Background:
The concept of a Marine Protected Area (MPA) is exceptionally broad and may defined as follows:
"Any area of the coastal zone or open ocean conferred some level of protection for the purpose of management of use of resources or protection of vulnerable or threatened habitats or species." (Agardy 1997)
Both Both among the general population and in the scientific community, it is very difficult to find people who oppose the idea of MPAs in principle. Indeed a recent study conducted by the Ocean Conservancy found that 95% of the comments made during a recent hearing on MPAs in Californiawere supportive of the protection (Hahn 2007).
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Benefits of No-Take Zones:
Ecological Enhancement within the Reserve:
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These types of positive ecological results of No-Take zones have been seen around the globe, and are well documented in the scientific literature and well accepted by the scientific community.
_The "Spillover Effect:"
_One of the most interesting aspects of Marine Reserves is the so-called "Spillover Effect," by which improved biomass and diversity within the reserves enhances nearby fisheries and ecosystems. Beginning with the work of Roberts, et. al. (1997), the existence of such an effect has been noted and studies for nearly a decade. In particular, he noted that the dispersal of pelagic larvae from protected areas enhanced the productivity of "downstream" regions and made them more resilient to change. There are numerous documented examples of spillover benefits, from all parts of the world, ranging from the closed area off Cape Canaveral in Florida (Johnson, Funicelli, & Bohnsack 1999) to the examples in the Philippines (Russ, Alcala, & Maypa 2003) and off the coasts of Kenya and Tanzania (McClanahan, Verheij, & Maina 2006).
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No-Take Reserves have significant value for research in that they provide a control against which the changes outside can be compared. Long-established marine reserves provide a baseline healthy ecosystem that cannot be fully duplicated with other methods such as mathematical modeling. Areas closed due to fisheries declines produce can very important data for establishing the effectiveness of Marine Reserves in facilitating recovery of fisheries and ecosystems (Hermens, Collie, & Valentine 2003).
Economics:
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_Economics:_Despite common assertions to the contrary, Marine Reserves can have significant economic benefits to society, in particular, the assurance of long-term, sustainable fisheries. On of the unfortunate short-term effects of marine reserves is the displacement of fishermen due to the reduction of fishable waters, the higher levels of congestion, and potential competition. However, in the long run, the establishment of a network of protected areas will inevitably create "optimal harvesting area\[s\]" with "higher resource rents" (Grafton, Komas, & Pham 2006) under controlled fishing rates. Our particular proposal is designed to mitigate the short term costs, while attempting to ensure that enough of the ocean is protected so that the future potential can be realized. |
But perhaps even more exciting are the beneficial economic effects of Marine Reserves to tourism and other non-exploitative activities. According to the NationalMarineProtectedAreasCenterNational Marine Protected Areas Center (1995-1996), the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and other marine-related parks and refuges provide an "estimated total tourist contribution to the economy of over 60 percent." Considering the scale of tourism in areas such as the Florida Keys, this is a truly significant percentage. Myriad activities such as scuba diving, wildlife watching, boating, surfing, and snorkeling are part of this large and growing industry.
Oftentimes, revenues derived from non-extractive uses compare favorably with other more damaging uses of the ocean. For example, consider that whale watching globally generates more than 1 billion USD in revenue per year (Greenpeace 2007a). For Iceland, in particular, whale-watching alone generated around 8.5 million USD per year in revenue, as compared to an average of 3.5-4 million USD from whaling in the years before the IWC moratorium (Greenpeace 2003). In acknowledgement of these economic realities, in 2007, Iceland announced that it would no longer be issuing commercial whale-hunting quotas (Greenpeace 2007b).
Direct Human Benefits:{_}
Education:
_Education is easily promoted through MPAs. Bringing awareness through tourism is a fantastic form of mass education. School age kids can be educated with field trips to the MPA and school age kids is where the future of our oceans lie. In addition to the fact that kids often bring what they learned from school trips home with them. MPAs make it easier to increase public access to information about marine areas. Visitor centers, museums, and tourist boat trips are how knowledge of the fishery problem will become public.
Indeed, physical access to the reserve is not even necessary for educational benefits. Another major educational benefit is that MPAs are a great resource for collecting research data and excellent areas to set up oceanic laboratories. MPAs are capable of uniting marine research like the Ecological Characterization Project undertaken by the NationalMarineProtectedAreasCenter. The information about the project can be found at <http://mpa.gov/pdf/national-system/wcp-eco-character-june9.pdf
>. MPAs are capable of great research feats and simply need to be used accordingly.
(Website used for information: <http://mpa.gov/science_analysis/science_analysis.html>) (needs to be properly cited)
A 10% Plan for Marine Reserves:
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As for acceptability, consider that around 11.5% of global surface area currently falls under some type of state-designated protection (UNEP 2006). These data imply that a comparable level of coverage for the oceans is not an unrealistic target. Even considering that the coverage by each country is uneven, there is clear global precedent for conservation, with diverse regions such as Central America, East Asia, Southern Africa, Europe, Australia, and North America all exceeding the global average (UNEP 2006). Given the proper motivation through education, social development programmes, and the like, it is very conceivable that this 10% proposal could become broadly acceptable (Ballantine 1991).
