A feedback management procedure based on controlling the size of marine protected areas

ABSTRACT:   A feedback management procedure is proposed that is based on controlling the size of a Marine Protected Area (MPA): increasing the size of the MPA when the population is below a predetermined target level and reducing its size when it is above. The objective of fisheries management is to have the population size approximate the target level. Local stability was analyzed, to determine whether a population could remain close to the target level with small perturbations, using a generalized population dynamics model without including an age structure. The procedure was able to sustain the population at the target level if the target was set at a level that gives the maximum sustainable yield and if drastic changes in the MPA size were avoided. Global stability was analyzed numerically to determine whether a population would always approach the target level regardless of the present population size, using a specified model that allowed for temporal changes in the spatial distribution of a sedentary population. The procedure, which did not require direct control of catch quota or fishing effort, appeared to attain the objective successfully.     

Key biodiversity areas as globally significant target sites for the conservation of marine biological diversity

• 1. Recent approaches to the planning of marine protected area (MPA) networks for biodiversity conservation often stress the need for a representative coverage of habitat types while aiming to minimize impacts on resource users. As typified by planning for the Australian South‐east Marine Region, this strategy can be manipulated by political processes, with consequent biased siting of MPAs. Networks thus created frequently possess relatively low value for biodiversity conservation, despite significant costs in establishment and maintenance.
• 2. Such biases can be minimized through application of the data‐driven and species‐based concept of key biodiversity areas (KBAs).
• 3. By mapping locations of threatened species and populations that are highly aggregated in time or space, the KBA process allows marine sites of global biodiversity significance to be systematically identified as priority conservation targets. Here, the value of KBAs for marine conservation planning is outlined, and guidelines and provisional criteria for their application provided.

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Benefits of marine protected areas for tropical coastal sharks

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Characteristics of effective marine protected areas in Hawaiʻi

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Interactions between the implementation of marine protected areas and right-based fisheries management in Australia

Abstract  The declaration of marine protected areas (MPAs) in Australia generates much confusion and controversy between government conservation and fisheries agencies, the fishing industry and NGOs. There are fundamental differences between the principles and practices underpinning the implementation of MPAs and fisheries management. This paper analyses the interactions between these two approaches to natural resource management and highlights the difficulties in integrating them effectively. The major challenges for governments are: poor cooperation between fisheries and conservation agencies; in principle inconsistencies between allocation of fishing rights by fisheries agencies and loss of these rights through MPA declaration; re-allocation of resources between user groups through spatial zoning; lack of fisheries expertise in conservation planning, and inappropriate single-species/single-issue approach to fisheries management. As fisheries agencies are now considering developing their own MPAs as tools for fisheries management, the need to address inconsistencies between conservation and fisheries approaches to the spatial management of natural resources increases further. Better collaboration between government agencies and better coordination of their activities would help more effective and less conflicting management of marine resources.     

Benthic habitat modelling and mapping as a conservation tool for marine protected areas: A seamount in the western Mediterranean

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Marine protected areas in southern China: Upgrading conservation effectiveness in the ‘eco‐civilization’ era

1. ensuring that marine systems are not overwhelmed within the new national jurisdiction, and maintaining and enhancing marine capacity;
2. increased resourcing, supported by comprehensive and systematic economic valuations of ecosystem goods and services and natural capital;
3. upgraded enforcement of existing environmental laws and regulations, combined with further refinement and development, especially around cumulative impact management;
4. a particular focus on major reduction in water pollution in all forms;
5. integration of marine management between Hong Kong SAR and surrounding Guangdong Province; and
6. enhanced community engagement, participation and education.
7. Finally, much greater, collaborative engagement by the international community with Chinese marine management and conservation would bring major, and very mutual, benefits.

