Lessons on marine protected area management in northern boreal regions from the United States and Norway

Abstract

In comparison to tropical reef systems, relatively few marine protected areas (MPA's) exist in temperate or subarctic systems (e.g., North Pacifi c and North Atlantic) where species diversity is lower, abundance of individual species is often higher, and many fi sh species exhibit large amounts of movement during one or more of their life stages, especially as adults. A review of MPA's in three northern areas-the Northwest Atlantic, Northeast Atlantic, and the Northeast Pacifi c-indicates that MPA's can be useful management tools towards fi sheries management and habitat conservation. However, achieving fi shery goals, such as sustainable use of the fi sheries resources, will depend on population abundance (relative to unfi shed conditions) and fi sh behavior and movement. For example, depleted populations of stationary species such as Atlantic sea scallops, Placopecten magellanicus, in the Northeast Atlantic and European lobster, Homarus grammarus, in the North Sea have responded positively to small MPA's, whereas migratory offshore Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua, and Pacifi c cod, Gadus microcephalus, apparently do not appear to benefi t from closed areas because of movement into fi shed areas. Effi - cient habitat conservation requires detailed habitat mapping on relevant spatial scales. In northern boreal systems with large remote areas, this information is diffi cult and expensive to access. An alternative strategy of closing and protecting unexploited areas has worked well for the Aleutian Island coral closure area in Alaska. MPA's can be effective fi sheries management tools when the species to be protected have been depleted and show a small to moderate level of movement, and reproductive success is ensured. MPA's can be effective at preserving habitat when the design is based on scientifi c information and takes into account the impact on the user groups.