MPA News

On 1 April, the UK Government announced its designation of a marine protected area around the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, also known as the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). The 636,600-km2 MPA, which comprises the archipelago’s Exclusive Economic Zone and territorial waters, has been touted as the largest MPA in the world.* However, despite international news reports that the entire MPA will be a giant no-take zone, the degree to which fishing will be restricted at the site remains unclear. At the time of designation, UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband stated the MPA “will include” a no-take marine…

Having to enforce an MPA’s regulations is more expensive than having the public comply voluntarily with those rules. Hence, public education about the need for an MPA – and the various benefits the MPA could provide to stakeholders over time – can be invaluable for both protecting the site and lowering management costs. In general, where there is broad public support for an MPA’s goals, the odds of its success are greatest. Unfortunately, there are few if any MPAs where 100% compliance with regulations is the case. So some degree of enforcement becomes necessary to stop illegal or simply negligent…

Editor’s note: Ton IJlstra is project leader for adoption of fisheries measures in MPAs managed within the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Conservation and Food Quality. By Ton IJlstra North Sea coastal states have identified marine protected areas in their offshore areas. This has been done by request of the European Commission (EC) within the context of the increasing importance of nature conservation in the European Union. Within the MPAs, conservation objectives have been established. Fishing activities (especially bottom trawling) constitute the most important threat to these objectives. However, measures to reduce adverse effects by fishing activities are not simple….

In memoriam: John R. Clark John R. Clark, an early leader in the fields of MPA management and coastal zone management, passed away of a heart attack on 5 April 2010. Twenty-five years ago, Clark co-authored (with Rod Salm) one of the first books on MPA practice – Marine and Coastal Protected Areas: A Guide for Planners and Managers. Known as “the Orange Book” for its distinctive covers, the guide went through three editions (most recently in 2000) and remains a trove of lessons and experience. In the past decade, Clark became a regular source of guidance and encouragement to…

New Zealand schoolchildren are being taught to snorkel in marine reserves as part of a program to raise awareness of, and appreciation for, the country’s marine biodiversity. The snorkeling program, in operation since 2002, has worked with more than 7000 primary (elementary) school students so far. It is offered by the Experiencing Marine Reserves (EMR) program of the Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust, supported by the NZ Department of Conservation. The EMR program serves to generate community support for the designation of MPAs. “Marine reserves do a great job of inspiring our students into action,” says Program Director Samara Nicholas….

Designated in 2005, the Urok Islands Marine Protected Area is Guinea Bissau’s first community MPA. It is the fruit of 15 years of work by Tiniguena, a local NGO, in collaboration with local communities and institutions, the Fondation Internationale du Banc d’Arguin (FIBA), and other national and international partners. Lessons from planning and managing the Urok community MPA are documented in the report Live from Urok! Urok Islands Community Marine Protected Area: Lessons Learned and Impacts, available at http://bit.ly/cVWEux. Below is an excerpt of one of the report’s key lessons from Urok, on building confidence and trust in the local…

Editor’s note: This “Building Resilience” feature is contributed by the Reef Resilience program of The Nature Conservancy (www.reefresilience.org). The program provides guidance on building resilience to climate change into the design of MPAs. By Rebecca Cerroni, Reef Resilience Project Manager, The Nature Conservancy Over the past six months, from the Great Barrier Reef to the Florida Keys, coral reef MPA managers have held their collective breath as vessel groundings and extreme cold snaps have affected coral reefs within protected areas. In disasters and bleaching situations, what can coral reef managers do? Managers should prepare for such events by developing response…