MPA News
Global Targets for MPA Designations Will Not Be Met; Experts Respond
International goals for the protection of oceans through MPAs will not be met by their set deadlines, according to a study announced at the First International Marine Protected Areas Congress (IMPAC1), held in Geelong, Australia, in October 2005. Louisa Wood, a Ph.D. candidate of the Sea Around Us project at the Fisheries Centre, University of British Columbia (Canada), released data indicating that the World Parks Congress target of creating a global system of MPA networks by 2012 – including “strictly protected areas” amounting to at least 20-30% of each habitat (MPA News 5:4) – will not be reached until at…
MPA Perspective: What Qualities Make a “Great Park”
Editor’s note: Artie Jacobson, author of the following essay, has spent nearly two decades as a ranger and manager in the Whitsunday Region of the Great Barrier Reef for the Queensland (Australia) Parks and Wildlife Service. The Whitsunday region, comprising 1% of the area of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, accounts for 60% of the park’s tourism activity. By Artie Jacobson Imagine your ideal protected area. What qualities would its management have, and what actions would management take? In short, what would make it a Great Park? I have given thought to this, based both on my experience in…
MPA Perspective: Problems and Recommendations for Using GIS to Improve Decision-Making in California’s Channel Islands Marine Reserves
Editor’s note: The authors of the following essay have been involved, directly or indirectly, in processes to plan a system of no-take marine reserves within the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary (MPA News 4:6) in the US. Michael Robinson is a doctoral student in geography at the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB). Chris Miller is a commercial fisherman and vice president of the California Lobster and Trap Fisherman’s Association. Chris Hoeflinger is a commercial fisherman and fishery issues organizer. Barbara Walker is a geographer with the National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis at UCSB. By Michael Robinson,…
MPA Perspective: Developing Guidelines for “Fish-Friendly” Aquatic Infrastructure
Editor’s note: Kurt Derbyshire, author of the following essay, is senior policy officer for marine fish habitat with the Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Australia. By Kurt Derbyshire The Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (DPI&F) in Queensland, Australia, is in the process of developing guidelines for “fish-friendly” structures. The guidelines will apply to aquatic infrastructure commonly developed along urbanized coastlines and waterways: piers, seawalls, marinas, boat ramps, boardwalks, and the like. Fish-friendly structures will: Cause minimal disturbance to natural fish habitats, and Provide an enhanced artificial habitat for fish, through innovative design features. Here, the term “fish”…
Notes & News
Canada designates three MPAs following years of cooperative planning Canada has designated three new MPAs along its Atlantic coast. The MPAs at Gilbert Bay, Eastport, and Basin Head protect unique ecosystems, and their designations conclude years of public consultation on each. Consultation with stakeholders on the Gilbert Bay MPA, for example, lasted seven years; this MPA in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador will protect a genetically distinct population of northern cod (MPA News 4:1). The Eastport MPA, initiated by local lobster fishermen, will help to conserve two prime lobster spawning and rearing grounds, also in the province of Newfoundland…
MPA News Poll: The Coming Challenges for MPAs, and How to Address Them
This month’s First International Marine Protected Areas Congress (IMPAC1), to be held 23-28 October in Geelong, Australia, is one of the first global conferences devoted solely to the subject of MPAs. Hopefully many more will follow. Unanswered questions still abound on aspects of MPA science (e.g. the effects of reserves on neighboring fisheries) and on best practices in planning and management. The more opportunities that exist for researchers and practitioners worldwide to share their knowledge, the sooner we will grasp the strengths and weaknesses of MPAs as management tools. As we work toward this understanding, individual sites and the MPA…
MPA Perspective: Conservation Incentive Agreements As a Tool for Developing and Managing MPAs
Editor’s note: The authors of the following perspective piece all work for Conservation International (CI), an international NGO. Eduard Niesten is director of the Conservation Economics Program at CI’s Center for Applied Biodiversity Science. Richard Rice is chief economist in that program. Mark Erdmann, formerly USAID’s marine protected areas advisor for Bunaken National Park (Indonesia), is senior advisor for the Marine Program of Conservation International Indonesia. By Eduard Niesten, Richard Rice, and Mark Erdmann, Conservation International One of the most common challenges in setting up and managing MPAs throughout the world is the difficulty of “competing” against fisheries and other…
MPA Spotlight: The Tropical Eastern Pacific Corridor: Efforts to Protect Multinational Area Face Opposition from Tuna Fleet
In April 2004, government authorities from Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Panama signed a declaration to work together to protect the Tropical Eastern Pacific Corridor. This marine area, spanning 2-million km2 and including portions of the Exclusive Economic Zones of each of the signatories, would serve as a model for the protection of broad, international, ecologically connected areas. Providing cornerstones for the protection plan would be five existing island national parks and surrounding marine reserves: Galapagos (Ecuador), Coiba (Panama), Cocos Island (Costa Rica), and Malpelo and Gorgona (both of Colombia). Now underway, the initiative is based on the following concept:…
Notes & News
Correction Due to an editorial error, the September 2005 issue of MPA News misreported the dates of the upcoming Ninth Virgin Islands Nonpoint Source Pollution Conference, to be held in St. John, US Virgin Islands. The correct dates are 28-30 November 2005. MPA News apologizes for the error. The conference website is http://usvircd.org/NPS/NPSCFP2005.htm. Report describes fishery restrictions in Caribbean A new report from the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) in collaboration with the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas documents all areas of the Wider Caribbean region in which fishing is restricted, including MPAs. Initiated to inform managers, scientists,…
Mooring Buoys as a Management Tool for Controlling Visitor Impacts: An Introduction
Boat anchors can cause significant damage to seafloor habitats. Whether from the dragging of a single anchor or anchor chain during a storm, or the repeated anchoring of boats at a popular dive spot, the damage can transform a picturesque, productive habitat to rubble. To counter this, many MPAs have installed mooring buoys. Consisting of a permanent fixture on the seafloor, a floating buoy on the surface, and a line or cable to attach the two, these systems enable boat users to tie off to an existing mooring rather than drop anchor, thus reducing the effect on the environment. Installing…