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Quotas regulation is necessary but not sufficient to mitigate the impact of SCUBA diving in a highly visited marine protected area

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dc.contributor.authorCaló, Antonio
dc.contributor.authorHernández Andreu, Ramón
dc.contributor.authorGarcía Charton, José Antonio
dc.contributor.authorPereñíguez López, José Manuel
dc.contributor.departmentEcología e Hidrología
dc.date.accessioned2026-01-21T09:38:08Z
dc.date.available2026-01-21T09:38:08Z
dc.date.copyright© 2021 Elsevier Ltd
dc.date.issued2021-10-21
dc.description.abstractWhen effectively managed, Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) can produce wide ecosystem benefits that can foster, directly and indirectly, local economies. Tourism is one of the sectors mainly benefited by the effect of conservation. SCUBA diving represents an important tourism activity, especially in the context of MPAs, where it is one of the few activities often fostered rather than limited, for its capacity to integrate environmental and socio-economic sustainability. However, SCUBA diving can also produce negative impacts on the environment when tourism frequentation exceeds a sustainable threshold, these potentially generating negative effects on the sector itself. In this study, we (1) investigated the impact of SCUBA diving in one of the most frequented diving areas of the Mediterranean Sea (Cabo de Palos – Islas Hormigas marine reserve), and (2) assessed the potential benefits over time related to the adoption of a regulation change for the diving activity (i.e., formally adoption of diving quotas). Specifically, we compared demographic (density of alive and dead colonies) and morphometric (height, width and complexity) characteristics of the false coral (Myriapora truncata) between dived and fully protected (non-dived) locations over four diving seasons (one before and three after the change in diving quotas). The density of alive colonies of the false coral was, on average, six times lower in dived locations compared to controls, highlighting a clear impact of SCUBA diving (consistent over time). Colonies were also significantly smaller in dived locations. The diving quotas produced a significant reduction of the ratio dead/total colonies in the dived locations soon after their adoption, but these benefits disappeared over the following years, possibly due to a gradual decline in operators' and divers’ observance and concern, rather than an increasing number of dives. This suggests that the adoption of effective regulations is crucial for the environmental sustainability of diving tourism in protected areas and can provide positive effects, but an effort is needed to ensure that compliance is consistent over time, and that low-impact diving practices are adopted by this important recreational sector.
dc.formatapplication/pdf
dc.format.extent11
dc.identifier.citationJournal of Environmental Management, 2022, Vol. 302 : 113997
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113997
dc.identifier.issn0301-4797
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10201/189849
dc.languageeng
dc.publisherElsevier
dc.relationThis research was supported by the Regional Fisheries and Aquaculture Service of the Region of Murcia. Antonio Calò was also funded by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR) in the framework of the PON ‘Research and Innovation 2014–2020’ - section 2 ‘AIM: Attraction and International Mobility’ (D.D.407/2018), co-financed by the European Social Fund – CUP B74I18000300001, project: ‘Blue Growth’ (AIM1898397 - 1).
dc.relation.publisherversionhttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479721020594
dc.rights.accessRightsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess
dc.subjectTourism hotspot
dc.subjectRecreational diving
dc.subjectEcological indicator
dc.subjectHuman impact
dc.subjectSustainable tourism
dc.subject.odsObjetivo 12: Producción y consumo sostenibles
dc.titleQuotas regulation is necessary but not sufficient to mitigate the impact of SCUBA diving in a highly visited marine protected area
dc.typeinfo:eu-repo/semantics/article
dc.type.versioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
dspace.entity.typePublicationes
relation.isAuthorOfPublication167ddb0c-6902-407e-8821-f46e7e51efc0
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscovery167ddb0c-6902-407e-8821-f46e7e51efc0
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