Marine Reserves Overview Conventional fishery management tools have not prevented overfishing, bycatch, or habitat degradation. Marine reserves are increasingly being proposed as a tool that can help fishery managers to address these problems, and to rebuild overfished stocks and the ecosystems they live in. Despite agreement among scientists worldwide, there is much disagreement here in the United States about the effectiveness and applicability of marine reserves as a fishery management tool. Common questions include: How will managers know where a reserve should be sited to provide the most benefits? How long will it take to see those benefits? What will happen to the fishermen displaced by reserves? Recent calls for widespread use of marine reserve systems have elevated this debate to the national level. A discussion of the potential benefits and drawbacks of marine reserves and their usefulness in different fisheries is timely. Other Resources Clinton Administration Initiatives Executive Order 13158: Marine Protected Areas Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Initiative Executive Order 13089: Coral Reef Protection U.S. Coral Reef Task Force National Action Plan for Coral Reef Conservation Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee Report Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee Report on Marine Reserves National Marine Fisheries Service Reports Proceedings of the Workshop on Marine Harvest Refugia for West Coast Rockfish National Marine Sanctuary Initiatives Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Tortugas 2000 Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement/Draft Supplemental Management Plan for the Tortugas Ecological Reserve Executive Summary Full Text Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Joint Federal and State Process to Consider Marine Reserves in the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Regional Fishery Management Council Reports and Initiatives Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council Marine Reserve Workshop (9-24 August 1999) Scoping Documents Marine Reserves: Questions and Answers Marine Reserves: Technical Document Marine Reserve Workshops: Final Report Pacific Fishery Management Council Marine Reserves to Supplement Management of West Coast Groundfish Resources: Phase I Technical Analysis (Draft Report) South Atlantic Fishery Management Council Marine Reserves Public Scoping Meetings Planned (May 2000) Marine Reserves Advisory Panel Concludes Reserves Could Benefit Fish Stocks (May 1999) U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution Northwestern Hawaiian Islands: Public Input Report Topic Overview: Marine Reserve Management Marine reserves offer fishery managers a unique alternative to conventional fishery management tools and a real opportunity to meet challenging conservation mandates. But, like all other fishery management tools, marine reserves also have drawbacks and they are likely to be more effective in, and applicable to, some fisheries than others.

Contact us in writing at 308 Raymond Street, Ojai, California, 93023 or by email