Ecological effects and benefits of Mediterranean marine protected areas: management implications

Abstract

There is general consensus among scientists that marine life in the Mediterranean Sea, and in the world’s oceans in general, is under considerable threat by human activities (Coll et al., 2010; Micheli et al., 2013). This strain on marine ecosystems worldwide has led to calls for new management approaches, especially for coastal areas (Botsford et al., 1997). Such measures, for instance, include the regulation of fisheries towards more sustainable exploitation of resources and the establishment of networks of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) (Olsen et al., 2013). However, development of effective regulations for conservation must be based on sufficient knowledge and information about the protected systems. For example, it has been shown that the establishment of marine reserves that are too small or too scattered can have a reduced or nil effect on the protection of Mediterranean ecosystems (Abdulla et al., 2008; Botsford et al., 2009). When appropriately designed, MPAs favour the recovery of harvested populations in the Mediterranean Sea and elsewhere (Bell, 1983; Garcia‐Rubies and Zabala, 1990; Harmelin et al., 1995; Vacchi et al., 1998; Claudet et al., 2011; Fenberg et al., 2012). The main reason for these MPA effects is the drastic reduction in overall mortality: when fishing mortality is removed or reduced, stock recovery is the most logical expected consequence (Bell, 1983). The more vulnerable to fishing a species is, the more it will respond to cessation of fishing mortality (Macpherson et al., 2000). Therefore, the ecological benefits derived from these conservation units are essential for the sustainability of exploited ecosystems, and sagacious and effective management of MPAs is a key issue in an age of changing oceans and seas (Olsen et al., 2013).