Identifying the issues and options for managing the social impacts of Marine Protected Areas on a small fishing community

•We demonstrate a method to include the social impacts of MPAs in management decisions.•The well-being of fishermen is linked to their fishing activity and profitability.•Fisheries management needs to be aligned with MPA management.•The interviewed fishermen support collaborative MPA monitoring programmes.

The implementation Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) creates a need for fishermen to adapt fishing practices. The change can therefore impact (both positively and negatively) upon the fishing community. MPA managers who miss out the social context in management decisions and fail to acknowledge the unique nature of fishing activities and responses to change are risking the future ability of MPAs to meet stakeholders’ needs. To inform management, this research uses a structured interview methodology to gain quantitative and qualitative data from fishermen operating in a case study area. The results demonstrate that the marine environment in the case study area supports a small scale, profitable fishing industry where the well-being of the respondents is linked to their fishing activity. To maintain a sustainable industry there is a need to align the objectives of the new proposed MPAs (Marine Conservation Zones) with fishery objectives and create systems for the co-management of marine resources supported by collaborative monitoring programmes.