Australia to Assess 11 Potential MPA Sites
Australian Environment Minister Robert Hill announced plans in late September to assess the conservation value of 11 marine areas in Australian waters — the first step toward potential designation of these sites as marine protected areas. The sites include...
Workshop Results: Tips from Managers on Improving Science in MPA Management
Last month, MPA News published the advice of an international group of scientists on how to improve the conduct and use of science in MPA management. The advice came out of a July 2001 workshop on the topic held in Cleveland, Ohio (USA), involving scientists and...
MPA Perspective: Marine Protected Areas in the North Sea
By the Fisheries Society of the British Isles
Concern has been widely expressed about fishery and other impacts on the North Sea, where the spawning stock biomass of most commercially important marine species has been reduced to less than 10% of its unexploited size and many fishery practices may be unsustainable. Besides being a source of mortality for both target and by-catch species, other effects of current fishing practices on stocks such as (i) alteration of the normal age structure, (ii) disruption of reproductive behavior, (iii) reduction in genetic diversity, (iv) habitat degradation and shifts in ecosystem structure, and (v) long-term economic losses are becoming progressively more apparent.