Marine Protected Areas

Joachim Claudet, National Center for Scientific Research, USR 3278 CNRS‐EPHE CRIOBE, Perpignan, France

Published online: November 2012

DOI: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0023605

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.

Keywords: marine reserve; ecology; economy; fisheries; coastal management; network; ecosystem‐based management; conservation; protection; impact assessment

Figure 1.

Generic zoning in a multiple‐use MPA. Modified from Agardy et al., ; Claudet et al., .

Figure 2.

Role of enforcement levels on the ecological effectiveness of marine protected areas. Response ratios (and 95% confidence intervals) of fish biomass from inside to outside Italian MPAs. At the Italian regional level, no overall positive response in terms of biomass increase is detected in the system of MPAs (n=15). The positive response existing in some well‐enforced MPAs (n=3) is masked by the poor effectiveness of MPAs with medium (n=6) or low (n=6) levels of enforcement. Modified from Guidetti et al., and Claudet et al., .

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Further Reading

Agardy TS (1997) Marine Protected Areas and Ocean Conservation. Sand Diego, CA: R.G. Landes Company & Academic Press.

Claudet J (ed.) (2011) Marine Protected Areas – A Multidisciplinary Approach. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

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Mora C, Myers RA, Coll M et al. (2009) Management Effectiveness of the World's Marine Fisheries. PLoS Biology 7: e1000131.

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Related Sub-Topics:

Human Impacts | Biomes and Ecosystems | Conservation and Management | Restoration Ecology
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Article Title: Marine Protected Areas
 
How to Cite close
Claudet, Joachim(Nov 2012) Marine Protected Areas. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net [doi: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0023605]