What Is A Marine Reserve?
Designated Marine Protected Areas Conserve Habitat And Species
Aug 28, 2008
Government agencies, commercial interests, conservation groups, and researchers alike are shifting their focus from traditional management tools oriented towards managing single species, to a more precautionary, ecosystem-oriented approach. One group of precautionary tools offering great promise are marine protected areas - specifically, marine reserves and networks.
Marine Protected Areas
Marine protected areas — MPAs — are defined as areas of the ocean designated to enhance conservation of marine resources. Typical examples of MPAs with an ecological mission include:
- Protecting ecological structures and function
- Establishing control sites for scientific research studies
- Habitat conservation
- Protection of vulnerable plant or animal species
The actual level of protection within an MPA varies according to its fundamental design and management characteristics. Factors underpinning MPA protection and enforcement are:
- Primary conservation goal
- Level of protection desired
- Permanence
- Constancy (either year round or seasonal)
- Scale
- Allowed activities within an MPA’s borders
Marine Reserves and Networks
The most restrictive MPAs are the marine reserve. Also known as “ecological” reserves or “no-take” reserves, marine reserves are a special class of MPA. They are areas of the ocean completely protected from all activities that remove animals and plants or alter habitats in any way, except as needed for scientific monitoring.
Marine reserves may in turn be organized in networks. A marine reserve network is a set of marine reserves spread across a biogeographic region, but connected by dispersion of larvae and migration of juvenile or adult organisms between the reserves. Marine reserve networks thus offer protection to a wider range of habitat than can be shielded by single reserves, as well protecting marine species whose life history demands a range of habitats.
The Future of Ocean Conservation
One of today’s greatest environmental challenges is ensuring the oceans remain a sustainable source of food and materials for human use, while simultaneously preserving the rich legacy of biodiversity, abundance, and ecological services which healthy marine ecosystems provide. Marine reserves by themselves are not a conservation panacea, but if used in combination with more traditional management tools, science suggests they may play a key role in restoring and maintaining the ocean's health.
References
Lubchenco, J., S. R. Palumbi, S. D. Gaines, and S. Andelman. 2003. Plugging a hole in the ocean: the emerging science of marine reserves. Ecol. Applications 13(1):S3-S7.
Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans. 2007. The Science of Marine Reserves (2nd Edition, United States Version.) www.piscoweb.org. 22 pages.
Roberts, C. M., S. Andelman, G. Branch, R. H. Bustamante, J. C. Castilla, J. Dugan, B. S. Halpern, K. D. Lafferty, H. Leslie, J. Lubchenco, D. McArdle, H. P. Possingham, M. Ruckelshaus, and R. R. Warner. 2003. Ecological criteria for evaluating candidate sites for marine reserves. Ecol. Applications 13(1): S199-S214.
Witherell, D., D. Woodby. 2005. Application of marine protected areas for sustainable production and marine biodiversity off Alaska. Marine Fisheries Review, Winter Issue.
