Limits of Acceptable Change Study surveys in the Northeast Reserves and Culebra Island, Puerto Rico

The Coral Reef Conservation Act (P.L. 106-562) calls for the development of sound scientific information on the condition of and threats to coral reef ecosystems (Section 202), and the Act calls on the Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) to develop sound scientific information related to coral reef threats, address conflicts arising from coral reef ecosystem use, and to implement programs promoting the sustainable development and conservation of coral reef ecosystems (Section 204). Among the regions to be included under these objectives and the Act is the US Caribbean, including Puerto Rico. The Northeast Marine Corridor (NMC) in Puerto Rico, consisting of the marine components of the Corredor Ecológico del Noreste, Las Cabezas de San Juan, Arrecifes de la Cordillera, and Canal Luis Peña natural reserves, as well as the island and environs of Culebra, comprise an ecologically diverse and socioeconomically complex area (Hernandez-Delgado et al., 2014; Aguilar-Perera et al, 2006). The coastal areas within and abutting the corridor are among the most heavily populated and utilized zones in Puerto Rico, comprised of uses related to coastal development, commercial fishing, recreational fishing, water-related recreation, and navigation, among others (Shivlani, 2009). Specifically, the NMC hosts a variety of extractive and nonconsumptive activities, consisting primarily of commercial fishing, recreational angling and spearfishing, SCUBA diving, snorkeling, and boating. Activities in the NMC and especially along its eastern sector, including the Arrecifes de la Cordillera and Canal Luis Peña natural reserves and environs of Culebra, result in large visitor and user (daily and annual) loads that result in often highly congested situations. This data collection will use the Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC) framework to surmount these data gaps and to provide a comprehensive understanding on use and use patterns and congestion and satisfaction. Unlike other approaches that utilize numerical goals (ex. carrying capacity), LAC is used to direct management to achieve objectives related to the maintenance of desired resource and social conditions. As framed by Stankey et al. (1985), the conceptual core of LAC consists of the following steps: Agreement that there is conflict between two or more goals; establishment that all goals must be compromised; the designation of one goal as the ultimate constraining goal and another as the initial constraining goal; determination of LAC indicators and standards related to the ultimate constraining goal; acceptance of compromise within the ultimate constraining goal to an LAC; and management of the initial constraining goal so that the ultimate constraining goal is not compromised beyond the LAC (see also Cole and Stankey, 1998).

The latest form for Limits of Acceptable Change Study surveys in the Northeast Reserves and Culebra Island, Puerto Rico expires 2021-12-31 and can be found here.

Commercial fisher survey

Federal Enterprise Architecture: Natural Resources - Conservation, Marine and Land Management

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