MPA News
Australia Continues MPA Push: Officials Announce Plan for World’s Largest No-Take Zone
Continuing its designation of national MPAs at a scale unmatched by other nations, the Australian government’s latest endeavor will establish the world’s largest no-take zone for commercial fishing, according to national officials. The Australian government intends to declare a massive marine park around Macquarie Island, southeast of Tasmania in the Southern Ocean, that would span 16 million hectares (160,000 km2), of which nearly a third would be a no-fishing area. Announced in late June of this year, the plan to create the marine park will add yet another site to the country’s fast-growing system of major marine ecological regions protected…
West Hawaii Council Approves Fish Management Areas
A West Hawaii working group approved in March the proposal for a network of fish replenishment areas (FRAs) in which aquarium fish collection would be prohibited. In an attempt to end a longstanding feud between dive tour operators and fish collectors on the west coast of the island of Hawaii, the multi-stakeholder group voted to set aside a total of nine FRAs, representing 35% of the 150-mile (240 km) West Hawaii coastline. Aquarium fish collectors boycotted the vote, insisting they had been assured the percentage would be no more than 30% of the coastline. They will be required to abide…