Conservation of marine biodiversity: too much diversity, too little co-operation

Abstract

Current efforts and practices in marine conservation, though well intentioned, are severely disorganized. Many regional, national and international agencies exist that are charged with marine conservation, but we are far from integrating their responsibilities and activities. Nor has the research community generally stimulated the development of co-ordinated national and international plans. There is now, fortunately, considerable interest in marine conservation, but we are still far from any systematic approaches to research on the biogeography of marine biodiversity itself, at least at the national and regional levels. Marine conservation activities can be undertaken for a variety of purposes, including fisheries enhancement, protection of biodiversity, archaeology, scenic coastal areas, breeding/feeding grounds of marine mammals and birds, etc. Current emphasis in marine conservation has centred on designation of marine protected areas (MPAs). This is not the only way to afford protection to the oceans (other efforts would include regulation of pollution and dumping and fisheries quotas, for example), but, in the absence of other concerted efforts, MPAs at least constitute a series of interim Noah’s Arks (interim in the sense that they may hopefully not be required at some time in the future when human practices in the oceans have become more sustainable). Individual MPAs clearly work! Protecting specific areas of the ocean for designated purposes is an effective strategy in order to accomplish regional conservation goals, such as fisheries enhancement and conservation of biodiversity. There are many examples of the success of MPAs in achieving fisheries conservation in tropical and sub-tropical waters (e.g. Planes et al., 2000). Recently, such evidence also exists for the effectiveness of closed areas in the management of fisheries in temperate waters, including enhancement of biomass and spill-over effects (see Fisher and Frank (2002)). However, my purpose is not to argue the merits of individual MPAs. My contention, here, is that our efforts in marine conservation are not efficiently integrated; in fact, they are disintegrated. Here, I enumerate some of the problems facing us. A recent survey of marine protected areas (UN Atlas of the Oceans, 2004) documented that over 4000 MPAs (or regions of similar names and designations) covering over 1.6 10 km exist world-wide. They range in size from only a few hundred square metres to over 34 10 ha of the Great Barrier Reef, though