Network Of Marine Protected Areas Research Articles

A portfolio of climate-tailored approaches to advance the design of marine protected areas in the Red Sea.

Intensified coastal development is compromising the health and functioning of marine ecosystems. A key example of this is the Red Sea, a biodiversity hotspot subjected to increasing local human pressures. While some marine‐protected areas (MPAs) were placed to alleviate these stressors, it is unclear whether these MPAs are managed or enforced, thus providing limited protection. Yet, most importantly, MPAs in the Red Sea were not designed using climate considerations, likely diminishing their effectiveness against global stressors. Here, we propose to tailor the design of MPAs in the Red Sea by integrating approaches to enhance climate change mitigation and adaptation. First, including coral bleaching susceptibility could produce a more resilient network of MPAs by safeguarding reefs from different thermal regions that vary in spatiotemporal bleaching responses, reducing the risk that all protected reefs will bleach simultaneously. Second, preserving the basin‐wide genetic connectivity patterns that are assisted by mesoscale eddies could further ensure recovery of sensitive populations and maintain species potential to adapt to environmental changes. Finally, protecting mangrove forests in the northern and southern Red Sea that act as major carbon sinks could help offset greenhouse gas emissions. If implemented with multinational cooperation and concerted effort among stakeholders, our portfolio of climate‐tailored approaches may help build a network of MPAs in the Red Sea that protects more effectively its coastal resources against escalating coastal development and climate instability. Beyond the Red Sea, we anticipate this study to serve as an example of how to improve the utility of tropical MPAs as climate‐informed conservation tools.

Marine ecoregions and subecoregions within Indo‐West Australian waters: A statistical approach based on species distributions

AbstractAimThe Marine Ecoregions of the World (MEOW) system delineates the oceans into 232 ecoregions. Here, we aimed to evaluate the suitability of this system to represent species distributions within Indo‐West Australian waters, explore alternative ecoregions and new subecoregions and investigate environmental variables that are correlated with species distributions within those waters.LocationIndo‐West Australia.TaxonVertebrates, invertebrates, marine plants.MethodsWe downloaded occurrence data for 14,513 marine species from the Ocean Biogeographic Information System. We analysed differences in species composition among nine ecoregions within Indo‐West Australian waters using pairwise permutational multivariate analysis of variance to evaluate how well the MEOW system represents species distributions within those waters. We delineated subecoregions within each distinct ecoregion using hierarchical cluster analysis with the unweighted pair‐group method using arithmetic averages. We analysed relationships between environmental variables and species composition using distance‐based linear models.ResultsSpecies composition was significantly different among ecoregions, except for three adjacent regions, which were combined into a single large ecoregion. Hence, seven distinct ecoregions were further analysed. Our study identified 13 subecoregions within these ecoregions that each separate into ‘inshore’ and ‘offshore’ zones. Depth explained the most variation in species composition of the combined taxa and sea surface temperature was the most important parameter in explaining the variability in most taxa.Main ConclusionThe MEOW system did not represent well the distribution of marine species within Indo‐West Australian waters. Alternatively, we show that those waters encompass seven distinct ecoregions with 13 subecoregions. The main environmental drivers of species distributions could be depth and sea surface temperature. The proposed ecoregions and subecoregions allow us to improve the biogeographic hypotheses for understanding the evolution of marine species and identify representative marine habitats and species composition for the setting of Marine Protected Area networks within Indo‐West Australian waters.

