According to a recent study that was just published in Science Advances, large-scale, offshore, and fully-protected marine areas (MPAs) can preserve biodiversity without having a negative effect on fishing or food security.
In the first-ever ‘before and after’ analysis of the effects of creating Mexico’s Revillagigedo National Park on the fishing industry, a team of US and Mexican researchers discovered that, five years after the park’s establishment, the industrial fishing sector in Mexico did not suffer financial losses despite a complete ban on fishing activity within the MPA.
Established in 2017, the ‘Galápagos of Mexico’ is the world’s 13th-largest MPA, and one of the few where all damaging human activities, including fishing, are banned to help marine populations recover.
It is also home to more than 300 species of fish, 36 of which are unique to the ocean, as well as one of the biggest concentrations of sharks, manta rays, tuna, humpback whales, and five species of sea turtles in the world. The Mexican commercial fishing lobby opposed the National Park’s establishment at the time, claiming it would reduce their catches and raise their prices.
“Worldwide, the fishing industry has blocked the establishment of the marine protected areas we urgently need to reverse the human-caused global depletion of sea life. This study uses satellite tracking of fishing vessels and artificial intelligence (AI) to show that the fishing industry’s concerns are unfounded,” said Enric Sala, Explorer in Residence at National Geographic Society, the founder of Pristine Seas and a study co-author. “Even the largest of MPAs, which safeguard entire ecosystems, home to thousands of species of marine creatures, do not impact the handful of fish species that the fishing industry seeks out. The larger the MPA, the larger the benefits.”
Methodology
The study, conducted by a team of researchers from the Mexican Center for Marine Biodiversity, UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Institute of Americas’ Gulf of California Marine Program, and the National Geographic Society, analyzes the behavior and productivity of the Mexican industrial fishing sector before and five years after the implementation of the largest fully protected MPA in North America, the Revillagigedo National Park.
The findings of this study are consistent with what experts have recorded in other Pacific marine protected areas. Any argument to the contrary were just assumptions this study provides the data to show that negative impacts to fishing do not exist. We hope the results can open a discussion to work together with the fishing industry to protect biodiversity and improve fish stocks.
Octavio Aburto
The experts set out to determine whether the creation of the MPA reduced fishing within the protected area, whether fishing catches were affected, and whether the creation of the MPA displaced fishing onto a larger area, resulting in an overall negative impact on marine biodiversity. They used data from satellite tracking, fish catches from the Mexican Fisheries Commission, and new AI tools from the Allen Institute for AI’s Skylight platform.
“The use of satellite tracking devices and AI monitoring platforms was critical to show compliance from the fishing industry and for the MPA managers’ to monitor the protected area,” said Dr. Fabio Favoretto, postdoctoral scholar at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and lead author of the study.
Favoretto used satellite data that was collected from 2,000 fishing boats that had to have GPS equipment installed by the authorities. They were able to track the movement of fishing vessels using open-source data and determine whether any fishing techniques or maneuvers were used. The group then used machine-learning-enabled approaches to discover vessel-related patterns.
They discovered that the Revillagigedo National Park had no detrimental effects on the catches of the industrial fishing fleet in Mexico, nor did it expand the fishing grounds and encourage fishing boats to travel farther to catch fish.
Skylight revealed only a few isolated cases of illegal fishing within the MPA after 2017, highlighting the effectiveness of technology in helping those monitoring and protecting the 147,000 square kilometers of water included within the park’s boundary.
The study’s findings disprove the Mexican fishing industry’s claim that the park could result in a loss of 20% of their tuna and other pelagic catches and show that sizable, fully protected MPAs can support a more equitable and sustainable use of the ocean without having a significant negative impact on the fishing industry’s bottom line.
“The findings of this study are consistent with what experts have recorded in other Pacific marine protected areas,” said Octavio Aburto, co-author, and professor of marine biology at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. “Any argument to the contrary were just assumptions this study provides the data to show that negative impacts to fishing do not exist. We hope the results can open a discussion to work together with the fishing industry to protect biodiversity and improve fish stocks.”
Safeguarding Biodiversity
The findings are released at a time when countries debate how to implement the global goal to protect and conserve at least 30% of the ocean by 2030, which is enshrined in a landmark agreement reached at the UN Global Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in December 2022. Just last month, members of the UN adopted a binding agreement to safeguard biodiversity in international waters outside of member states’ purview.
“The clock is ticking until 2030,” Sala said. “If the world is serious about protecting the natural world our life support system we need to drastically increase ocean protection. Right now, less than 8% of the ocean is somewhat protected, and only 3% is fully protected from fishing and other damaging activities. Millions of species, including humans, who rely on the ocean for oxygen, food, mitigation of global warming, medicine, and more depend on us to act.”
The ocean’s abundant biodiversity is under threat from human activities like overfishing, bringing hazards to food security, human health, and the environment. The globe can collectively protect more than 80% of the habitats of endangered species by quickly establishing marine protected areas in important ocean areas, up from a present coverage of less than 2%.
The study offers factual proof that large-scale MPAs in nations’ Exclusive Economic Zones can support global conservation goals without jeopardizing fisheries interests or a country’s capacity to provide food security amid these discussions.
Shoring up the Fishing Industry
The study challenges a long-held belief supported by the industrial fishing lobby that ocean preservation hurts fisheries and creates fresh potential to revive the sector at a time when it is experiencing a downturn due to overfishing and the effects of global warming.
“Some argue that closing areas to fishing hurts fishing interests. But the worst enemy of fishing is overfishing and bad management not protected areas,” Dr. Sala said.
The study will enrich ongoing discussions taking place in Mexico and beyond as Catalina López-Sagástegui, co-author and a researcher at the Institute of Americas, said: “Access to data and technology is improving our collective understanding of marine ecosystems health, which allows us to design and implement MPAs that help restore the health and resilience of marine ecosystems, benefiting fisheries in the long term.”
Dr. Reniel Cabral, Senior Lecturer at James Cook University in Australia, who wasn’t involved in this study, added: “It’s simple: When overfishing and other damaging activities cease, marine life bounces back. After protections are put in place, the diversity and abundance of marine life increase over time, with measurable recovery occurring in as little as three years. Target species and large predators come back, and entire ecosystems are restored within MPAs. With time, the ocean can heal itself and again provide services to humankind.”
Dr. Sala said: “MPAs are the most effective tool we have for protecting the health and diversity of our oceans. We need to expand and strengthen protected areas to ensure that our oceans can continue to provide food, jobs, and other vital benefits for future generations. Our study helps to dispel the myth put forward by the industrial fishing lobby that MPAs harm them.”
Oceans 5 and the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation funded this study.
