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The science of European marine reserves: Status, efficacy, and future needs

Author

Listed:
  • Fenberg, Phillip B.
  • Caselle, Jennifer E.
  • Claudet, Joachim
  • Clemence, Michaela
  • Gaines, Steven D.
  • Antonio García-Charton, Jose
  • Gonçalves, Emanuel J.
  • Grorud-Colvert, Kirsten
  • Guidetti, Paolo
  • Jenkins, Stuart R.
  • Jones, Peter J.S.
  • Lester, Sarah E.
  • McAllen, Rob
  • Moland, Even
  • Planes, Serge
  • Sørensen, Thomas K.

Abstract

The ecologically and socio-economically important marine ecosystems of Europe are facing severe threats from a variety of human impacts. To mitigate and potentially reverse some of these impacts, the European Union (EU) has mandated the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) in order to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES) in EU waters by 2020. The primary initiative for achieving GES is the implementation of coherent networks of marine protected areas (MPAs). Marine reserves are an important type of MPA in which no extraction is allowed, but their usefulness depends upon a number of ecological, management, and political factors. This paper provides a synthesis of the ecological effects of existing European marine reserves and the factors (social and ecological) underlying their effectiveness. Results show that existing European marine reserves foster significant positive increases in key biological variables (density, biomass, body size, and species richness) compared with areas receiving less protection, a pattern mirrored by marine reserves around the globe. For marine reserves to achieve their ecological and social goals, however, they must be designed, managed, and enforced properly. In addition, identifying whether protected areas are ecologically connected as a network, as well as where new MPAs should be established according to the MSFD, requires information on the connectivity of populations across large areas. The adoption of the MSFD demonstrates willingness to achieve the long-term protection of Europe's marine ecosystems, but whether the political will (local, regional, and continent wide) is strong enough to see its mandates through remains to be seen. Although the MSFD does not explicitly require marine reserves, an important step towards the protection of Europe's marine ecosystems is the establishment of marine reserves within wider-use MPAs as connected networks across large spatial scales.

Suggested Citation

  • Fenberg, Phillip B. & Caselle, Jennifer E. & Claudet, Joachim & Clemence, Michaela & Gaines, Steven D. & Antonio García-Charton, Jose & Gonçalves, Emanuel J. & Grorud-Colvert, Kirsten & Guidetti, Paol, 2012. "The science of European marine reserves: Status, efficacy, and future needs," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 1012-1021.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:marpol:v:36:y:2012:i:5:p:1012-1021
    DOI: 10.1016/j.marpol.2012.02.021
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Patrick Chavel & Hillel Fromm & Gil Rilov & Lewi Stone & Walter Hecq, 2019. "Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Achziv marine reserve expansion considering the Barcelona Convention and the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive," Working Papers CEB 19-004, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    2. Picone, F. & Buonocore, E. & D’Agostaro, R. & Donati, S. & Chemello, R. & Franzese, P.P., 2017. "Integrating natural capital assessment and marine spatial planning: A case study in the Mediterranean sea," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 361(C), pages 1-13.
    3. Watson, G.J. & Murray, J.M. & Schaefer, M. & Bonner, A., 2015. "Successful local marine conservation requires appropriate educational methods and adequate enforcement," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 59-67.
    4. Matz-Lück, Nele & Fuchs, Johannes, 2014. "The impact of OSPAR on protected area management beyond national jurisdiction: Effective regional cooperation or a network of paper parks?," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 155-166.

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