Marine Protected areas

http://www.davidsuzuki.org/Oceans/Healthy_Oceans/Marine_Conservation/
Marine protected areas (MPAs) are a key tool to help protect ecosystems from the effects of industrial activity. They can protect exploited species during critical stages of their life, reduce secondary impacts of fishing, such as habitat degradation brought about by trawl fisheries, and act as “insurance” against poor and inadequate management. By their simplest definition, marine protected areas are areas of ocean that are free from destructive forms of resource exploitation.
Not only can marine protected areas protect sedentary species such as shellfish, reef fish and rockfish, they can also help protect migratory species such as salmon and cod through the protection of key spawning and rearing grounds and migration corridors.
MPAs have been shown to increase the density of organisms within their boundaries, increase the average size of organisms, and increase the numbers of many exploited species. One benefit of MPAs is to return the protected ecosystem to its pre-exploited state, providing a baseline by which to judge the effectiveness of management in surrounding areas.
One of the greatest attractions of marine protected areas from a fisheries perspective is their ability to enhance fish populations outside of the reserve. Spillover into areas adjacent to MPAs can be expected to occur if the density and size of organisms increases within established reserves.
MPAs can also be important scientific tools, by providing information about the structure of unexploited ecosystems and how they compare to their exploited analogues.
MPAs are not, however a panacea for damaged marine ecosystems. An oil spill does not have the good sense to turn away at the boundary of a marine reserve. Protection of habitat outside of reserves, control of industrial activity and reforms to fishing practices are essential complements to the establishment of reserves.
Despite increasing evidence of the success of the management technique, less than one 10,000th of the world’s oceans are fully protected in MPAs, and Canada has protected less than 0.1 per cent of its oceans. Some countries, however, have come further than most. The New Zealand parliament has announced its intent to protect 10 per cent of its coastline in MPAs before 2010, while Australia has announced a plan to create the world’s largest marine reserve. Canada is off to a slow start.
The successful establishment of MPAs that are scientifically sound and provide maximum benefit requires good science and a well structured, transparent planning process based on the principles of ecosystem-based management. While Canada is committed to these planning measures in the Oceans Act and Oceans Strategy, it has not developed or funded them.
Join us in urging Canada’s government to adequately fund ecosystem-based oceans planning to protect our common heritage while allowing Canadians to make a living from our oceans.