     

The biodiversity value of marine protected areas for multi‐species fishery management in the Gulf of Maine

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Evaluating the relative conservation value of fully and partially protected marine areas

The establishment of marine protected areas (MPAs), particularly of no‐take areas, is often viewed as a conflict between conservation and fishing. Partially protected areas (PPAs) that restrict some extractive uses are often regarded as a balance between biodiversity conservation and socio‐economic viability. Few attempts have been made to generalize the ecological effects of PPAs. We synthesized the results of empirical studies that compared PPAs to (i) no‐take reserves (NTRs) and (ii) to open access (Open) areas, to assess the potential benefits of different levels of protection for fish populations. Response to protection was examined in relation to MPA parameters and the exploitation status of fish. Our syntheses suggest that while PPAs significantly enhance density and biomass of fish relative to Open areas, NTRs yielded significantly higher biomass of fish within their boundaries relative to PPAs. The positive response to protection was primarily driven by target species. There was a large degree of variability in the magnitude of response to protection, although the size of the PPA explained some of this variability. The protection regime within the PPA provided useful insights into the effectiveness of partial MPAs. We conclude that MPAs with partial protection confer advantages, such as enhanced density and biomass of fish, compared to areas with no restrictions, although the strongest responses occurred for areas with total exclusion. Thus, MPAs with a combination of protection levels are a valuable spatial management tool particularly in areas where exclusion of all activities is not a socio‐economically and politically viable option.     

A generic framework to assess the representation and protection of benthic ecosystems in European marine protected areas

1. There is concern across the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) region that a consideration of vulnerable components and the wider support mechanisms underpinning benthic marine ecosystems may be lacking from the process of marine protected area (MPA) designation, management and monitoring.
2. In this study, MPAs across six European ecoregions were assessed from a benthic ecology perspective. The study included 102 MPAs, designated by 10 countries, and focused on three aspects regarding the role of the benthos in: (i) the designation of MPAs; (ii) the management measures used in MPAs; and (iii) the monitoring and assessment of MPAs.
3. Qualitative entries to a questionnaire based on an existing framework (EU project ‘Monitoring Evaluation of Spatially Managed Areas’, (MESMA) were collected by 19 benthic experts of the ICES Benthic Ecology Working Group. A pedigree matrix was used to apply a numerical scale (score) to these entries.
4. The results showed clear differences in scores between ecoregions and between criteria. The designation‐phase criteria generally achieved higher scores than the implementation‐phase criteria. Poor designation‐phase scores were generally reiterated in the implementation‐phase scores, such as scores for assessment and monitoring.
5. Over 70% of the MPA case studies were found to consider the benthos to some extent during selection and designation; however, this was not followed up with appropriate management measures and good practice during the implementation phase.
6. Poor spatial and temporal coverage of monitoring and ineffective indicators is unlikely to pick up changes caused by management measures in the MPA. There is concern that without adequate monitoring and adaptive management frameworks, the MPAs will be compromised. Also, there could be an increased likelihood that, with regard to the benthos, they will fail to meet their conservation objectives.
7. This assessment was successful in highlighting issues related to the representation and protection of the benthos in MPAs and where changes need to be made, such as expanding the characterization and monitoring of benthic species or habitats of interest. These issues could be attributable to an ongoing process and/or an indication that some MPAs only have ‘paper protection’.

     

Indian Ocean humpback dolphin in the Menai Bay off the south coast of Zanzibar,East Africa is Critically Endangered

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Use of focal species in marine conservation and management: a review and critique

1. Focal species (i.e. indicators, keystones, umbrellas, and flagships) have been advocated for the management and conservation of natural environments. 2. The assumption has been that the presence or abundance of a focal species is a means to understanding the composition and/or state of the more complex community. 3. We review the characteristics of focal species, and evaluate their appropriateness and utility judged against conservation objectives. 4. It appears that indicator species (of both composition and condition) may be of greatest general utility, and that several types of focal species may exhibit useful indicator properties. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Progress,opportunities and challenges for marine conservation in the Pacific Islands

1. The people of the Pacific have long relied on the ocean for sustenance, commerce and cultural identity, which resulted in a sophisticated understanding of the marine environment and its conservation.
2. The global declines in ocean health require new and innovative approaches to conserving marine ecosystems. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have been shown to be a highly effective means of conserving biodiversity and managing fisheries, while also restoring and preserving overall ecosystem function.
3. Traditional ecological knowledge held by many island peoples in the Pacific is critical to the development, design and implementation of contemporary MPAs.
4. Chile's offshore islands are among the few oceanic archipelagos along the west coast of South America. These islands have cultural and ecological connections to the broader insular Pacific, yet our scientific understanding of them is extremely limited.
5. Chile has created several large-scale MPAs around their offshore archipelagos. By protecting these unique ecosystems, Chile has established itself as a global leader in marine conservation.
6. Effective management and a better understanding of social–ecological interactions are currently the biggest challenges facing MPAs in the Pacific Islands.

