Ecological Status of Alor and Flores Timur Marine Protected Areas, Sunda Banda Seascape, Indonesia

This report presents and examines the ecological status of habitat and fish populations in the Alor and Flores Timur Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) of Indonesia’s Sunda Banda Seascape. These two regions house important coastal ecosystems that support economically important fish species and serve as vital fishing grounds for coastal communities. During the March 2014 expedition, data on site characteristics, seafloor conditions, and fish assemblages were collected at sites inside and outside the marine protected areas. Based on analysis, there are small differences in overall seafloor cover between protected and non-protected areas and slightly greater differences in fish biomass levels, although most of those differences were not significant. The efforts presented here are the first step in the process of performing an ecological impact evaluation of MPAs. Results from the ecological impact evaluation will be used to inform relevant managers and decision makers in support of adaptive management. It is important to note that data in this report is showing current ecological conditions under current management systems. The data do not show MPA effectiveness because one season of ecological monitoring data is not enough to cover yearly variation or capture significant changes in ecological conditions. Data that shows higher fish abundance outside of the MPAs is not demonstrating a failure of the MPA, but serves as a baseline for which to compare data collected in future ecological monitoring expeditions.