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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.
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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 Selecting Locations for the Reserves:
*Enforcement, Management, and Funding:
Given the conservative coverage area targets, clear thought must be given to maximizing the impact of each unit of ocean area protected. We emphasize that it is not the size of individual sanctuaries that is the most important matter, but rather the global scale of coverage (Guenétte, et. al. 2003). There are several general principles that should be followed when selecting locations for marine reserves. To properly function as a buffer against external exploitation, the 10% of ocean area must include a representative sample of habitats and ecosystems should be protected (Ballantine 1991). Particular emphasis should be placed on protecting especially fragile, unique, or threatened ecosystems. Furthermore, multiple examples of each habitat type should be protected to insure against localized disturbances. Finally, individual Marine Reserves should be set up in mutually reinforcing networks to maximize there influence. Such systems rely on knowledge of the physical processes in play in a given area, especially the activity of advective and convective current systems (Johnson, Funicelli, & Bohnsack 1999 and Ballantine 1991).
Although the No-Take Zones in this proposal are intended to primarily target entire ecosystems, we acknowledge that there are biological or economic situations in which a certain organism is of particular importance. In such cases, an understanding of the relevant biology and ecology is critically important. For example, key life stages or migration routes of the target species can be protected by careful placement of reserves (Robichaud & Rose 2004). A land-based analogy is the protection of bird nesting sites and reserves for migratory birds, respectively.
When setting up marine reserves, it is also 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).
Of course, there are also the practical matters of cost and enforceability that must be factored into any setup of marine protected areas. Creating a layout for Marine reserves that optimizes these numerous biological, physical, and social factors is a complex issue. Fortunately, there exist several environmental modeling packages such as Marxan (Possingham, Ball, & Andleman 2000), ResNet, and C-Plan that use stochastic statistical methods to optimize these parameters. Naturally, these types of algorithms are effective only given proper data, so continued emphasis on the collection of scientific data is essential. (Hyperlink to EXTERNAL FURTHER RESEARCH PAGE).
*Enforcement, Management, and Funding:
A major challenge in developing Marine Protected areas is the enforcement of the regulations of the reserves. Once established, the borders should be relatively constant and the restrictions well-publicized, to avoid confusion among those wanting to fish near the areas. Most violations of Marine Protected Areas are committed close to the borders, so the boats have a chance to leave quickly and dispute that they were ever in the area. Technology can serve as a A major challenge in developing Marine Protected areas is the enforcement of the regulations of the reserves. Once established, the borders should be relatively constant and the restrictions well-publicized, to avoid confusion among those wanting to fish near the areas. Most violations of Marine Protected Areas are committed close to the borders, so the boats have a chance to leave quickly and dispute that they were ever in the area. Technology can serve as a great help in monitoring Marine Protected Areas. One possibility is to require GPS-based transponders on all boats to ensure they do not cross protected borders. Relevant management authorities can then pinpoint violators and the locations in which infringement occurs.
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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).