A data-limited modeling approach for conserving connectivity in marine protected area networks

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are areas of marine ecosystems that have some level of protection to support one or more conservation objectives. One characteristic of MPA networks is that MPAs are spatially configured such that they provide the greatest protection possible for multiple species. Yet, it can be difficult to determine optimal MPA network arrangement due to insufficient information on multi-species habitat use and their dispersal abilities as larvae and adults. Here, we propose a modelling approach that involves determining the optimal MPA network configuration for multiple species assemblages, located at different depths and having differing dispersal abilities. As a case study, we applied this methodology in Pacific Canada where we identified optimal MPA configurations to protect 40 species having different pelagic larval duration (proxy for dispersal) at 3 different depth class groupings (proxy for habitat use). Taken together, we found dispersal ability had a larger impact on optimal MPA network configuration for species spending a long time as larvae compared to species spending a short time as larvae. We identify which 10% of this area is most important to conserve to maintain connectivity for a multi-species MPA network and show that half of these sites remain important to conserve in the future as climate change alters connectivity patterns. This model for MPA network design is feasible with limited data which is beneficial for application to other regions and ecosystems.

Protected area downgrading, downsizing, and degazettement (PADDD) in marine protected areas

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are foundational to global marine biodiversity conservation efforts. Recently, countries have rapidly scaled up their MPA networks to meet targets established by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). While MPA networks are intended to permanently safeguard marine ecosystems, evidence points to widespread legal changes that temper, reduce, or eliminate protected areas, known as protected area downgrading, downsizing, and degazettement (PADDD). Research on PADDD to-date has focused on terrestrial PAs, leaving fundamental questions about PADDD in MPAs unanswered. To address this knowledge gap and provide a foundation for understanding the conservation implications of PADDD in marine ecosystems, we documented patterns, trends, and proximate causes of PADDD in MPAs globally. At least six countries have enacted 43 PADDD events in MPAs, most of which were in Australian MPAs. Globally, PADDD events in MPAs have affected an area of at least 1,198,774 square kilometers, approximately the size of South Africa. Most PADDD events in MPAs (79%) are associated with industrial-scale resource use, extraction, and development, suggesting that PADDD may undermine the conservation objectives of MPAs. Additional research, transparency, and proactive policy responses are needed to address PADDD to better safeguard marine ecosystems.

Genetic characteristics of lobster Panulirus versicolor (Latreille, 1804) from bird’s head seascape-Papua based on cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene

Bird’s Head Seascape of Papua has high biodiversity. This region is a potential area for lobster (Panulirus versicolor) to grow and breed. This research aim is to analyze the genetic characteristic and diversity of lobster from Papua. Sample of P. versicolor was collected from several locations in BHS, which are Nabire, Wasior, Biak, Cenderawasih Bay, and Raja Ampat. Genomic DNA was isolated and amplified by using Polymerase Chain Reaction methods with primers HCO-02198 and LCO-1490. A total of 684 base pairs of COI genes were sequenced with an average composition of T (32%), C (22%), A (27,8%), and G (18,2%). All sequences are grouped into four haplotypes based on nine polymorphic sites. The Phylogenetic tree shows there is a close relationship among samples from Nabire, Wasior, Teluk Cenderawasih, and Raja Ampat. Based on this result, there is a need for enlarge management of conservation areas and built the marine protected area network in one management. The conservation should not be locally in each region.

Applying genomic data to seagrass conservation

Although genomic diversity is increasingly recognised as a key component of biodiversity, it is seldom used to inform conservation planning. Estuaries and keystone species such as the seagrass, Zostera capensis, are under severe anthropogenic pressure and are often poorly protected. In this study we integrated Single Nucleotide Polymorphism data generated from populations of Z. capensis across the South African coastline into the spatial prioritisation tool Marxan. We included different measures of genomic variation to account for genomic diversity, distinctness and evolutionary potential to explore spatial planning scenarios. We investigated how conservation priority areas identified by targeting only habitat type differed from those identified by also including genomic measures; further we assessed how different genetic diversity metrics change prioritisation outcomes. All scenarios targeting genomic variation identified unique conservation prioritisation areas compared to scenarios only targeting habitat type. As such, omitting these estuaries from regional Marine Protected Areas networks risks the loss of evolutionarily important populations, threatening resilience and persistence of associated estuarine communities and their ecosystem services. We also observed a high degree of overlap between prioritisation outcomes across targeted measures of genomic variation. As such, by including even single measures of genomic variation, it may be possible to sufficiently represent the evolutionary processes behind the patterns of variation, while simplifying the conservation prioritisation procedure.

