19 Oct 2015

The European Commission has published a report on the progress in establishing Marine Protected Areas (as required by Article 21 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008/56/EC). View the report at http://ec.europa.eu/environment/marine/eu-coast-and-marine-policy/implementation/pdf/marine_protected_areas.pdf.

06 Oct 2015

New Zealand’s Prime Minister, John Key, announced on 28 September 2015 that his nation plans to create a South Pacific marine sanctuary the size of France, saying it would protect one of the world’s pristine ocean environments. The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary would cover an area of 620,000 square kilometers about 1,000 kilometers off New Zealand’s […]

18 Sep 2015

Conservation needs places where nature is left wild; but only a quarter of coastal countries have no-take Marine Reserves. ‘Marine Protected Areas’ (MPAs) have been used to indicate conservation progress but we found that 94% allow fishing and thus cannot protect all aspects of biodiversity. Biodiversity conservation should focus on Marine Reserves, not MPAs.  Highlights […]

09 Aug 2015

Decent design – Before and After Control impact (BACI) – to establish the effects of MPAs ‘Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are increasingly being implemented as tools to conserve and manage fisheries and target species. Because there are opportunity costs to conservation, there is a need for science based assessment of MPAs. Here, we present one […]

29 Jun 2015

‘The Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF) has  expressed disbelief and anger at the new management measures for Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Scottish waters announced by the Scottish Government today (11 June). The SFF maintains that the measures announced go far beyond the proportionate and evidential approach that was promised for the management arrangements of the […]

15 Jun 2015

Rural Affairs Secretary announces ambitious marine protection plan in Scottish waters. The Scottish Government is putting in place ambitious management measures for Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Scottish waters, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Food and the Environment Richard Lochhead announced http://news.scotland.gov.uk/News/Progress-for-MPA-network-19e9.aspx . Following extensive consultation and engagement with a wide range of marine stakeholders, […]