Courtesy: Marine Map.org
[Sorry, above map cannot be enlarged--for more details, see: http://southcoast.marinemap.org/marinemap/]
Research unveiled at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) conference confirms that California is on the right track with the Marine Life Protection Act… Here is a selection if you all want to read more about it.
Several new studies released Monday at the American Association for the Advancement of Science conference in San Diego have found that well-designed networks of marine reserves can provide both economic and environmental benefits. Scientists from UC Santa Barbara, Scripps Institute and Stanford University were quoted over the weekend:
Steven Gaines, Dean of the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management at UC Santa Barbara said in Science Daily: “There is plenty of new evidence to show that if reserves are designed well, they can benefit both fish and fishermen,” UC Santa Barbara’s Andrew Rassweiler said in Science News that a new southern California marine reserve network could boost fishing industry profits: “People fishing can make more money with smaller impacts on the species being fished.”
Science Magazine cited the Channel Islands and Great Barrier Reef marine reserve networks to show that protecting small areas can produce big returns. A five-year study in the Channel Island found rockfish numbers up by 50%, and their size up by 80%. The Great Barrier Reef network has improved overall ecosystem health, and fears of a collapse of the recreational fishing industry have proven completely unfounded—the number of fishing licenses has grown since the reserves were established.
Several of the studies emphasized the importance of community engagement in creating an effective marine reserve network. California’s Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) is being implemented through a participatory public process. Stanford scientist Stephen Palumbi said in the San Diego Union Tribune that the MLPA is also rooted in sound science: “There are probably 120 to 150 studies of how reserves function within their borders, and even small reserves tend to give positive results.”
Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s Ed Parnell, who has proposed protect for the reef and kelp beds at south La Jolla, said: “We know what the benefit will be for the species in the reserves. They will increase in density, and they will increase in size.”
Meagan Wylie
Marine Conservation Coordinator
San Diego Coastkeeper