The Bird's Head Seascape Marine Protected Area network—Preventing biodiversity and ecosystem service loss amidst rapid change in Papua, Indonesia

AbstractThe Bird's Head Seascape (BHS), Papua, Indonesia is located within the epicenter of global marine biodiversity and has been the focus of recent conservation efforts to protect marine resources. Here, we provide an overview of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) progress in the BHS over the past decade, including establishment history, changes in management effectiveness and ecosystem health, as well as examining trends in tourism growth. While generally viewed as a conservation success story, we reflect on both successes and challenges in the BHS, identifying where we need to continue to improve and adapt in response to rapid economic and environmental change. As of 2020, BHS MPAs cover 5.1 million ha across 23 MPAs. As expected, management effectiveness is steadily increasing in BHS MPAs—although newer MPAs face substantial capacity gaps. Tourism is rapidly growing—with an almost 3,000% increase in tourist visits between 2007 and 2018. Overall, hard coral cover in monitored BHS MPAs remained stable at 33% from 2010 to 2019, although trends in reef fish biomass were more variable. Given continued conservation challenges in the region, BHS MPAs are successfully preventing biodiversity loss while providing ecosystem services for local communities.

Using species connectivity to achieve coordinated large-scale marine conservation efforts in the Red Sea

In the face of increasing anthropogenic threats, coastal nations need to reach common ground for effective marine conservation. Understanding species' connectivity can reveal how nations share resources, demonstrating the need for cooperative protection efforts. Unfortunately, connectivity information is rarely integrated into the design of marine protected areas (MPAs). This is exemplified in the Red Sea where biodiversity is only nominally protected by a non-cohesive network of small-sized MPAs, most of which are barely implemented. Here, we showcase the potential of using connectivity patterns of flagship species to consolidate conservation efforts in the Red Sea. We argue that a large-scale MPA (LSMPA) would more effectively preserve Red Sea species' multinational migration routes. A connectivity-informed LSMPA approach provides thus one avenue to unite coastal nations toward acting for the common good of conservation and reverse the global decline in marine biodiversity.

Ecological criteria for designing effective MPA networks for large migratory pelagics: Assessing the consistency between IUCN best practices and scholarly literature

Networks of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have been proposed as one tool for the protection of large, migratory pelagic species, but debate exists on the utility of MPAs for these species. International conservation arenas have developed criteria for effective MPA networks, with the IUCN-WCPA [1] outlining five ecological guidelines in designing resilient MPA networks. This review examines recent literature to: (1) assess the degree to which the five IUCN guidelines address large migratory at-risk pelagic species; (2) assess differences between the scientific literature and IUCN guidelines in the manner in which effective MPA networks are conceptualized for these species; (3) identify additional relevant design themes for effective conservation of migratory pelagics through MPA networks not addressed by the IUCN guidelines; and, (4) identify challenges and opportunities for the design of MPA networks for this suite of species. Results indicate that neither the literature nor the IUCN-WCPA guidelines provide comprehensive strategies for designing MPA networks for large, migratory pelagic species. The study concludes that the IUCN-WCPA guidelines can be potentially effective for these species if migratory connectivity is fully accounted for and complementary adaptive and dynamic mechanisms are developed for integration across wider seascapes and sectors at large regional and global scales. To this end, updates to the design guidelines for MPA networks are warranted, particularly with respect to connectivity, adaptive and dynamic approaches, and international collaborations. Greater clarity and consistency in the definitions and uses of the terms MPAs and MPA networks is warranted to facilitate collaborative efforts.

