March 28, 2013 — Marine protected areas aren’t going to be nearly enough to save our oceans, and fishing needs to be part of the solution.
I have a confession to make: I’m a marine scientist who thinks marine protected areas (MPAs) aren’t going to be nearly enough to save our oceans, and that fishing needs to be part of the solution too.
Here’s why: As a conservationist, I’ve seen how MPAs can protect habitat and allow fish populations to flourish, but I’ve also seen how effective fisheries management can balance economic needs with those of a healthy ocean. Within the next generation the global population will reach 9 billion, and it’s our shared challenge to implement the next generation of ocean management techniques to allow us to restore and maintain our oceans against this ever-rising wall of pressure.
That means working together.
The Spillover Effect
When asked, many fishers don’t want MPAs, and it’s not always surprising. MPAs come in many forms, but almost invariably they impose rules on fishing, because fishing is often one of the most significant direct threats to marine resources. But fishing is one of the oldest activities known to humanity. What right does the biodiversity brigade have to come in pontificating about protection?
But surely something needs to be done — only 15% of the world’s assessed fish stocks are in the “safe” categories of under-exploited or moderately exploited. That leaves 85% over-fished, depleted or at full exploitation, right on the edge of decline. Even from the fishers’ perspective this is deeply troubling — despite increasing efforts and investments, many are catching fewer and fewer fish. If stocks were better managed they could be making more money and ensuring their long-term future.
Meanwhile, the results of protection can be dramatic — the best-managed marine reserves are tightly packed with vast schools of fish and with healthy ecosystem builders such as corals and kelps. A few studies have suggested that such closed areas can lead to significant benefits to fisheries, with both larvae and adult fish “spilling over” into adjacent areas and leading to increased fish catches over all.
Read the full story at The Nature Conservancy's Cool Green Science blog