Willis and Millar (2005): Using marine reserves to estimate fishing mortality.

Willis, T.J. & R.B. Millar (2005) Using marine reserves to estimate fishing mortality. Ecology Letters 8: 47–52.

The pervasive effects of fishing mean that what is generally seen on our coasts is not ‘natural’. Here we demonstrate how no-take marine reserves, where all forms of human-induced disturbance are forbidden, can be used to estimate fishing mortality independently of the fishery. We suggest that reserves can be used to estimate other important population parameters in exploited marine species. Reserves can be used to combat the ‘shifting baseline’ syndrome and provide controls for determining what is natural in the oceans.