Wilderness

Marine Reserves and Marine Wilderness Areas

• Need to define what this is and compare with MPAs
• Look at this article: http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nclimate2062.html
• Find other examples of reserves/wilderness areas as case studies

Threats to ecosystem: pollution, overfishing, climate change and coastal erosion (from natural causes & development). These cause detrimental effects to economy, tourism and ecosystem. +Science based research measures to protect it: Marine reserves/wilderness areas and MPA’s +<0.5% of ocean is protected in one of these ways +But 80% of coral reefs in Caribbean have disappeared in last 30 years +Only 10% of large, predatory fish populations exists since pre-industrial times ++(http://www.amnh.org/explore/science-bulletins/bio/documentaries/our-oceans-ourselves/article-understanding-a-marine-wilderness-in-parts)

In order to slow, and possibly reverse, these damaging effects, Marine reserves have been introduced

No-take Marine Reserve/Wilderness area: no fishing What it is:

• Organisms & their habitats are completely protected from removal or alteration. Fishermen cannot fish in these areas, and no plants or animals may be removed

How these reserves help:

• Number of species are higher, organisms grow larger, and are able to reproduce more than animals outside of no take reserves. protects diversity
• Habitats can recover more quickly to threats than if fished, ecosystems more sustainable
• useful conservation tool if carefully designed and enforced, should not replace traditional management practices (catch quotas, gear restrictions)
• Borders are porous: this affects populations outside of borders. Fish from reserve can ‘spillover’ into neighboring waters, and can replenish nearby populations
  • reseeding effect: fish eggs can drift, hatch, grow up and then mate outside of reserve

Where are reserves now?

• some examples: Exuma Cays land & Sea Park of the Bahamas (456 km^2)
• Bahamas has plans to set aside 20% of ocean area as no-take marine reserve
• <.0001% of global waters

How many reserves are enough to protect and replenish fish supply to sustain economy? where would boundaries be most effective? Bahamas biocomplexity project: Team of American, British, Bahamian scientists, such as ecologists, geneticists, anthropologists, economists, mathematicians, are investigating these questions to understand how humans, biology, and geography affect the marine environment survey number and size of organisms within reserve as compared to those outside of reserve, quantify how well it actually protects systematic social research: cultural, economic, political context. fishing locations, catch size, revenues, cultural attachment, and how island life has changed are all taken into account when establishing boundaries and management of the reserve. Enforcement