Advancing Sustainable Development and Protected Area Management with Social Media-Based Tourism Data

Sustainable tourism involves increasingly attracting visitors while preserving the natural capital of a destination for future generations. To foster tourism while protecting sensitive environments, coastal managers, tourism operators, and other decision-makers benefit from information about where tourists go and which aspects of the natural and built environment draw them to particular locations. Yet this information is often lacking at management-relevant scales and in remote places. We tested and applied methods using social media as data on tourism in The Bahamas. We found that visitation, as measured by numbers of geolocated photographs, is well correlated with counts of visitors from entrance surveys for islands and parks. Using this relationship, we predicted nearly 4 K visitor-days to the network of Bahamian marine protected areas annually, with visitation varying more than 20-fold between the most and least visited parks. Next, to understand spatial patterns of tourism for sustainable development, we combined social media-based data with entrance surveys for Andros, the largest island in The Bahamas. We estimated that tourists spend 125 K visitor-nights and more than US$45 M in the most highly visited district, five times that of the least visited district. We also found that tourists prefer accessible, natural landscapes—such as reefs near lodges—that can be reached by air, roads, and ferries. The results of our study are being used to inform development and conservation decisions, such as where to invest in infrastructure for visitor access and accommodation, siting new marine protected areas, and management of established protected areas. Our work provides an important example of how to leverage social media as a source of data to inform strategies that encourage tourism, while conserving the environments that draw visitors to a destination in the first place.

Impact investment in marine conservation

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are promising examples of Nature-Based Solutions that can protect diversity while delivering ecosystem services. However insufficient funding for effective management and expansion of MPAs remains a challenge and one that particularly affects developing countries. During the last ten years, a community of investors seeking positive social and environmental impacts alongside financial returns, have stepped in to help fill this marine conservation financing gap. An innovative collaborative management approach has been recently implemented in the Dominican Republic for one of the largest MPAs in the Caribbean. Blended finance solutions mixing catalytic, development and impact finance have been used to cover the up-front capital needs. MPA revenues are being generated for MPA management and investor returns, via a range of sustainable finance tools including fees paid by visitors. The solution offers interesting outcomes that uses catalytic and development finance to mobilise commercial impact finance into MPAs. From a Government point of view, the approach provides empirical evidence of how non-public funding can become part of the financing options for a country’s MPA network, reducing the financial burden on Public Budgets. Scalability of the approach seems limited by the number of MPAs with tangible business models.

Distribution of demersal fish assemblages along the west coast of St Lucia: Implications for planning no‐take marine reserves

Abstract Evidence‐based decisions relating to effective marine protected areas as a means of conserving biodiversity require a detailed understanding of the species present. The Caribbean island nation of St Lucia is expanding its current marine protected area network by designating additional no‐take marine reserves on the west coast. However, information on the distribution of fish species is currently limited. This study used baited remote underwater stereo‐video to address this shortcoming by investigating the effects of depth and seabed habitat structure on demersal fish assemblages and comparing these assemblages between regions currently afforded different protection measures. From the 87 stations visited a total of 5,921 fish were observed comprising 120 fish taxa across 22 families. Species richness and total abundance were higher within the highly managed region, which included no‐take reserves. Redundancy analysis explained 17% of the total variance in fish distribution, driven predominantly by the seabed habitats. The redundancy analysis identified four main groups of demersal fishes each associated with specific seabed habitats. The current no‐take marine reserves protected two of these groups (i.e. fishes associated with the ‘soft corals, hard corals or gorgonians’ and ‘seagrass’ groups). Importantly, habitats dominated by sponges, bacterial mats, algal turfs or macroalgae, which also supported unique fish assemblages, are not currently afforded protection via the marine reserve network (based on the five reserves studied). These results imply that incorporation of the full breadth of benthic habitat types present would improve the efficacy of the marine reserve network by ensuring all fish assemblages are protected.

