Solutions

Marine reserves are areas closed to all extractive uses, such as fishing and mining, as well as to disposal activities. Within these areas there may be core zones where no human activities are allowed, for instance areas that act as scientific reference areas or areas where there are particularly sensitive habitats or species.

Marine reserves as a tool for conservation

Conservation is about protecting the diversity and abundance of life on earth. This means protecting not just single species, but the full variety of species and their habitats, as well as preserving the complex interactions between species that make up an ecosystem. This requires an approach that considers all these aspects. Marine reserves, which protect entire areas from a range of human impacts, do just this, which makes them a unique tool for conservation.

Marine reserves – other benefits

Marine reserves can benefit fisheries in a number of ways, enabling exploited populations to recover and allow habitats to regenerate. Increasing breeding stock within protected areas will also help to restock neighbouring fishing grounds.

Marine Reserves are unique sources of long-term data, providing the opportunity to monitor species and their habitats – essential to supply reliable information for future conservation and management policies.

Who is responsible?

The governments of the Mediterranean coastal states are ultimately responsible for the protection of the waters under their jurisdiction. For the  high seas, they can and must take collective responsibility within the context of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean, the Barcelona Convention and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.