@article{fdi:010072382,
  title = {{R}eef accessibility impairs the protection of sharks},
  author = {{J}uhel, {J}. {B}. and {V}igliola, {L}aurent and {M}ouillot, {D}. and {K}ulbicki, {M}ichel and {L}etessier, {T}. {B}. and {M}eeuwig, {J}. {J}. and {W}antiez, {L}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {1. {R}eef sharks are declining world-wide under ever-increasing fishing pressure, with potential consequences on ecosystem functioning. {M}arine protected areas ({MPA}s) are currently one of the management tools used to counteract the pervasive impacts of fishing. {H}owever, {MPA}s in which reef sharks are abundant tend to be located in remote and underexploited areas, preventing a fair assessment of management effectiveness beyond remoteness from human activities. 2. {H}ere, we determine the conditions under which {MPA}s can effectively protect sharks along a wide gradient of reef accessibility, from the vicinity of a regional capital towards remote areas, using 385 records from baited remote underwater video systems and 2,790 underwater visual censuses performed in areas open to fishing and inside 15 {MPA}s across {N}ew {C}aledonia ({S}outh-{W}estern {P}acific). 3. {W}e show that even one of the world's oldest (43 years), largest (172 km(2)) and most restrictive (no-entry) {MPA} ({M}erlet reserve) on coral reefs has between 17.3% and 45.3% fewer shark species and between 37.2% and 79.8% fewer shark abundance than remote areas in a context where sharks are not historically exploited. 4. {O}n coral reefs situated at less than 1 hr of travel time from humans, shark populations are so low in abundance (less than 0.05 individuals per 1,000 m(2)) that their functional roles are severely limited. 5. {S}ynthesis and applications. {R}emote areas are the last sanctuaries for reef sharks, providing a new baseline from which to evaluate human impacts on the species. {H}owever, there is no equivalent close to human activities even in large, old and strongly restrictive marine protected areas. {A}s such sharks deserve strong protection efforts. {T}he large, no-entry marine protected areas, close to humans, offer limited benefits for reef shark populations, but provide more realistic conservation targets for managers of human-dominated reefs. {T}he exclusion of human activities on a sufficiently large area is key to protect reef shark populations. {H}owever, this strategy remains difficult to apply in many countries critically depending on reef resources for food security or livelihood.},
  keywords = {baited remote underwater video system ; baseline ; coral reef ; {E}lasmobranch ; human impact ; human proximity ; marine protected area ; reef ; shark ; underwater visual census ; {NOUVELLE} {CALEDONIE} ; {PACIFIQUE}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{J}ournal of {A}pplied {E}cology},
  volume = {55},
  numero = {2},
  pages = {673--683},
  ISSN = {0021-8901},
  year = {2018},
  DOI = {10.1111/1365-2664.13007},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010072382},
}