O‘ahu’s marine protected areas have limited success in protecting coral reef herbivores

Herbivorous fishes and urchins can contribute to reef resilience by removing algae that are competitive with corals, yet herbivorous fishes are frequently targeted by fishers. The deleterious effects of fishing on coral reef herbivore populations are thought to be decreased through the establishment of no-take marine protected areas (MPAs). We conducted surveys to compare the biomass, diversity, and size structure of herbivorous reef fish within three functional guilds (i.e., grazers, scrapers, and browsers) and herbivorous urchin populations inside and outside of four of O‘ahu’s current MPAs to determine if they were effectively protecting herbivorous fishes and assess any resulting effects on sea urchin competitors. We also characterized the benthos, including the identification of common taxa in algal turfs, to evaluate interactions between herbivory and benthic communities. Urchins and grazing fishes accounted for the majority of herbivore biomass across regions of O‘ahu, and the dominance of urchins suggests that they significantly contribute to herbivory. Coral cover was a significant predictor of urchin biomass, but urchins did not have a significant relationship with herbivorous fish biomass or MPA protection. MPA protection and depth had positive effects on herbivorous fish biomass when examined in aggregate. However, these results were largely influenced by a large MPA protection effect in the Hanauma Bay MPA, compared to weaker MPA effects in Kāne‘ohe Bay, Waikīkī, and Pūpūkea. Hanauma Bay had stark differences in the condition of reef habitats between the MPA and fished areas which may also confound the interpretation of a strongly significant protection effect. Depth and habitat complexity were significant predictors of both grazer biomass and aggregate herbivore community composition, suggesting that these bottom-up factors may have a greater impact on herbivorous fish biomass than protection. Turf communities were speciose and displayed similar trends to herbivore communities across regions, but within-region trends in the Hanauma Bay region suggest that turf species composition is not only dictated by top-down factors. Within-guild fish diversity was low across site and region, suggesting herbivory was dominated by a single or few species. The small size structure and densities of herbivorous fishes in MPAs across all regions limits their population-level functional and reproductive contributions. While MPAs serve as a popular fisheries management tool for coral reef environments, the limited benefits of MPAs for herbivorous fish and urchin populations around O‘ahu suggest a general need for improved fisheries management and enforcement, especially prior to the consideration of an expansion of the existing MPA network.

Marine Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas for Penguins in Antarctica, Targets for Conservation Action

Global targets for area-based conservation and management must move beyond threshold-based targets alone and must account for the quality of such areas. In the Southern Ocean around Antarctica, a region where key biodiversity faces unprecedented risks from climate change and where there is a growing demand to extract resources, a number of marine areas have been afforded enhanced conservation or management measures through two adopted marine protected areas (MPAs). However, evidence suggests that additional high quality areas could benefit from a proposed network of MPAs. Penguins offer a particular opportunity to identify high quality areas because these birds, as highly visible central-place foragers, are considered indicator species whose populations reflect the state of the surrounding marine environment. We compiled a comprehensive dataset of the location of penguin colonies and their associated abundance estimates in Antarctica. We then estimated the at-sea distribution of birds based on information derived from tracking data and through the application of a modified foraging radius approach with a density decay function to identify some of the most important marine areas for chick-rearing adult penguins throughout waters surrounding Antarctica following the Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) framework. Additionally, we assessed how marine IBAs overlapped with the currently adopted and proposed network of key management areas (primarily MPAs), and how the krill fishery likely overlapped with marine IBAs over the past five decades. We identified 63 marine IBAs throughout Antarctic waters and found that were the proposed MPAs to be adopted, the permanent conservation of high quality areas for penguin species would increase by between 49 and 100% depending on the species. Furthermore, our data show that, despite a generally contracting range of operation by the krill fishery in Antarctica over the past five decades, a consistently disproportionate amount of krill is being harvested within marine IBAs compared to the total area in which the fishery operates. Our results support the designation of the proposed MPA network and offer additional guidance as to where decision-makers should act before further perturbation occurs in the Antarctic marine ecosystem.

