Area di ripopolamento di Palinurus Elephas: valutazioni sulla gestione della risorsa

The work aims to assess the effectiveness of the no take zones from a management point of view by comparing the population structure of the spiny lobster Palinurus elephas (Fabricius, 1787) along the Sardinian waters. Since 1998, the Region of Sardinia in cooperation with the University of Cagliari, is pursuing a restocking program (Regional Law n. 776/1998) that provides the establishment of some protected areas. During the 2011-2015 period, an extensive monitoring was carried out inside and outside of four specific protected areas: Su Pallosu (central-western Sardinia), Bosa (western Sardinia), Buggerru (south-west Sardinia) and Castelsardo (north Sardinia). A good number of biometric data (length, weight and sex) has been collected during this phase and then analyzed by the virtual population analysis (VPA). The results obtained have allowed us to detect significant differences between populations belonging to different zones. In particular, there was a trend to full recovery of the populations exploited inside the protected areas after only few years. Furthermore, especially for the area of Su Pallosu, they are recognized important spillover phenomena, known to improve the fisheries in the long term. However, in other areas was not observed these particular phenomena, probably due to the lower period of implementation of the management plan. The adult migration to the neighboring areas represents one of the main objectives of the project, as it is an important indicator of effectiveness of the no take areas. This kind of study represent a fundamental step for the development of integrated management plans and protection measures, taking into account both the production requirements, and the ecological factors related to these important resources.