National Marine Protected Areas Center : Developing the National System of Marine Protected Areas

Developing the National System of Marine Protected Areas

Why Does the U.S. Need a National System of MPAs?
Over the past several decades, the nation has witnessed a dramatic increase in the use of marine protected areas (MPAs) as a conservation and management tool to protect the nation’s natural and cultural resources. These resources include coral reefs, kelp forests, whales, shipwrecks, and a wide variety of marine life in the oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes vital to the nation’s economic long-term and current prosperity. By helping to sustain these critical habitats and resources, MPAs provide recreation and economic opportunities for millions of Americans.

There are hundreds of federal, state, territorial, and tribal MPA authorities and more than one thousand sites in U.S. waters. Each site or authority most often has its own requirements, levels of protection, and associated terminology. They range from no-take reserves to allowing multiple uses, such as angling or boating (less than 1 percent of MPAs in the U.S. are no-take reserves). Despite their increasing use and substantial benefits, there are few mechanisms to provide assistance to and support coordination of the nation’s MPA efforts at the ecosystem, regional, national, and international levels and across MPA programs and levels of government.

A national system of MPAs will help existing MPA sites, programs, and stakeholders work together to better share information and coordinate their MPA management efforts, develop the necessary scientific information to make more informed management decisions, and improve the stewardship and effectiveness of existing of MPAs.

What are the Benefits of a National System of MPAs?
These are some of the benefits that an effective national system of MPAs may provide:

Help ensure that examples of the nation’s major natural and cultural resources are conserved, enhanced, and/or restored in all geographic regions.

Contribute to the nation’s economic health through new or enhanced opportunities for tourism and recreation.

Help increase the protection of U.S. marine resources by encouraging stronger government agency efficiency and cooperation.

Improve public access to scientific information and participation in decision-making about the nation’s marine resources.

Help sustain the nation’s commercial and recreational fisheries and their economic and social benefits to coastal communities.

Increase the nation’s ability to protect and conserve species whose life cycles span multiple jurisdictions.

Support and highlight existing MPA efforts by state, tribal, local, and federal governments.

Link to MPAs in other nations to address shared conservation issues.

What is the National System Framework and What Does it Do?
The draft framework provides comprehensive national goals and flexible guidance for a variety of partnership efforts among federal, state, tribal, and local governments and stakeholders to develop an effective national system. It proposes guidance for how existing MPA sites, programs, and stakeholders can work together to better share information and coordinate their MPA management efforts, develop the necessary scientific information to make more informed management decisions, and improve the stewardship and effectiveness of existing MPAs.

The draft framework was released for a 145-day public comment period in August 2006. You can learn more about the process to create the draft framework, download it and other documents, and learn how to submit your comments here.

National System Framework: Workshops and Recommendations
Over the course of three years, the MPA Center sought advice from federal, tribal, state, territorial, regional, and local government agencies and MPA programs, non-governmental organizations, anglers, academics, commercial fishermen, coastal communities, energy industry representatives, and other members of the public to inform the development of the framework. The MPA Center received formal recommendations from states and territories and the MPA Federal Advisory Committee, collected comments and feedback from nine MPA Center-sponsored workshops around the country, and presented information at approximately fifty other meetings and workshops of MPA stakeholder groups. The MPA Center will continue to consult stakeholders as it moves forward with building the national system.

West Coast Pilot: Testing Development of a Regional System of MPAs
The MPA Center is leading a collaborative initiative to pilot key methods and approaches for developing a regional system of MPAs on the west coast (California, Oregon, and Washington). This involves developing, testing, and applying analytical tools, and gathering the best information, including science-based data and traditional ecological knowledge, to better understand how to more effectively use MPAs to sustain healthy marine environments. The West Coast Pilot is an unprecedented effort that requires core partnerships among the region's federal, state, and tribal government agencies. Key NOAA partners include the National Marine Sanctuary Program, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, and Fisheries. In addition, the participation of the following regional partners is instrumental to the effort's success: the Department of the Interior’s National Park Service and Fish and Wildlife Service; the National Estuarine Research Reserve System; the Pacific Fishery Management Council; states; tribes; academic institutions; and other non-governmental organizations.
Read more about the West Coast Pilot.

For More Information
If you would like more information about the MPA Center's efforts to develop the national system of MPAs, please write to mpa.comments@noaa.gov.

Revised November 05, 2007 by the MPA Webmaster.
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http://www.mpa.gov/national_system/nationalsystem_sup_pr.html