Marine Protected Areas

Abstract

Human‐induced disturbance can affect the ecological functioning of coastal areas and reduce the associated goods and services required for human welfare. Major concerns are rising over observed declines in the abundance of particular species as well as reductions in functional diversity and changes in food web structure. As a result, the conservation and restoration of marine biodiversity and functions is a major concern. Marine protected areas are a useful management tool to mitigate some of the human‐induced changes in marine ecosystems. If properly managed and enforced, they can have several ecological, fisheries and socio‐economic benefits. Effects of marine protected areas are variable and context‐dependent but main drivers of change are now known. In recent years, MPA research made several important advances but some questions still remain unresolved. Key Concepts: Marine protected areas are a useful management tool. Marine protected areas can have ecological, fisheries and socio‐economic benefits. Partial protection confers less ecological benefits than full protection. Effects of marine protected areas mainly depend on their design and age, on the socio‐cultural context in which they are established and on the life history traits of the species targeted by protection. Effective marine protected areas need to be well enforced. The global coverage of marine protected areas is still very low.

Influence of protected areas on fish assemblages and fisheries in a large tropical river

“…The density, biomass, species richness and size of fishes are all expected to increase within protected areas relative to surrounding areas (Halpern, 2003). The reduced fishing pressure inside protected areas also benefits large fishes of upper trophic levels, which are usually targeted by fisheries (Claudet, 2011). Besides being established by the government through a top-down approach, protected areas can be co-managed by local communities, with the aim of maintaining traditional livelihoods and the sustainability of natural resources (Lausche, 2011; Lopes et al, 2011; Campbell et al, 2012; Gupta et al, 2016a).…”

Assessment of Habitat Representation across a Network of Marine Protected Areas with Implications for the Spatial Design of Monitoring

“…MPAs are areas within the ocean that are spatially protected from differing levels of human impacts, including resource exploitation and habitat alterations. MPAs can conserve habitats and unexploited species in addition to species targeted by fisheries [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ].…”