MPA News
Before the Ice Melts: Experts Discuss Proactive Protection of the Arctic Ocean in Anticipation of Climate Change
Conservation of ocean resources is typically a reactive exercise. Managers respond to the degradation of ecosystems or depletion of species by taking steps to try to restore what was there before. Most MPAs are, in essence, an attempt to re-establish a more “natural” state where human activity has already had an impact. Ecologically, the ideal conservation method would be proactive: protecting a natural state before it is significantly impacted by human activity. Opportunities for proactive management are relatively rare, however. More and more of the global ocean is the site of human activity – fishing, shipping, oil and gas drilling,…
MPA Perspective: Developing Design Guidance for Offshore MPAs
Editor’s note: Jennifer Brown is a Sanctuary Integrated Monitoring Network (SIMoN) ecosystem scientist at the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary in the U.S. Lisa Wooninck is a research fisheries biologist for the (U.S.) National Marine Fisheries Service and the National Marine Protected Areas Center. By Jennifer A. Brown and Lisa Wooninck As human impacts on offshore ecosystems intensify, there is increasing interest in creating MPA networks for spatial protection of offshore resources. However, most of the scientific guidance for designing MPA networks – such as recommendations on size, number, and configuration of MPAs – has been developed for networks located…
Notes & News
Australia formally designates MPA network for Southeast region On 5 July, Australia formally designated a network of 13 new MPAs in its Southeast marine region, in waters off southern New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, and eastern South Australia. The network covers 226,000 km2 and will come into effect on 3 September 2007. In June 2006, MPA News reported stakeholder views on the Government’s final plan for the Southeast MPA network (MPA News 7:11). The Southeast region is Australia’s first to undergo an MPA network planning process as part of a nationwide effort to designate a representative system of MPAs by…
Unchecked Tourism in Galapagos Endangers National Park and Marine Reserve: Interview with Graham Watkins
Over the past decade and a half, tourism in the Galapagos Islands has boomed: from 40,000 visitors in 1990 to 140,000 in 2006. This has had a domino effect on the islands, according to a draft report by the Charles Darwin Foundation, soon to be released. Rising tourism has promoted the growth of local businesses and, in turn, increased immigration – doubling the islands’ human population over the same period. The influx of people has contributed to overfishing in the surrounding Galapagos Marine Reserve, and to rapid rises in the introduction of non-native species on land, according to the draft…
Canadian Trawlers Designate Voluntary Coral Closure; Fisheries Management Calls It “Good First Step”
Canada’s offshore trawling industry for shrimp and groundfish has instituted a voluntary closure to protect coldwater corals off the coast of Baffin Island and the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, on the nation’s Atlantic coast. The 12,500-km2 coral protection zone will help prevent coral species from being taken as bycatch in trawl gear. Coral species in the region, including Primnoa resedaeformis and Paragoria arborea, exist hundreds of meters below the surface and can live to be centuries old. The closure will apply to members of the three industry associations that designated it: the Canadian Association of Prawn Producers (CAPP), the…
More Lessons from California MPA-Planning Process: Fishing Industry Viewpoints
Last month, MPA News asked resource planners for their views on an initiative to create a network of MPAs off the coast of the US state of California. The initiative completed its first phase in April, with designation of 29 MPAs along the state’s central coast (MPA News 8:10). Its second phase, covering the north central coast, was launched this past February, and phases for the north and south coasts will follow in coming years. This month, MPA News asked representatives of the commercial and recreational fishing sectors for their views on the planning process so far: Vern Goehring, manager…
Management Spotlight: MPAs Coordinate Management at Opposite Ends of Whale Migration Route
Two MPAs located nearly 5000 km apart have formed a “sister sanctuary” arrangement to coordinate management of a shared population of humpback whales. The Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, off the northeast coast of the US, and the Marine Mammal Sanctuary of the Dominican Republic established the partnership in December 2006 to assist humpback whale recovery in the north Atlantic. The population of 900 whales migrates northward to Stellwagen Bank and the surrounding Gulf of Maine each spring and summer to feed, then returns to the Dominican Republic in the fall to mate and give birth. “Coordinating management and research…
Notes & News
Self-assessment tool available for MPA networks A new checklist is available to help practitioners measure the effectiveness of their MPA networks against a range of planning and management principles. Various options enable users to rate their network for each principle, comparing it to currently perceived best practices. The tool can indicate where weaknesses should be addressed, and provides a way to monitor progress over time. It is intended to be applicable at a variety of scales, from national to local-level networks. The checklist is available online at http://www.iucn.org/themes/wcpa/biome/marine/checklist.html. Produced by the Marine Programme of the World Commission on Protected Areas…
MPA Tip: Managing Research in MPAs
“MPA Tip” is a recurring feature in MPA News that presents advice on planning and management gathered from various publications on protected areas. The purpose is two-fold: to provide useful guidance to practitioners, and to serve as a reminder of valuable literature in the MPA field. MPA News adapted the following tip from Managing Protected Areas: A Global Guide (IUCN, 2006), edited by Michael Lockwood, Graeme L. Worboys, and Ashish Kothari. The 802-page book is available for US$99.50 from Amazon.com. You can browse much of the book online for free at Google Book Search (http://books.google.com). Tip: MPA management agencies can…
Note from the Editor
Dear Reader, This edition of MPA News marks the start of our ninth year of publication, with subscribers now in 113 countries. The staff and editorial board look forward to continuing to serve MPA practitioners worldwide. Please keep us informed of your MPA’s latest efforts, whether new, different, or challenging (mpanews@u.washington.edu). We value hearing from our readers, and want to help you share your experience and knowledge with peers. What makes the coming year particularly exciting is the launch this September of our sister publication on coastal and marine ecosystem-based management, announced in our June 2007 edition. It will adapt…