MPA News

In 1999, Graeme Kelleher, former chairman of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, wrote in his classic publication Guidelines for Marine Protected Areas: “The management of MPAs is becoming as sophisticated as that of many commercial organizations, requiring not only technical skills but also a high level of managerial and communication ability. Traditional training for protected area staff has tended to focus on specialist areas, such as marine zoology, but this is no longer adequate: today’s MPAs need staff from a wide range of backgrounds with many different skills.” (http://bit.ly/MPAguidelines) His words, true then, are even truer now. MPA…

By Steve Rocliffe and Alasdair Harris

For many years, the Vezo – traditional fishers in southwest Madagascar – saw marine conservation as a threat, a way of preventing them from accessing their fishing grounds.  This is perhaps unsurprising in these semi-nomadic communities, where seafood is the sole source of protein in 99% of meals and income is much less than US $2 per day.  The prospect of waiting years for the uncertain benefit of fish spillover from a protected area represented too high a risk – and too severe an economic sacrifice – to be a workable solution.

In the US state of California, where designation of a state-wide system of MPAs was completed in 2012, a new state law promoting enforcement of the state’s 100+ MPAs has given field officers an additional tool against poachers. Prior to the new law, any MPA poaching violation was to be cited as a misdemeanor, which under California law is subject to a trial by jury and punishable by up to six months in jail and a maximum $1000 fine. Although a misdemeanor charge is appropriate for significant violations and repeat offenders, officers often let off small-time violators – say, a…

By Ming-Shiou Jeng, Colin KC Wen, Jeng-Ping Chen

No-take marine reserves are increasingly designated in tropical coral reefs with the goals of maintaining biodiversity and subsidizing fisheries.  However, due to lack of enforcement and replenishment, many cases of reserves – including most of Taiwan's – have exhibited little difference in diversity or abundance inside their boundaries compared to outside.  These reserves have become "paper parks" where illegal fishing continues.  Failed marine reserves lead to disappointment in local communities and discourage the advocacy and designation of more reserves in future.

A new book on the science and advocacy of MPAs examines the rise of no-take marine reserves as a popular tool on the marine conservation agenda over the past 20 years, and how that political ascent occurred, including through papers in scientific journals. The book, The Controversy over Marine Protected Areas: Science Meets Policy, analyzes what it describes as the two sides of marine reserve politics: “nature protectionists” (NPs), who argue for an extensive network of no-take areas, and “social conservationists” (SCs), who argue for conventional fisheries management complemented by certain spatial restrictions to protect spawning areas of target fish…

Bahamas designates 15 MPAs, expands 3 more In August 2015, The Bahamas announced designation of 15 new MPAs and 3 expansions of existing MPAs. The designations and expansions cover a total marine area of 45000 km2, and allow the nation to exceed its commitment of 10% MPA coverage by 2020 under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. The new sites do not have management plans yet; public consultations to develop such plans are forthcoming. Bahamian Environment Minister Kenred Dorsett said some sites may be multiple-use while others may be no-take zones. He also said the nation will continue working to…