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Successful Marine Protected Area in Madagascar Galvanizes a Whole Region

by admin
August 18, 2016

Within the fishing village of Andavadoaka in Madagascar, nearly three-quarters of the population relies on fishing for their livelihood. When villagers noticed commercial exporters increasing their take of octopi within the region, the local fishermen signed a law, closing off the area to all take. The success of this one MPA led to other villages following their lead and creating MPAs within their own waters....

A Locally Managed Marine Protected Area in Fiji Sees Great Success

by admin
August 18, 2016

A recent example from Fiji shows how local communities can establish and monitor their own marine protected areas. In this study, Fijians created a local MPA after noticing a decline in kaikoso clams, an important food source. After several years, locals were able to see the success of the MPA with significantly more and larger sized clams....

Marine Protected Areas Can Benefit Coral Reefs

by admin
August 18, 2016

Coral reefs provide many economic and ecological benefits to coastal populations around the world. Yet, these habitats face many threats including climate change and destructive fishing practices. A recent global study on MPAs has shown that these protected areas can actually increase coral cover on reefs and prevent further loss!...

Temperate Reef Fish Assemblages Recover Inside Western Australia MPAs

by admin
August 16, 2016

While there are many benefits of MPAs that are clearly visible such as increases in fish density and size, there are also many indirect effects, which were measured in MPAs off the coast of Australia. In these MPAs, established in 1994, results indicate that not all species respond in the same way to MPA protection and MPA protections must be enforced in order to realize their full benefits for targeted species....

Southern California MPAs Benefit Targeted Fish Species

by admin
August 16, 2016

Southern California MPA reserves greatly benefit highly prized fish species, targeted by fishers. This study found that the largest individuals were only found inside of reserves and the biomass or total amount of targeted fish was more than two-thirds greater inside the reserves....

Caribbean Marine Park Benefits Large Reef Fish

by admin
August 16, 2016

Jardines de la Reina is known by divers as the “Galapagos of the Caribbean” due to its wild beauty and the rich marine life it contains. This study has shown that several highly prized commercially important species were far more plentiful inside of the MPA than in the nearby fished waters....

MPA Protects Northern Bottlenose Whales in the Scotian Shelf

by admin
August 16, 2016

Scientists have been studying the Northern Bottlenose Whale population in the Scotian Shelf since 1988, providing an important baseline for determining how the Gully MPA, set aside in 2004, protects this species. Once threatened by whaling activities, this study determined that the majority of this population now resides within the boundaries of the MPA....

South Africa’s MPAs Help Highly Prized Fishes Recover

by admin
August 16, 2016

Pondoland MPA has a core protected area, where all fishing is banned, as well as a buffer where fishing with line and traditional spear-fishing is permitted. This study found that some of South Africa’s most important fishery species were much more abundant and larger in size inside the no-take part of the MPA, when compared to the buffer zone....

The Italian Portofino MPA reserve protects BOFFFs (Big, Old, Fat, Fertile, Females)

by admin
August 16, 2016

A long-term MPA in the Ligurian Sea, a popular spot for SCUBA diving, has been shown to benefit targeted fishery species. Fishes were much larger inside the MPA, and the largest fishes were found inside the central, completely protected zone. The presence of these large fish inside an area completely protected from fishing will help the sea breams within the MPA continue to recover....