In no-take zones, all fishing is prohibited, which allows for the protection and recovery of marine populations and environments. The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) have monitored the fish populations and ecosystems in Sweden’s no-take zones for a number of years. The results will facilitate the process of providing recommendations on how no-take zones can be designed to become efficient tools in ecosystem-based management.
In Sweden, 1% of the coastal and pelagic waters are no-take zones (2022). However, we now face a unique opportunity to protect and restore species and environments, since EU has committed to strict protection in 10 percent of the ocean by 2030. The coverage of no-take zones will therefore need to increase greatly within the next few years, which provides a promising opportunity to strengthen our fish populations and restore habitats.
Worldwide, no-take zones are found to increase both fish abundance and size in the protected areas, sometimes with positive effects spilling over to adjacent areas open to fishing. In Europe, no-take zones are rare and the knowledge of their use as a management tool is therefore limited. A large portion of the total area of no-take zones in Europe is found in Sweden.
The long-standing no-take zones of Sweden have recently been evaluated and synthesised in a report that was published in 2022. In most of the coastal areas, there was a strong recovery in species targeted by the commercial and recreational fisheries in the protected areas. The abundance and size of fish increased in the no-take zones compared to the areas where fishing was still allowed. The response was rapid, showing that implementing no-take zones is an efficient way of strengthening weak populations.
Long-term effects of no-take zones in Swedish waters (Aqua reports 2022:29)
Effects of the protection on fish communities and benthic fauna are found in no-take zones, showing that prohibiting fishing can also have a positive effect on the ecosystem as a whole. In Sweden, both commercial and recreational fishers target large predatory fish and therefore these species often recover rapidly in no-take zones.
Large predatory fish have an important structuring role in the ecosystem by regulating smaller species like crabs and smaller predatory fish, which in turn control their prey, i.e., small crustaceans and molluscs. These prey species graze on filamentous algae, decreasing their presence, hence enhancing large, habitat-forming vegetation that the filamentous algae otherwise compete with. In this way, large predatory fish limit the negative effects of eutrophication in coastal environments and contribute to thriving habitats.
No-take zones are therefore not only useful in fisheries management but can also be useful in marine conservation.
Top-down control as important as nutrient enrichment for eutrophication effects in North Atlantic coastal ecosystems (scientific article)
Relative impacts of fishing and eutrophication on coastal fish assessed by comparing a no-take area with an environmental gradient (scientific article)
A spatial regime shift from predator to prey dominance in a large coastal ecosystem (scientific article)
The no-take zone at Storjungfrun and Kalvhararna, in the county of Gävleborg was established in 2011 in order to protect the declining stocks of whitefish. The no-take zone covered an area of 147 km2, and is surrounded by a large 4000 km2 buffer zone in which whitefish is protected during spawning. The no-take zone was reopened to fishing in 2016 and fish populations are currently only protected during spawning season.
Chapter 6 (page 52) "No-take zone for whitefish in the Bothnian Sea" i Aqua reports 2022:20
Rapid effects of a fishing closure on whitefish (Coregonus
maraena) in the northern Baltic Sea (scientific article)
Benefits and costs of two temporary no-take zones (scientific article)
Lännåkersviken at Gålö in the Stockholm archipelago is an important spawning and nursery area for pike, perch and pikeperch and has been renowned among sport fishers. Due to heavily decreased stocks of pike and pikeperch, a no-take zone was established as an emergency action to reduce pressure on the highly exploited populations.
The no-take zone covered an area of 1.7 km2 with a similar sized spawning closure as a buffer zone. The no-take zone was reopened to fishing in 2016 and is currently only closed during spawning season.
Chapter 7 (page 22) "No-take zone for pikeperch, pike and perch in the Stockholm Archipelago (Gålö), Baltic Sea" i Aqua report 2022:20
Benefits and costs of two temporary no-take zones (scientific article)
Social Acceptability of Marine Protected Areas – A Case Study of the Gålö No-Fishing Zone in Sweden (master essay)
Licknevarpefjärden is a 3.7 km2 coastal bay in Östergötland. The area is a nature reserve with no fishing allowed. Fishing was prohibited in 1979 to reduce the disturbance on breeding white-tailed eagles, not to protect fish. Because the area has been protected from fishing for decades, it provides us with a unique opportunity to study and understand natural, unfished populations of the Baltic Sea.
