The Benefits of No-Take Zones
Benefits of A Healthy Oceanic Ecosystem:
Oceans are a quintessential part of our livelihood, because healthy oceans are reservoirs of fish and minerals, with the capacity for waste conversion and controlling the climate. It is also noted that "properly designed reserves can be effective tools for protecting and restoring ocean ecosystems," because marine reserves focus on assisting the change in marine environments (and the state they are in now) to more natural marine environments (Kearny 2000). In a time where there is increasing evidence that "ocean ecosystems are being altered beyond their range of natural variation by a combination of human activities, including fishing, pollution, and coastal development" marine reserves stand at the forefront of returning the oceans to their most humanely beneficial states (New Zealand Biodiversity 2004).
...
When considering the advantages of a healthy marine ecosystem and how marine reserves facilitate the improvement of this ecosystem, it is also important to remember the disadvantages that stem from inaction. This is when the waters are openly polluted by storm water runoff, dry weather runoff and agricultural runoff. All these factors contaminate the beaches to the point where people who swim at these beaches are noted by the MSNBC news for being at risk "for a host of health problems, including gastroenteritis, respiratory infections — illnesses common in the Third World countries — as well as pink eye, ear infections and skin rashes" (Duswn 2007). The dirty waters also poison the marine flora and fauna that fishing industries are so quick to seize and serve. An unfortunate example of fish contamination is the mercury poisoning case in Minamata Japan during the 1950's, where many Japanese citizens were harmed by the fish they ate. These fish were captured from the Minamata Bay where the Chisso Corporation factory dumped its chemicals, and the high concentration of mercury the fish contained caused serious, permanent damage to the people who ate them (Pollack 1997). It is because of these horrible cases that it has become clear that the health of the oceans relates directly to the health of the people. It is for this reason that ocean restoration and marine reserves are a necessity in preserving our health and well-being as well as the health and well-being of future generations.
Ecological Protection and Recovery:
_Ecological Enhancement within the Reserve:_Over several decades of experience, areas where such stricter limitations have been in effect have shown some of the most dramatically positive ecological results of any management scheme. This benefit can be realized through the protection of relatively pristine areas. For example, studies in No-Take areas of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park by Evans and Russ (2004) shows that the biomass of certain fish species has been maintained at levels up to several orders of magnitude higher than in nearby fished areas.
Marine Reserves have also been shown to facilitate the recovery of severely damage ecosystems. For instance, large sections of Georges Bank off the coast of Massachusetts were closed to fishing in 1995. Hermen, Collie, and Valentine (2003) began noting "steady and marked increase...in production" within a few years after the closure. In general, signs of recovery can appear quickly, sometimes within 2-5 years of the establishment of a No-Take Area and tend to persist for as long as protections remain in effect (Gell & Roberts 2003). Furthermore, the benefits of No-Take Zones are inherently ecosystem-based; that is, they are seen generally across a broad taxonomic range of organisms as well as the state of the non-living habitat (Gell & Roberts 2003). These types of positive ecological results of No-Take zones have been seen around the globe, and are well documented in the scientific literature and well accepted by the scientific community.
In addition, no-Take Reserves have significant value for research in that they provide a control against which the outside changes can be compared. This can greatly alleviate one of the historic problems of biological oceanography, providing a better way to interpret results from "experimental" areas that have been disturbed by human activities. Long-established marine reserves provide researchers with a baseline healthy ecosystem that cannot be fully duplicated with any other methods or models. Even areas closed due to severe environmental damage can provide important data, such as the natural recovery rates of various habitat types and species. In particular, such data allows a quantitative judgment on the effectiveness of Marine Reserves in facilitating recovery of fisheries and ecosystems (Hermens, Collie, & Valentine 2003). Such science that only Marine Reserves is useful not only for examining and adjusting the network of MPAs itself, but also for informing and improving management systems outside of the reserves.
The "Spillover Effect:"
One of the most interesting aspects of Marine Reserves is the so-called "Spillover Effect," by which improved biomass and diversity within the reserves enhances nearby fisheries and ecosystems. Beginning with the work of Roberts, et. al. (1997), the existence of such an effect has been noted and studies for nearly a decade. In particular, he noted that the dispersal of pelagic larvae from protected areas enhanced the productivity of "downstream" regions and made them more resilient to change. There are numerous documented examples of spillover benefits, from all parts of the world, ranging from the closed area off Cape Canaveral in Florida (Johnson, Funicelli, & Bohnsack 1999) to the examples in the Philippines (Russ, Alcala, & Maypa 2003) and off the coasts of Kenya and Tanzania (McClanahan, Verheij, & Maina 2006).
...
As part of increasing evidence of spillover in general, it is strongly predicted that protected areas will allow the spillover for certain important species. For example, several studies in New Zealand suggest that a small number of spiny lobsters in a population will migrate large distances (R. J. Davidson et al., 2002). Based on this evidence, it is likely that marine protected areas can protect a signification percentage of the population of spiny lobsters and also provide spillover from the reserve (R. J. Davidson et al., 2002). Another study in the Western Mediterranean using catch and effort data about lobster, as well as data from tagged lobsters released in the reserve, suggests that the declining density gradient of lobster is caused by lobsters migrating away from the reserve (Goñi et al. 2006). While it is possible that other factors could have caused the density gradient, because of lobsters' general inability to move long distances compared to the size of the reserve and its overfished status, the establishment of the protected area there probably caused increased export and spillover (Goñi et al. 2006).
*Providing a Scientific Baseline:
No-Take Reserves have significant value for research in that they provide a control against which the changes outside can be compared. Long-established marine reserves provide a baseline healthy ecosystem that cannot be fully duplicated with other methods such as mathematical modeling. Areas closed due to fisheries declines produce can very important data for establishing the effectiveness of Marine Reserves in facilitating recovery of fisheries and ecosystems (Hermens, Collie, & Valentine 2003).
Economics:
| Wiki Markup |
|---|
Despite common assertions to the contrary, Marine Reserves can have significant economic benefits to society, in particular, the assurance of long-term, sustainable fisheries. On of the unfortunate short-term effects of marine reserves is the displacement of fishermen due to the reduction of fishable waters, the higher levels of congestion, and potential competition. However, in the long run, the establishment of a network of protected areas will inevitably create "optimal harvesting area\[s\]" with "higher resource rents" (Grafton, Komas, & Pham 2006) under controlled fishing rates. Our particular proposal is designed to mitigate the short term costs, while attempting to ensure that enough of the ocean is protected so that the future potential can be realized. |
...