Historical Trends of Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) Distribution in the Phoenix Archipelago

The Phoenix Archipelago in the Central Pacific is situated in what was once one of the most productive areas for capturing sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus). These whales were the focal targets of American offshore whalers in the mid-19th century along the equator, an area known as the “on-the-line” whaling grounds. Now, as large-scale Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have provided protection for marine mammals and their food sources, it is important to have a solid understanding of historical baselines so recovery distributions can be compared with pre-whaling distributions. The Phoenix Islands archipelago contains two large MPAs: the Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA), established by Kiribati in 2008, and the Howland/Baker unit of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument (PRIMNM), established by the United States in 2009. Using historic whaling records from American whaling vessels operated through the wider Phoenix Archipelago region, we reconstructed information about the presence and distribution of P. microcephalus throughout the 1800s within and around PIPA and the Howland/Baker units of the PRIMNM. Historical data analyzed using ArcGIS showed that sperm whales were present year-round within the study area, which is consistent with 20th century records from the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS). A Getis Ord Gi∗ hotspot analysis also revealed sighting hotspots within PIPA and near Howland and Baker, suggesting that these two areas may be of long-term ecological importance to sperm whales in the central Pacific. The New England whaling fleet ceased whaling effort in the central Pacific in the late 1800s, and publicly available records since that time are scarce. There has been no modern systematic whale survey ever conducted within the Phoenix Archipelago, though anecdotal accounts and sightings have been compiled over the years. These intermittent accounts suggest that though whale populations have not recovered to pre-whaling baselines, large-scale MPAs may play a role in helping to foster a resurgence of marine mammal populations. As the network of large-scale MPAs continue to grow as part of the commitment to ocean conservation set forth by UNESCO, IUCN, and the UN Decade for Ocean Science, historical baselines will be critical as a “yardstick” to measure population resurgence success for each MPA, and for populations overall.

Identifying core areas for mobile species in space and time: A case study of the demersal fish community in the North Sea

Identifying well suited sites for spatial conservation measures to protect mobile species is a challenging task. Intra- and interannual movements of individuals due to foraging, reproduction and environmental change make it difficult to identify the best placed locations. This study presents a generic approach for determining a species' consistent core areas in space and time by using point abundance data from annual surveys. For this approach no statistical modelling is required and thereby it is well suited to obtain distribution maps for all surveyed species without knowledge on environmental predictors, thereby ignoring any issues related to data availability, quality and model confidence. Generating distribution maps for a suite of demersal fish species by using data from a scientific fisheries survey allowed to identify consistent core areas for 53 species in winter and summer over a period of 21 years (1998–2018). By overlaying single species' distribution maps, hotspots of fish diversity could be compared to designated sites of marine protected areas (MPA) within the European Natura 2000 network. A majority of the identified diversity hotspots as well as the core areas of threatened and endangered species are currently not overlapping with the designated Natura 2000 MPAs. These MPAs might therefore not contribute sufficiently to the protection of marine demersal fish as an important component of marine ecosystems. Alternative spatial management options and tools implemented through other marine policies are needed to amend the Natura 2000 MPA network for the effective conservation of demersal fish in the North Sea.

Quantifying the Statistical Power of Monitoring Programs for Marine Protected Areas

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are increasingly established globally as a spatial management tool to aid in conservation and fisheries management objectives. Assessing whether MPAs are having the desired effects on populations requires effective monitoring programs. A cornerstone of an effective monitoring program is an assessment of the statistical power of sampling designs to detect changes when they occur. We present a novel approach to power assessment that combines spatial point process models, integral projection models (IPMs) and sampling simulations to assess the power of different sample designs across a network of MPAs. We focus on the use of remotely operated vehicle (ROV) video cameras as the sampling method, though the results could be extended to other sampling methods. We use empirical data from baseline surveys of an example indicator fish species across three MPAs in California, USA as a case study. Spatial models simulated time series of spatial distributions across sites that accounted for the effects of environmental covariates, while IPMs simulated expected trends over time in abundances and sizes of fish. We tested the power of different levels of sampling effort (i.e., the number of 500-m ROV transects) and temporal replication (every 1-3 yr) to detect expected post-MPA changes in fish abundance and biomass. We found that changes in biomass are detectable earlier than changes in abundance. We also found that detectability of MPA effects was higher in sites with higher initial densities. Increasing the sampling effort had a greater effect than increasing sampling frequency on the time taken to achieve high power. High power was best achieved by combining data from multiple sites. Our approach provides a powerful tool to explore the interaction between sampling effort, spatial distributions, population dynamics, and metrics for detecting change in previously fished populations.