     

Residual marine protected areas five years on: Are we still favouring ease of establishment over need for protection?

• 1. Marine protected areas (MPAs) are today's cornerstone of many marine conservation strategies. Our 2015 study (Devillers et al., 2015) and others have shown, however, that the placement of MPAs is ‘residual’ to commercial uses and biased towards areas of lower economic value or interest.
• 2. In this paper, we explored the impact of our study on marine science, policy and management practice.
• 3. We reviewed the papers citing our work and compiled expert opinions on some of the impacts of our study.
• 4. Results indicate a strong general uptake in the scientific community but more uneven impacts on policy and management in different contexts, with a likely smaller impact of the research on conservation practice.

     

Encouraging youth engagement in marine protected areas: A survey of best practices in Canada

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Developing a marine protected area network with multiple objectives in China

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Gone with the wind: Seasonal distribution and habitat use by the reef manta ray (Mobula alfredi) in the Maldives,implications for conservation

1. Reef manta rays (Mobula alfredi) are one of the ocean's largest and most charismatic species. Pressure from targeted and bycatch fisheries coupled with their conservative life‐history traits including slow growth, late maturity, and low fecundity has led to catastrophic declines of the global population. The species is now listed as Vulnerable to Extinction on IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
2. The global M. alfredi population is widely distributed in highly fragmented subpopulations. The Maldives supports the world's largest known subpopulation that undergoes seasonal migrations which are thought to be linked to peaks in ocean productivity induced by the South Asian Monsoon. Although the species is protected from targeted fisheries in the region, increasing pressures from habitat degradation and unsustainable tourism activities mean their effective conservation relies upon knowledge of the species' habitat use, seasonal distribution, and the environmental influences on such movements.
3. Photo‐ID sighting records collected between 2005 and 2017 were used to identify key aggregation sites throughout the archipelago, and multiple linear regression and prediction analysis identified the environmental variables affecting variations in the intra‐annual sighting frequency of M. alfredi.
4. Mobula alfredi were recorded at 273 different sites, 48 of which, with >100 sightings at each, were classified as key areas of habitat use. South‐west monsoon winds and chlorophyll‐a concentration predominantly affected the monthly percentage of M. alfredi sighted on the down‐current side of the atolls.
5. In a country where climate change and touristic pressure are increasingly threatening this species and its habitat, the identification of key areas of habitat use and temporal changes in the use of these sites highlight the areas that should be prioritized for protection enabling more effective conservation management.

     

Sharks,rays and marine protected areas: A critical evaluation of current perspectives

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are increasingly advocated for the conservation and management of sharks and rays. However, substantial uncertainty remains regarding which species can benefit from MPAs. Meanwhile, area‐focused protection targets have spurred recent and rapid gains in the creation of large MPAs, many of which carry vague objectives set by a diverse group of stakeholders with potentially different notions of “success.” Here, we capture and critically evaluate current views on the use of MPAs for shark and ray conservation. Through interviews with scientists, MPA managers, fisheries experts, conservation practitioners, advocates and policy experts (n = 53), we demonstrate a variety of perspectives regarding: (a) the effectiveness of MPAs as a tool for shark and ray conservation; (b) which factors influence the success of MPAs for sharks and rays; and (c) the desired outcomes of these MPAs. While MPAs created specifically for sharks and rays were viewed to be slightly more effective than regular MPAs as a tool for shark and ray conservation, both were generally considered insufficient in isolation. Despite greater emphasis on social success factors (e.g., local support) over biophysical success factors (e.g., size), biological outcomes (e.g., increased abundance) were prioritized over social outcomes (e.g., livelihood benefits). We argue that a stronger focus on achieving social outcomes can enhance the potential for MPAs to benefit sharks and rays. In revealing current thinking regarding the drivers and indicators of MPA success for sharks and rays, the results of this study can inform efforts to conserve and manage these species.