But it would be an overreaction to despair over this report.
One of the few bright spots in the struggle to protect the world’s fragile oceans has been the rapidly increasing number of “marine-protected areas,” places where fishing is limited or banned and where, presumably, depleted species can recover by simply being left to themselves. The benefits of hands-off environmental protection may seem self-evident. But creating a preserve and rebuilding a healthy ecosystem are not necessarily the same thing. A recent study published in Nature found that, more often than not, marine-protected areas don’t work as well as they could.
Researchers with the University of Tasmania studied 87 marine-protected areas in 40 countries worldwide, and found that 59 percent of the areas were no better off than areas where fishing was allowed. The reasons for failure varied, but they boiled down to this: Not all marine-protected areas are alike. Some allow fishing; others forbid it. Some are managed well; others are managed badly. Some are relatively intact; others have been left barren by generations of overfishing.
The researchers identified five essential characteristics of the most successful marine-protected areas: These areas were designated “no take” (allowing no fishing whatsoever), their rules were well enforced, they were more than 10 years old, they were bigger than 100 square kilometers, and they were isolated by deep water or sand. Compared with regular fished areas, the areas that had four or five of those attributes had a far richer variety of species, five times the biomass of large fish and 14 times the biomass of sharks, which are indicators of ecological health.
Most underachieving marine sanctuaries had only one or two of these magic factors, and thus “were not ecologically distinguishable from fished sites.” The four sanctuaries lucky enough to have all five characteristics were isolated areas in the oceans off Costa Rica, Colombia, New Zealand and Australia. The “coral triangle” of Southeast Asia also got high marks, but it did not have as great an array of large species as its more isolated counterparts.
You could say the scientists were simply discovering the obvious — that a “protected” area hardly deserves the name if it’s so small that fish swim out of it, or if poachers are allowed to plunder it. But it would be an overreaction to despair over this report.
The Latest on: Marine protected areas
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The Latest on: Marine protected areas
- Protected Areason April 27, 2024 at 3:31 am
The Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has announced that bottom trawling will be outlawed in the country’s marine protected areas (MPAs), hailing the move a “historic moment”.
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The inaugural Hima Protected Areas Forum concluded in Riyadh on April 24th, marking a historic moment in the realm of conservation and sustainable development. Organized by the National Center for ...
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The Government of Nunavut is pushing the federal government to allow tourism, recreational and outfitting activities in the Tuvaijuittuq Marine Protected Area in the High Arctic.With certain ...
- Fisheries Ministry announces Ghana’s first Marine Protected Areason April 17, 2024 at 5:37 am
Fisheries and Aquaculture Development Minister Mavis Hawa Koomson has announced Ghana’s first Marine Protected Areas (MPA).
- A bottom trawl ban in marine protected areas would be good for everyoneon April 17, 2024 at 2:32 am
The damage caused by bottom trawling should not be underestimated. Marine-protected areas across the world must be properly protected and free of rampant industrialisation, Hugo Tagholm and Nicolas ...
- Greece ‘First in Europe’ to Ban Bottom Trawling in All Marine Protected Areason April 16, 2024 at 11:21 pm
Greece will ban bottom trawling in all of its marine protected areas by 2030, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced on Tuesday ...
- Firefighters contain blaze near Marine Protected Area in Strandon April 16, 2024 at 10:00 pm
On Monday morning, a vegetation fire erupted along the Helderberg Marine Protected Area (MPA) in Strand, fanned by strong winds and eventually contained after several hours, just metres from the ...
- Greece plans 2 marine protected areas as part of environmental protection programon April 16, 2024 at 8:43 am
Greece aims to create two large marine parks as part of an $830 million program to protect biodiversity and marine ecosystems ...
- Greece to become ‘first in Europe’ to ban bottom trawling in all marine protected areason April 16, 2024 at 7:59 am
Bottom trawling involves dragging heavy fishing nets across the ocean floor, which can destroy habitats and even release carbon into the ocean and atmosphere. Though there are restrictions in place ...
- Greece proposes 2 marine parks as part of $830M environmental protection programon April 16, 2024 at 5:35 am
Greece has proposed a plan to create two large marine parks as part of an $830 million program to protect marine ecosystems, drawing criticism from Turkey.
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