Evaluating the use of marine protected areas by endangered species: A habitat selection approach

Abstract1. Optimizing the design of marine protected area (MPA) networks for the conservation of migratory marine species and their habitats involves a suite of important considerations, such as appropriate scale requirements and the distribution of anthropogenic impacts. Often, a fundamental component of the conservation planning process is delineating areas of high use or high biodiversity within a region of interest.2. However, basing conservation strategies off merely the number of individuals in an ecosystem is outdated and potentially subject to arbitrary thresholds. To be effective at protecting marine megafauna, MPAs would ideally encompass habitats used by focal species. Through satellite‐tracking studies, evidence of whether species actually use protected areas is emerging.3. Here, we present a multispecies perspective on habitat selection within existing MPAs throughout the Floridian ecoregion, which encompasses coastal Florida and the Gulf of Mexico. Using an 11‐year satellite‐tracking dataset on 235 marine turtles, we used integrated step selection analysis to quantify the effects of sea turtle behavioural state (identified by a switching state‐space model), protected area status, chlorophyll and bathymetry on habitat selection.4. Our results show that sea turtles do select for existing protected areas, specifically multi‐use zones, while controlling for the effects of depth and primary productivity. However, our analysis revealed that turtles showed no selection for the no‐take zones within MPAs, during either transiting or foraging.5. These findings contribute to the existing literature base of MPA use for highly mobile, imperilled species and could inform management of existing MPAs or changes to zoning, specifically multi‐use to no‐take. Our use of a robust spatial modelling framework to evaluate habitat selection relative to MPAs could be incorporated into conservation planning to build MPA networks designed to accommodate migratory species.

Comparing the Marine Protected Area Network Planning Process in British Columbia, Canada and New Zealand – Planning for cooperative partnerships with Indigenous communities

Marine Protected Area (MPA) network planning is increasingly used to amplify the effectiveness of individual protected area sites through ecological connectivity, redundancy and replication of protected habitats. Bioregional MPA network planning has been undertaken in Canada and in New Zealand nearly concurrently and offers an opportunity to compare these two jurisdictions and processes as they advance toward implementation of the MPA networks. Governance and management planning for MPA networks poses several challenges beyond those for individual MPAs. Additionally, some Indigenous communities within the two planning bioregions are also seeking shared-governance and management arrangements for the networks. While systematic approaches have been undertaken in both countries for the planning and design of regional MPA networks, implementation and management planning cannot occur in isolation from the design, and must similarly reflect both the interactions between individual protected areas, and the full scope of the governance rights, structures, and jurisdiction across the bioregions.

How did a network of marine protected areas impact adjacent fisheries? Evidence from Australia

Marine‐protected areas (MPAs) are an effective means of improving habitat quality and biodiversity in the world’s oceans. While the advantages of MPAs as a mechanism for conservation and biodiversity are well established, the potential improvements to fishery performance resulting from a network of MPAs are still being established. Countries around the world have committed to establishing networks of MPAs within their waters by 2020, in response to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. This, coupled with the increasing global demand for seafood and heavy reliance on fishery resources as a source of economic development for many coastal communities, means that an understanding of how these networks can be expected to impact fishery performance is extremely important. We use a difference‐in‐difference modelling approach to isolate the change in the fishery performance associated with the south‐east marine reserve network in Australia. We find no evidence that the economic performance of adjacent fisheries was negatively impacted by the network. This lack of impact is likely due to a network design explicitly intended to avoid effort displacement in key fisheries, along with fishery management changes intended to remove excess fishing capacity.