RECOMMENDATIONS
1) The designated area for the Fish Sanctuary would benefit from a slight modification in its boundaries, and an expansion in size to include grassbed habitats located to the southeast. The existing boundaries of the proposed sanctuary encompass some of the best developed reefs on Pedro Bank. They include habitats with rare or endangered corals including Acropora cervicornis thickets seaward of Southwest Cay and Acropora palmata framework surrounding the north, east and south sides of the Cay. The deeper fore reef communities have moderately high cover of living corals with healthy populations of long lived massive corals (M. faveolata, C. natans). The sites are likely to have high physical resilience as a) they are adjacent to deep water and are exposed to clean oceanic waters originating in the east and south; b) sediment transport/turbidity is lower than that observed on the bank and on reefs located closer to Northeast and Middle Cay; and c) land based pollution and the potential for runoff (sewage/nutrients) is low since the area is distant from the populated Cays. Dense seagrass beds and additional well developed reefs were identified immediately south of the boundaries of the existing Sanctuary. Because of the important nursery function of grassbeds, and the fact that they represent the only seagrass beds within the immediate vicinity of the Fish Sanctuary, significant benefits would come from their inclusion in Seagrass beds near the Fishery Reserve. the protected area. 2) Create a Network of MPAs in other locations, with emphasis of the waters around Banner Reef, Blower's Rock, C Shoal SW, and D Shoal S. Banner reef should be considered a high priority for protection, due to the large number of different marine habitats associated with this area. Banner Reef had a very diverse shallow water reef on its southwestern end that was dominated by large Montastraea faveolata and M. annularis colonies intermixed with extensive stands of Porites porites, A. cervicornis patches, large colonies of Dendrogyra cylindrus and high relief coral bommies in deeper sandy areas
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