Marine reserve

For the United States Marine Corps Reserve, see Marine Forces Reserve.
See also: Marine protected area and Marine park
Te Hāwere-a-Maki / Goat Island in Cape Rodney-Okakari Point Marine Reserve (Leigh, Warkworth, New Zealand).

A marine reserve is a type of marine protected area (MPA). An MPA is a section of the ocean where a government has placed limits on human activity. A marine reserve is a marine protected area in which removing or destroying natural or cultural resources is prohibited, marine reserves may also be "no-take MPAs,” which strictly forbid all extractive activities, such as fishing and kelp harvesting. As of 2007 less than 1% of the world's oceans had been set aside in marine reserves.[1] Benefits include increases in the diversity, density, biomass, body size and reproductive potential of fishery and other species within their boundaries.[2]

As of 2010, scientists had studied more than 150 marine reserves in at least 61 countries and monitored biological changes inside the reserves. The number of species in each study ranged from 1 to 250 and the reserves ranged in size from 0.006 to 800 square kilometers (0.002 to 310 square miles).[3] In 2014, the World Parks Association adopted a target of establishing no-take zones for 30% of each habitat globally.[4]

  1. ^ Ben Halpern. "Marine reserves".
  2. ^ White, A. T.; Green, A. L. (2014). "Introduction". Coastal Management. 42 (2): 81–86. doi:10.1080/08920753.2014.877758. S2CID 218577067.
  3. ^ "The Science of Marine Reserves". Archived from the original on 2003-03-23.
  4. ^ "World Parks Congress recommends target of 30% no-take MPA coverage worldwide" (PDF). MPA News. December 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2015.