A marine
protected area (MPA) is an area of the marine environment
set aside with special restrictions. These restrictions may
include “no-take” regulations where all harvest
of fisheries species is illegal or they may be less restrictive,
with protection only extended to some species or with prohibitions
on use of certain fishing equipment. Marine protected areas
are often called by other names including marine reserves,
sanctuaries, parks, fishery reserves, or no-take zones.
MPAs
have been established in over 30 countries for a variety of
purposes, but have not previously been used off of Louisiana.
Presently, however, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management
Council is considering them as a management tool.
Federal
laws requiring protection of essential fish habit (EFH) and
ecosystem management, rather than management by individual
species, have led to interest in MPAs. The Sustainable Fisheries
Act of 1996 required the Regional Fishery Management Councils
to identify EFH, negative impacts on that habitat and actions
that should be taken for the conservation of EFH. In October
1998, the Gulf Council submitted its amendment for EFH requirements.
Among its recommendations was closing areas to all fishing
or regulating specific equipment types during spawning, migration,
feeding, and nursery activities, and designating zones for
use as marine protected areas to limit damaging effects of
fishing practices.
Another
reason for consideration of MPAs is that traditional management
practices such as seasons, gear restrictions, size and trip
limits, and quotas are less effective with more fishermen
entering the fishery, better gear and technology, and enforcement
difficulties.
Both
benefits and problems/costs can be expected with the creation
of MPAs.
Benefits
- Better
commercial and recreational fisheries.
MPAs may serve as areas that produce large spawner fish,
whose eggs, larvae and young are carried to areas open to
fishing. Additionally, some large fish may wander off of
the MPA to fished areas.
- Simplified
enforcement.
In theory, violations should be easy to detect using boat
and airplane surveillance.
- Improved
fairness.
All groups of fishermen are treated equally because no harvest
is allowed by anyone.
- Preservation
of biodiversity.
A more natural habitat and fisheries population,
which is not affected by fishing, would be created.
- Reduced
fishing mortality (deaths).
This would be especially useful if MPAs are located where
concentrations of young fish occur.
- Creation
of wilderness areas for study.
After over 100 years of fishing in the Gulf of Mexico, scientists
have no idea what natural ecosystems were like.
- Growth
in the diving industry and tourism.
Tourist divers travel long distances to see underwater attractions.
Problems/Costs
- Lost
fishing opportunities.
No-take or no-fishing zones reduce fishing.
- Higher
costs.
Fishermen may have to travel further to fish or to go around
MPAs. Also, MPA boundaries will need to be marked on the
water and on maps and charts.
- Fishing
benefits may be hard to predict.
Increased fishing pressure may occur near MPAs.
Also, they may not be useful for some migratory species
such as tuna and mackerel. Finally, if more fishermen enter
the fishery, the benefits produced by an MPA may disappear.
- Difficult
to site.
Proper placement is important to get the most
benefits. Also, the idea may produce a “not in my
backyard” reaction from the public.
- Enforcement
difficulties.
This is a contrast to one of the benefits, which
was “simplified enforcement.” At-sea enforcement
is expensive and the more and larger fish in an MPA will
likely create an incentive to poach. Other questions arise—Can
fish taken outside the reserve be in a fisherman’s
possession inside the reserve? Can a boat have fishing gear
aboard in the MPA? Can fishing vessels travel across the
MPA?
There
are basically 3 types of MPAs: single small areas, single
large areas, or networks of small or large areas. A small
area might be chosen to protect a unique habitat (such as
the Flower Gardens just west of the Louisiana-Texas border)
or a specific biological event, such as the mutton snapper
spawning concentration on Riley’s Hump off of Florida.
A single large area may be selected to protect habitat or
nursery grounds from either fishing pressure or habitat destruction.
A network of MPAs may be developed to protect a variety of
life stages (including migration corridors) for important
fisheries stocks. Some scientists consider a network of small
MPAs to be more effective than a single large MPA in maintaining
stable fisheries populations and habitats.
Download:
mpa.pdf (43KB)
