MPA News
MPA Perspective: Challenges in Planning Protected Areas in Jamaica, and the Co-Management Role of NGOs
Editor’s note: Peter Espeut, author of the following perspective piece, is executive director of the Caribbean Coastal Area Management Foundation (C-CAM), a nongovernmental organization in Jamaica. C-CAM is preparing to accept management responsibility from the Jamaican government for the Portland Bight Protected Area, an integrated marine and terrestrial protected area. MPA News has adapted this perspective piece from material that Espeut originally posted to the online discussion forum “Wise Coastal Practices for Sustainable Human Development”, maintained by UNESCO. By Peter Espeut, Caribbean Coastal Area Management Foundation Protected areas based on sound science, created with a robust legal framework, and backed…
Letter to the Editor
Dear MPA News: Two things caught my eye in reading the article on human dimensions of MPAs in the July issue of MPA News (4:1). First, in the section on the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, Superintendent Billy Causey’s comments about fisheries in the sanctuary being better than elsewhere in the region suggest that this is because of closed areas within the sanctuary, perhaps apart from or in combination with other sanctuary efforts to protect marine resources (e.g., water quality). However, the section on Indonesia makes a critical point that I think has not been explicitly addressed in the Florida…
Notes & News
In memoriam: Bob Johannes Robert (Bob) Johannes, a champion for the inclusion of traditional knowledge in marine resource management, died on 2 September from a long illness. He was 66 years old. A marine ecologist who spent as much time studying people as fish, Johannes was a pioneer in the integration of traditional resource-management systems with Western-based science, particularly in the context of tropical fishing societies. He was an inspiration to many in the MPA field with his work to involve all stakeholders in effecting positive change. For more information on his life and where to send condolences, go to…
World Summit Calls for MPA Networks by 2012
Representative networks of marine protected areas should be established worldwide by the year 2012, and depleted fish stocks restored by 2015, according to an action plan agreed upon by global leaders at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), held earlier this month in Johannesburg, South Africa. The agreement also calls on governments to incorporate an ecosystem approach in fisheries management by 2010, eliminate subsidies that contribute to fishing-industry over-capacity, and protect marine biodiversity on the high seas. While vague on details for implementation, the fisheries accord represented an early breakthrough at the summit, sidestepping the objections of a group…
Involvement of the Private Sector in a Community-Based MPA: Case Example from Fiji
Think of a community-based MPA and you might well imagine a rural coastal village managing its ocean resources with little, if any, outside involvement. In Fiji, however, a unique mix of geographic, environmental, and political conditions has helped foster a partnership for the protection of small community-based MPAs, uniting the interests of community members and a nearby private resort. Now, as that partnership has shown positive results, other Fijian resorts are looking to follow its lead. This month, MPA News examines this case and its lessons. Shangri-La’s Fijian Resort stands alone on a 109-acre island, linked by a 150-meter causeway…
MPA Perspective: Existing Small Marine Reserves Can Indicate Whether a Larger Network Is Feasible – Case Study from the West Coast of the United States
Editor’s note: Mark Hixon, author of the following perspective piece, is a professor of marine ecology and conservation biology at Oregon State University (USA). Hixon excerpted this piece from a report he prepared for the Oregon Ocean Policy Advisory Council and the California Fish and Game Commission. His full report, entitled Fishery Effects of Existing West Coast Marine Reserves: The Scientific Evidence, can be obtained via e-mail directly from Dr. Hixon. The report contains full citations for studies mentioned in the following piece. By Mark A. Hixon Two of the greatest concerns of the fishing community regarding fully protected marine…
Canada Designates Trawl Closures to Protect Unique Sponge Reefs
To protect rare colonies of glass-like, deepwater sponges, the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has banned groundfish trawling at four sites off the Pacific coast of Canada. The non-contiguous sites – about 200 meters in depth and covering nearly 1000 km2 of seabed – will remain open to other fishing-gear types as DFO officials examine the compatibility of those gear types with sponge protection. The sponge reefs, discovered in the 1980s, are the only known reefs of their kind in the world, consisting primarily of three sponge species from the class Hexactinellida – the “glass sponges”. These sponges…
Notes and News
Report details steps to reduce impacts of fishing To improve management of marine fisheries and prevent the further decline in health of marine ecosystems, resource managers should pursue a plan of action that includes the designation of a global system of fully protected marine reserves, according to a new report published by WWF, an international NGO. The 80-page report Policy Proposals and Operational Guidance for Ecosystem-Based Management of Marine Capture Fisheries also calls on managers to conduct an ecological audit of major fisheries and develop a “global fishery restructure fund” to help reduce fishing-fleet overcapacity, among other actions. Released in…
Using Multibeam Sonar to Map MPAs: Tool of the Future for Planning and Management?
The seafloor – sandy or rocky; flat or sloped; seamount or canyon – provides the foundation for multiple processes within MPAs, including the distribution of flora and fauna. However, MPA practitioners have generally had only patchy knowledge, at best, of what lies at the bottom of their protected sites, based on information gathered from fishermen, divers, and rough bathymetric data from nautical charts. With an inexact understanding of what’s “down there”, planners and managers face a real challenge of drawing appropriate boundaries and protecting the habitats they want to protect. Under such conditions, multibeam sonar may be the tool of…
MPA Perspective: Mitigating the Effects of Coastal Development on the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve – A Case Example from Mexico
Editor’s note: Juan Bezaury Creel, author of the following perspective piece, is an environmental policy associate for The Nature Conservancy – Mexico, an NGO. In this piece, he describes an innovative effort in Mexico to protect the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve from the effects of uncontrolled shoreline development. Underlying the site’s protection is an environmental zoning plan (EZP), published in May 2002. In Mexico, EZPs are the legal instrument allowing for integrated coastal management. By Juan E. Bezaury Creel In the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico, along the Meso-American Reef, lies the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve. A World Heritage Site,…