Chapter 9 (page 138) "No-take zone for pike and perch in Licknevarpefjärden, Baltic Sea" i Aqua report 2022:20
Relative impacts of fishing and eutrophication on coastal fish assessed by comparing a no-take area with an environmental gradient (scientific article)
The waters around Gotska Sandön, north of Gotland, are known to have high abundances of turbot and European flounder. A 360 km2 no-take zone was established in March 2006 in order to evaluate the effects of a fishing closure on these flatfish populations. The no-take zone partly overlaps with a marine reserve.
Chapter 8 (page 111) "No-take zone for flatfish around Gotska Sandön in the Baltic Sea" i Aqua reports 2022:20
Effects of a large northern European no-take zone on flatfish populations (scientific article)
Sweden and Denmark jointly established a no-take zone in 2009 to protect the threatened cod population in Kattegat. This was unique since the regulations were decided within separate national Swedish and Danish legislations. The no-take zone is 426 km2, located offshore and surrounded by a large buffer zone (2600 km2) in which some fishing is allowed.
Chapter 10 (page 162) "No-take zone and partially protected areas to rebuild cod in the Kattegat" i Aqua reports 2022:20
A no-take zone and partially protected areas are not enough to save the Kattegat cod, but enhance biomass and abundance of the local fish assemblage (scientific article)
Effects of chronic bottom trawling on soft-seafloor macrofauna in the Kattegat (scientific article)
In 2003, no-take zones were established around artificial reefs in Tanneskär and Buskär in the area of Vinga, close to Gothenburg. New artificial reefs were also constructed at the same time. This was done to compensate for the lobster habitats that were destroyed during the expansion of the shipping lane to Gothenburg port. The two no-take zones cover an area of 4.5 km2.
Chapter 11 (page 194) "No-take zone and artificial reefs for lobster and predatory fish at Vinga, Kattegat" i Aqua reports 2022:20
Rapid re-establishment of top-down control at a no-take artificial reef (scientific article)
Havstensfjorden, a protected coastal inlet by Orust in Västra Götaland, has historically been a very productive fishing ground. Due to heavily extinguished fish populations, a 13 km2 no-take zone with a 140 km2 buffer zone was established in 2010 as an emergency measure to protect cod, turbot and European place.
Short summary of results:
Chapter 12 (page 221) "No-take zone for cod and flatfish in the Havstensfjord, Skagerrak" i Aqua reports 2022:20
Local cod (Gadus morhua) revealed by egg surveys and population genetic analysis after longstanding depletion on the Swedish Skagerrak coast (scientific article)
The no-take zone for lobster in Kåvra, where all fishing except handheld gear is forbidden since 1989, is 2.6 km2 and situated outside Brofjorden in the county of Västra Götaland. The no-take zone was established in order to conduct studies on lobster ecology and the effects of fishing on lobster populations.
Chapter 13 (page 272) "No-take zone for lobster and wrasses at Kåvra, Skagerrak" i Aqua reports 2022:20
European lobster subpopulations from limited adult movements and larval retention (scientific article)
Long-term decrease in sex-specific natural mortality of European lobster within a marine protected area (scientific article)
Spawning closures, i.e., areas closed to fishing during spawning season, are often used as a management tool in coastal fisheries. Knowledge on the effects of spawning closures on fish are, however, more limited than that of no-take zones. A large study within the project Refisk has evaluated the effects of spawning closures on perch and pike. Spawning closures were found to benefit pike, but not perch. Effects on the food-web structure were also found.
There are a large number of spawning closures by river outlets along the east and west coast of Sweden where both sea trout and salmon spawn. An assessment at some of them found strong positive effects of the closures on trout and salmon parr abundances in the rivers.
Ulf Bergström, Researcher
Department of Aquatic Resources, Institute of Coastal Research, SLU
ulf.bergstrom@slu.se, +46 10 478 41 17
Mattias Sköld, Researcher
Department of Aquatic Resources, Institute of Marine Research, SLU
Ship Management Unit, SLU
mattias.skold@slu.se, +46 (0)10 478 40 46, +46 (0)705-37 87 74
Charlotte Berkström, Researcher
Department of Aquatic Resources, Institute of Coastal Research, SLU
charlotte.berkstrom@slu.se, +46 10 478 41 65