The effectiveness of periodically harvested closures as a fisheries management strategy

Periodically harvested closures (PHCs) are small fisheries closures with objectives such as sustaining fisheries and conserving biodiversity and have become one of the most common forms of nearshore marine management in the Western Pacific. However, no studies have comprehensively assessed their ability to provide fisheries or conservation benefits. In this thesis I assess the most suitable method for sampling PHCs; the impacts of periodically harvesting on fish abundance, biomass, length and behaviour; provide the first comprehensive meta-analysis on their effectiveness as fisheries management and conservation strategy and assess recovery of fishes with different vulnerabilities to fishing.