Marine Protected Areas
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are areas that are legally designated to provide long-term protection of marine ecosystems, processes, habitats, and species including marine biodiversity. MPAs can contribute to the restoration and replenishment of resources for social, economic, and cultural enrichment.
“MPA” is an umbrella term used to capture a range of different objectives depending on the conservation needs of the area. MPAs have various levels of protection from complete no-take, no-entry MPAs (which are often termed “marine reserves”) to zoned MPAs allowing for differing uses within each zone.
MPA benefits include:
- increasing ecosystem resiliency – increasing the ability of ecosystems to bounce back from anthropogenic impacts and environmental change
- increasing fish stocks
- providing a refuge for species to prevent overfishing and species extinctions
- allowing for the recovery of degraded species, habitats, and ecosystems
- preserving biodiversity and genetic diversity
- providing research baselines and educational opportunities
- providing economic and cultural benefits by protecting resources and acting as a tool to be used along with others for sustainable oceans management
- enhancing ecotourism
- diversifying livelihoods and increasing community resiliency, reducing coastal community emigration
- safeguarding the marine environment and it’s resources for future generations
MPAs are one tool in many that can be used to safeguard marine ecosystems. Combined with better fishing practices and the application of the ecosystem approach to marine management MPAs give added value and will result in more effective protection of our marine resources. Until marine management improves and fishing is conducted sustainably, MPAs can act as an insurance policy to ensure that areas in the ocean will remain undisturbed despite ongoing unsustainable ocean uses.