MPA News
Notes & News
International summit of MPA agencies held in February In February 2012, senior officials from MPA agencies of 16 nations gathered in San Francisco, California (US), to discuss how to use their combined influence and efforts to increase the value and success of MPAs worldwide. The participating agencies committed to becoming a permanent informal group, and to finding ways to share their experience and lessons learned. Hosted by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the MPA Agency Summit was by invitation only. NOAA invited 23 nations to send an MPA agency representative, and 16 were able to attend: Australia,…
From the Database: Most-viewed MPAs on protectedplanet.net website
The protectedplanet.net website serves as a searchable interface for the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA), compiled by the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre. Each protected area in the database has its own page on protectedplanet.net with details such as its IUCN category, year of designation, and more. The following list reflects which protected areas with a marine component have been viewed the most times on the website, as measured by unique page views. The site went live in October 2010: 1. Pelagos Sanctuary for the Conservation of Marine Mammals in the Mediterranean France, Italy, and Monaco Unique page views:…
Paper Parks Re-Examined: Building a Future for “MPAs-in-Waiting”
In the field of marine protected areas, an unfortunate reality is that many sites are “paper parks”. Existing on paper – in laws and on maps – but failing to provide effective management and enforcement, these sites offer the promise of robust protection without the reality of it. Budget shortfalls, faulty planning, insufficient community support…there are many reasons why an MPA may be a paper park. Overcoming the reasons for failure and steering these sites to a functional state pose big challenges for the MPA community. Nonetheless, paper parks also offer an opportunity. The fact they have already been designated…
On the Current State of MPA Science: An Interview with Joachim Claudet
In recent years, ecologist Joachim Claudet has been at the forefront of MPA science. His studies of European marine reserves – which found that the older and larger a marine reserve is, the greater the density of large fish inside it is – have held important implications for MPA network design and fisheries management (“Older and larger reserves have more large fish” in Special Section, MPA News 10:11). Now a new book edited by Claudet, with chapters contributed by researchers from around the world, gathers the latest scientific knowledge on MPAs, including on their use in biodiversity conservation and fisheries…
Australian Government Releases Proposal for Large Coral Sea MPA; Stakeholders Respond
In late November, the Australian Government released a draft plan to designate what could be the world’s largest marine protected area. Covering 989,842 km2, the proposed Coral Sea Commonwealth Marine Reserve would be located in Australian waters of the Coral Sea. The MPA would extend from the eastward boundary of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park to the edge of the Australian EEZ, where it would border the waters of Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and New Caledonia. As proposed, the new MPA would feature four zone types ranging from fully no-take to various levels of managed use. Broadly,…
Notes & News
MPA enforcement conference delayed to November 2012 The Global MPA Enforcement Conference, sponsored by WildAid and originally scheduled for February 2012, has been postponed to 25-29 November 2012. It will still be held in San Francisco, California, US. The website for the meeting is http://wildaid.org/mpaconference. The name of the meeting has also been changed: it is now called simply the 2012 MPA Conference. New MPAs take effect in Southern California waters A systematic network of new marine protected areas took effect on 1 January 2012 along the south coast of the US state of California, from Point Conception to the…
From the Database: The Northernmost MPAs
The following sites are drawn from the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA), compiled by the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre. For reference, the North Pole is 90° N, the Equator is 0°, and each full degree of latitude equals 111 km. The longitudinal projection used was WGS84. Information on each of the MPAs is available at www.protectedplanet.net. 1. Northeast Greenland National Park, Greenland Northernmost point: 83.730° N Total area: 972,000 km2 / Marine area: 110,600 km2 2. Quttinirpaaq National Park, Canada Northernmost point: 83.151° N Total area: 37,775 km2 / Marine area: 2342 km2 3. Zemlya Frantsa Iosifa /…
Marine Debris and MPAs: Managing the Impacts of Litter on Marine Ecosystems
Marine debris – also called marine litter or ocean trash – can be one of the most visible challenges an MPA faces. Whether it is a plastic bag floating on the sea surface or a discarded fishing net snagged on a coral head, such debris is an easy-to-see reminder that the oceans are not free from human impacts, even in protected areas. The aesthetic issues may be the least of the problem. The effects of marine debris on wildlife can be deadly. Plastic bags are mistaken by sea turtles for jellyfish, their prey. A snagged net can smother coral while…
Letter to the Editor: Clarifying the Status of Proposed Marine Reserves in New Zealand
Dear MPA News, An announcement in your September/October 2011 issue misreported the status of five no-take marine reserves along the west coast of the South Island, New Zealand (“New Zealand designates five no-take reserves,” MPA News 13:2). The New Zealand Government press release stated that five marine reserves “are to be established….” The Minister of Conservation and the Minister of Fisheries have approved only a proposal for the marine reserves. This is the starting point for the statutory process that all marine reserves must go through, during which they are open for public consultation. In New Zealand, this process can…
MPA Perspective: Creation of a Network of Locally Managed Marine Areas in the Western Indian Ocean
Editor’s note: Kame Westerman is coordinator of the Velondriake Locally Managed Marine Area on the southwest coast of Madagascar. She works for Blue Ventures Conservation, an NGO. By Kame Westerman The Western Indian Ocean (WIO) is home to a rapidly growing number of local marine conservation activities. In Madagascar, for example, new community-based coastal management initiatives have been established along the country’s southern, western, and northern coasts with the support of communities and conservation NGOs. Likewise in Kenya, 13 locally managed marine areas of differing management types have been designated since 2006. Many efforts in the region, however, have been…