Evaluating ecological benefits of oceanic protected areas
his study reviews the ecological benefits of oceanic marine protected areas worldwide, examining evidence for biodiversity protection, pelagic habitat conservation, and fisheries impacts. It highlights mismatches between objectives and research focus, identifies major knowledge gaps, and shows how emerging technologies can improve high‑seas MPA design and monitoring.
Subject Tags
- Marine protected areas
- Biodiversity
Abstract
Oceans beyond the continental shelf represent the largest yet least protected environments. The new agreement to increase protection targets to 30% by 2030 and the recent United Nations (UN) High Seas Treaty try to address this gap, and an increase in the declaration of oceanic Marine Protected Areas (oMPAs) in waters beyond 200 m in depth is likely. Here we find that there is contradictory evidence concerning the benefits of oMPAs in terms of protecting pelagic habitats, providing refuge for highly mobile species, and potential fisheries benefits. We discover a mismatch between oMPA management objectives focusing on protection of pelagic habitats and biodiversity, and scientific research focusing on fisheries benefits. We suggest that the solution is to harness emerging technologies to monitor inside and outside oMPAs.
Citation
Blanluet, A., Game, E. T., Dunn, D. C., Everett, J. D., Lombard, A. T., & Richardson, A. J. (2024). Evaluating ecological benefits of oceanic protected areas. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 39(2), 175-187.
TNC Authors
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Edward Game
The Nature Conservancy
Email: egame@TNC.ORG -
Arthur Blanluet
The Nature Conservancy