MPA coverage can conceal weak protection and incomplete implementation.
Assessments of expected MPA outcomes can inform and improve biodiversity conservation: Case studies using The MPA Guide
Sullivan-Stack 2024
Roman catch rates doubled near Goukamma MPA over a decade.
Marine protected area improves yield without disadvantaging fishers
Kerwath 2013
No-take reserves generally held more biomass and larger organisms.
Biological effects within no-take marine reserves: A global synthesis
Lester 2009
Sanctuary reefs held more targeted fish biomass as communities tropicalised.
Two decades of monitoring within a temperate marine park shows no-take zone and climate-change impacts on fish, invertebrates and coral cover
Davis 2026
Food-web effects emerged later than direct responses to marine protection.
Decadal trends in marine reserves reveal differential rates of change in direct and indirect effects
Babcock 2010
Adequately staffed marine parks showed stronger fish biomass benefits.
Capacity shortfalls hinder the performance of marine protected areas globally
Gill 2017
Larvae produced inside reserves replenished both protected and fished reefs.
Larval export from marine reserves and the recruitment benefit for fish and fisheries
Harrison 2012
Strong outcomes depend on protection, enforcement, time, space and ecological boundaries.
Global conservation outcomes depend on marine protected areas with five key features
Edgar 2014
Larger, older no-take zones were associated with more medium-to-large harvested fish.
Marine reserves: Size and age do matter
Claudet 2008
Partial protection can help; no-take areas held more biomass in the included comparisons.
Evaluating the relative conservation value of fully and partially protected marine areas
Sciberras 2015
Well-enforced reserves held more targeted fish.
Italian marine reserve effectiveness: Does enforcement matter?
Guidetti 2008