Setting up the Reserves:
Abesamis R. A., Russ G. R., Alcala A. C. (2006).Gradients of abundance of fish across no-take marine reserve boundaries: evidence from Philipine coral reefs. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 16: 349-371.
Agardy, M. T. (1997). Marine Protected Areas and Ocean Conservation. San Diego,California: Academic Press
Agardy, M.T., Bridgewater, P., Crosby, M. P., Day, J., et. al. (2003) Dangerous targets? Unresolved issues and ideological clashes around marine protected areas. Aquatic Conservation, 13(4), 1-15.
Ballantine, W. J. (1991). Marine Reserves for New Zealand. Warkworth, New Zealand: UniversityofAuckland, Leigh Marine Laboratory.
Cole R. G., Villouta E., Davidson R. J. (2000).Direct evidence of limited dispersal of the reef fish Parapercis colias (Pinguipedidae) within a marine reserve and adjacent fish areas. Aquatic conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 10: 421-436.
Davidson R. J., Villouta E., Cole R. G., Barrier R. G. F. (2002). Effects of marine reserve protection on spiny lobster (Jasus edwardsii) abundance and size at Tonga IslandMarine Reserve,New Zealand. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 12: 213-227.
Evans, R. D., Russ, G. R. (2004). Larger biomass of targeted reef fish in no-take marine reserves on the Great Barrier Reef. Aquatic Conservation, 14(5): 505-519.
Gell, F. R. and Roberts, C. M. (2003). The Fisheries Effects of Marine Reserves and Fisheries Closures. Washington,DC: World Wildlife Fund. Goñi
Goñi R., Quetglas A., Reñones O. (2006). Spillover of spiny lobsters Palinurus elephas from a marine reserve to an adjoining fishery. Marine Ecology Progress Series 308: 207-219.
Grafton Grafton, R. Q., Kompas, T., and Pham, V. H. (2006). The Economic Payoffs from Marine Reserves: Resource Rents in a Stochastic Environment. Economic Recrod 82(259): 469-480. Greenpeace
Greenpeace. (2007a) Whale Watching and Marine Sanctuaries. Retrieved 17 November 2007. <www.greenpeace.org/new-zealand/campaigns/oceans/whales/whale-watching-sanctuary>. Greenpeace
Greenpeace. (2007b). Iceland Stops Commercial Whale Hunt. Retrieved 17 November 2007. <www.greenpeace.org/international/news/iceland-ends-commercial-whale-240807>.
Greenpeace. (2003) Icelandic Whaling.. Retrieved 17 November 2007. <www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/oceans/whaling/icelandic-whaling>.
Guenétte, S., Pitcher T. J., Walters C. J. (2000). The Potential of Marine Reserves for the management of Northern Cod in Newfoundland. Bulletin of Marine Science_,_ 66(3): 831-852.
Hahn, S. (2007, October 17) Historic new protections could save our shores. Metroactive (Santa Cruz,CA) online edition. <www.metroactive.com/metro/10.17.07/news2-0742.html>.
Hermsen, J. M., Collie, J. S., Valentine, P. C. (2003). Mobilefishing gear reduces benthic megafaunal production on Georges Bank_. Marine Ecology Progress Series 260: 97-108. Johnson Johnson D. R., Funicelli N. A. , Bohnsack J. A. (1999). _Effectiveness of an Existing Estuarine No-Take Fish Sanctuary within the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 19(2): 436-453. McClanahan
McClanahan, T. R., Verheij, E., Maina, J. (2006) Comparing the management effectiveness of a marine park and a multiple-use collaborative fisheries management area in East Africa. Aquatic Conservation 16: 147-165. National National Marine Protected AreasCenter. (2006) Archives-What MPAs Provide the Nation. Retrieved 17 Nov. 2007. <http://mpa.gov/helpful_resources/archives/benefits.html#social>.
Pauly Pauly, D. (2007) Lecture. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge,MA. RobertsRoberts, C.M, et al. (1997). Effects of Marine Reserves on Adjacent Fisheries. Science 294:1920-1923.
Russ, G. R., Alcala, A. C., Maypa, A.P.(2003).Spillover from marine reserves: The case of Naso vlamingii at ApoIsland, The Philippines. Marine Ecological Progress Series 264: 15-20.
Tewfik A., Benen C. (2003). Effects of natural barriers on the spillover of a marine mollusc: implications for fisheries reserves. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 13: 473-488.
United Nations Environment Program. (2006) UNEP World Database on Protected Areas. Retrieved 11 November 2007. <http://www.unep-wcmc.org/wdpa/>.
When setting up marine reserves, it is important to consider potential ecological barriers that will prevent the occurrence of spillover, and therefore reduce the ability of the protected area to enhance adjacent fisheries. For instance, one study in the Turks and Caicos Islands found that numerous shallow sand habitats enclosed a population of conch, reducing its spillover into nearby areas (A. Tewfik and C. Bene, 2003).