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Fishery Bulletin 107(2) 
live and dead standing coral, could bring dramatic 
shifts in the ecosystem (George et al., 2007). Conserva- 
tion efforts, however, should focus on the intrinsic value 
of corals such as their slow growth, high sensitivity to 
disturbance, and questionable potential for recovery 
(Auster, 2005). A restoration project utilizing artificial 
reef structures is currently ongoing within the OECA. 
Between 1996 and 2001, a total of 125 large and 900 
small restoration modules were deployed in a series 
of experiments to test their efficacy in the recovery of 
degraded coral and depleted fish populations (Koenig 
et al, 2005). The theory is that this will help O. vari- 
cosa restoration by providing stable settlement habitat, 
which may, in turn, provide suitable habitat for fish 
populations to recover. Early evidence (ROV dives from 
this study) found new coral recruits growing on the 
structures and groupers associated with them as well 
(Reed et al., 2005). While the scale of the artificial 
reefs is likely too small for fisheries replenishment, this 
experiment will provide insight to whether this tool is 
effective for coral restoration. 
80°15'0"W 
80°0'0"W 
79°45'0"V^ 
Locations of live Oculina varicosa (ivory tree coral) from 
video and digital stills collected during remotely operated 
vehicle (ROV) transects during April-May 2003 and Octo- 
ber 2005. 
Being the first study to compare fish assemblages 
among areas with different management levels on the 
Oculina Bank, the results are important to the South 
Atlantic Fishery Management Council as they evalu- 
ate the effectiveness of the OECA; this study and fu- 
ture surveys will help determine the fate of the closed 
area when it is reconsidered by the Coral and Habitat 
Advisory Panels in 2014. While MDS and ANOSIM 
analyses revealed no significant differences in the com- 
position of fish assemblages among management areas, 
other positive effects of the closure were observed. Fish 
diversity was higher inside the OHAPC and OECA 
compared to the open area. Grouper densities were 
significantly higher in the OECA, particularly on rock 
outcrops, than in the OHAPC or open areas. Also, more 
coral was found in the OECA suggesting the restriction 
of fishing activity may have aided in conserving what 
little O. varicosa had not been destroyed by trawling. 
Habitat quantification analyses demonstrated there 
was significantly more live and standing dead O. vari- 
cosa in the OECA compared to the OHAPC and open. 
An important observation from the ROV 
transects was the presence of black sea 
bass ( Centropristis striata) in 2005. Prior 
to that time, black sea bass had not been 
observed on the O. varicosa reefs since the 
1980s when they dominated the area (Koe- 
nig et al., 2000). While black sea bass in 
the 1980s were large, mature individuals, 
most individuals in 2005 were small ju- 
veniles, ranging in length from 10 to 20 
cm, suggesting initial stages of recovery 
for this species. Another significant dis- 
covery was the sighting of the first juvenile 
speckled hinds since the 1980s. All of these 
findings combined present initial evidence 
demonstrating effectiveness of the MPA for 
restoring reef fish and their habitat. 
Sustained enforcement remains an on- 
going problem for MPAs (Riedmiller and 
Carter, 2001; Rogers and Beets, 2001). 
Even relatively moderate levels of poach- 
ing can quickly deplete gains achieved by 
closure (Roberts and Polunin, 1991; Russ 
and Alcala, 1996). As of 2003, all trawl- 
ing vessels working in the Oculina Bank 
area are required to have vessel monitoring 
systems, but this doesn’t solve the problem 
of poaching by hook and line fishing. Be- 
tween 2003 and 2007, illegal trawlers and 
fishers were observed within the MPA dur- 
ing our cruises, and several vessels have 
been cited and fined by the United States 
Coast Guard. ROV observations from this 
study indicate recent trawl nets, bottom 
long lines, and fishing lines inside the MPA 
long after these gears were banned from 
the area. Continued trawling and bottom 
fishing in the OHAPC likely will thwart 
management objectives. 
