fished area and an MFR in the Exuma 

 Cays, an island chain in the central Bahamas (Fig. 

 1A). The fished area was near Lee Stocking Island, 



li 



I 



Atlanta 

 Florida ^ Ocean 



-3 



*., 



1 /> \ 



LSI \ 



, ■' .' 



*. / /\2 Exhuma Sound 



/ 



Grear Bahama 

 Bank 



*\\ Bay Cay / / 





•^ 



Figure 1 



Maps showing 2 study sites in the Exuma Cays, central Bahamas (A). Waderick Wells (WW) iBl is 

 located within the boundaries of a marine fishery reserve, but fishing is allowed near Lee Stocking 

 Island (LSD(C). In the detailed maps (B. C), dot-dash lines represent survey transects, solid lines with 

 arrows indicate direction and extent of tidal flow, and solid lines labeled 1 and 2 show location of the 

 inshore and offshore plankton tows. Area within the dashed lines and the 30-m isobath comprised the 

 entire survej an a 



