MPA News
Tortugas Ecological Reserve to Take Effect
The 518-sq. km Tortugas Ecological Reserve, at the western end of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (US), will take full effect on July 1, 2001. Located in two parts (Tortugas North and Tortugas South), the coral-rich reserve will be off-limits to all fishing. Diving will be prohibited in Tortugas South. According to sanctuary officials, the reserve will be the nation’s largest permanent no-take marine reserve. The process to create the ecological reserve involved a wide array of stakeholders, including several federal agencies, state government, divers, fishers, and scientists (MPA News 1:1). The US Department of the Interior — which…
Canada to Designate MPA for Hydrothermal Vents
On June 8, the federal cabinet of the Canadian government approved a plan to designate the Endeavour Hydrothermal Vents as an official marine protected area under Canada’s Oceans Act. The highly biodiverse area has been of great interest to scientists since its discovery in the 1980s, and its MPA status will serve mainly to ensure that its ecosystem remains relatively undisturbed for scientific study. This represents one of the first efforts in the world to establish an MPA specifically for the protection of hydrothermal vents. The Endeavour vents lie at a depth of 2,250 meters, 250 km southwest of Vancouver…
More Responses on the State of MPA Science
In last month’s MPA News, we surveyed scientists for their opinion on what recent research had done the most to improve general understanding of the science of MPAs. We asked them a single question: What has been the most noteworthy contribution to the science of marine protected areas in the past 3 years, and why? MPA News printed three responses last month, and is printing two more below: Craig Dahlgren, Science Director, Perry Institute for Marine Science/Caribbean Marine Research Center, Bahamas “There have been two major contributions to the science of marine protected areas in the last three years. The…
Science as a Central Tool in Planning Marine Reserves: Case Study of the Channel Islands
A marine protected area based wholly upon ecological science may represent the ideal MPA for conservation biologists. Seldom, however, are MPAs designated on a purely ecological basis. More often, MPA designations represent the desire of decisionmakers to protect an area for aesthetic or political reasons. Or they incorporate a range of social and economic considerations — like minimizing economic impacts on fishers — that can compromise an MPA's "ideal" ecological design, often for the purpose of gaining support from stakeholders.
Frequently this results in disagreement about the role of science in stakeholder processes.
In the state of California (USA), a process is ongoing to designate a series of marine reserves around the Channel Islands archipelago. The process, designed by a multistakeholder group, has been advised by two panels: a science advisory panel, made up of natural scientists, and a socioeconomic advisory panel, consisting of economists and other social scientists. Set to conclude this month (May), the process has been intended to heed ecological and socioeconomic concerns in generating a consensus plan.
Interview: Channel Islands Scientists Discuss their Work
MPA News spoke with two members of the Channel Islands science advisory panel about the roles of science and scientists in the reserve-planning process there. Satie Airame, a postdoctoral researcher with the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, has served as the panel’s sanctuary liaison; Robert Warner is a biologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara. MPA News: Given similar goals for protection of ecosystem biodiversity and fisheries sustainability, would you expect that the same percentage set-aside recommended for the Channel Islands would apply to other marine areas? Robert Warner: I would. The arguments for percent set-aside were generic, based…
MPA Practitioners Face Challenges in Accessing Science
The heightened interest in MPAs among resource managers has spurred a wave of related scientific research and a growing library of academic articles and reports. But how much of this scientific discovery is reaching MPA practitioners — the people who need this information to plan and manage their MPAs effectively? MPA News asked two practitioners about the availability of scientific information and explored what others are doing to help translate science into action. Viet Nam: Available science is inadequate Many obstacles can exist on the route between MPA science and MPA practice, and Nick Cox has experienced several of them…
The State of MPA Science: What Have We Learned Lately?
In October 1999, MPA News surveyed a dozen MPA experts from around the world on what scientific question intrigued them most (MPA News 1:2). Reflecting the relative newness of MPA science, respondents viewed some of the most basic questions — such as whether no-take areas increase stock biomass, both within and outside their borders — as unanswered. Since then, several academic papers, reports, and consensus statements have cited “compelling” scientific evidence for marine reserves’ use as a central tool in fisheries management. A committee of the US National Research Council has argued in favor of the expanded use of marine…
MPAs and Tourism: Stakeholders Work to Build a Productive Relationship
Managing the relationship between tourism and marine protected areas requires a balancing act on the part of MPA practitioners. The unique ecological features found in MPAs often make them popular tourist attractions for scuba diving, sightseeing, or other activities, and these can generate revenue for the MPA and the local community. But tourists, if not managed carefully, can quickly degrade the very resources they have come to see. This month, MPA News examines how some stakeholders in the global MPA community — divers, researchers, recreational fishers, and environmentalists — are working to influence the way that MPA practitioners balance tourism…
Manual Offers Quick Reference for Management Strategies
The US Man and the Biosphere Program, a federal multiagency initiative, has published a reference manual to help MPA practitioners develop user-access strategies. It is a product of a five-year, peer-reviewed project to assess impacts of various MPA management schemes. Alternative Access Management Strategies for Marine and Coastal Protected Areas: A Reference Manual for Their Development and Assessment offers a flowchart of the major components of managing MPAs. Its chapters — short, relatively introductory essays — follow the flowchart and offer references to sources of additional information. The topics range from establishing a legal framework and vision statement, to assessing…
New Book, Website Provide MPA Inventory for British Columbia
With each year’s designation of new marine protected areas around the world, analysis of the coverage fostered by this patchwork of MPAs is becoming increasingly difficult. For managers to assess gaps in habitat protection, they must first document where MPAs already exist. In regions where dozens — or hundreds — of marine protected areas have been designated under various regulatory regimes, such documentation can be painstaking. Nonetheless, inventories of MPAs are necessary for effective marine resource planning, and efforts to create regional MPA databases are becoming more common. The new book Marine Protected Areas and Fishery Closures in British Columbia…