Final Essay

Our oceans serve a very important purpose for not only the life sustained within them but for humans as well. Many people rely on fish and other marine animals as a main source of food or as a source of income. Others rely on ocean-based tourism to make a living. The health of our oceans is declining; biodiversity loss and the deterioration of coral reefs are major issues mainly caused by human actions such as pollution and overfishing. The main way we are trying to help preserve our oceans is by implementing marine protected areas. These areas restrict activities that can potentially harm the environment such as fishing, boating and collection of shells as well as enforcing leave no trace policies. In the U.S. there are approximately 1,600

Human interference in the form of oil drilling and costal development are large factors in the decline of ocean health that are easily preventable. MPAs place restriction on development and the exploitation oceans for industrial benefit. Without MPAs costal development could get out of hand extremely fast and we could lose control over the amount of pollution that enters the ocean. Limiting costal development is one of the numerous ways MPAs can be a very positive mechanism for

People living near where a protected area is being proposed are more likely to support the conservation efforts if there is some material benefit. The main ways MPAs generate revenue is from fishing and tourism; specifically, things like SCUBA diving, snorkeling and the use of beaches. Although the main purpose of MPAs is not to make a profit, this can be used as an incentive for policymakers and locals who may not otherwise have any interest in conservation. MPAs are generally meant to benefit fishers when the increased fish populations within the MPAs migrate outside the protected areas into areas where fishing is not restricted. Ideally this should be the outcome but fish may not be migrating as much as we would hope and the fish populations in unprotected areas may not be significantly improving (Roncin et al. 2008). With restrictions in where people can fish and what fish they can take MPAs don’t always help the fishing industry. MPAs can be a great way to create a tourism industry meaning more jobs and more money being brought to the area. This is usually a positive thing especially if protected areas can educate people about conservation. In some cases, however, this increased human presence in the protected areas can cause harm to the ecosystem if it is not well managed. For example increased tourism means a higher likelihood that humans will leave trash or disturb vegetation. In places like