United States

Marine Protected Areas in the United States

The United States possesses the largest exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the world at more than 11 million sq km[1] and over 12,000 miles of coastline. The US EEZ includes not only the east and west coasts of the US, but also waters in the Caribbean Sea, Pacific Ocean, and Arctic Ocean.

The U.S. has over 1,600 MPAs covering more than 40% of US waters. These MPAs range from small, fully protected marine reserves with prohibited extractive uses to large, multiple-use areas where fishing, diving and other uses are permitted. The vast majority of MPAs in US waters allow some type of extractive use, with less than 1% of U.S. waters fully protected marine reserves where all types of extractive activities are not permitted. Nearly all the MPAs are designated as multiple use, and only 8% of the protected waters are considered “no take.” The largest MPAs, such as Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, are regulated federally and so 98% of US protected waters are managed federally, although 72% of designated MPA sites are state regulated [2].

In 2000, Presidential Executive Order 13158 ordered the Departments of Commerce and Interior, as well as other federal, state and local stakeholders to form a nationwide system of integrated marine protected areas. The result of this work was the establishment of the National System of Marine Protected Areas in 2009. Induction into this elevated level of a National List is designed to encourage cooperation between member sites and analysis of gaps in coverage. The current List of National System MPAs includes 297 sites (as of April 2011) [3].

In April 2009, the United States established a National System of Marine Protected Areas, which strengthens the protection of U.S. ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources. These large-scale MPAs should balance "the interests of conservationists, fishers, and the public." [4] As of 2009, 225 MPAs participated in the national system. Sites agree to work together toward common national and regional conservation goals and priorities. NOAA’s National Marine Protected Area’s Center maintains a comprehensive inventory of all 1,600+ MPAs within the Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States. Most MPAs in the U.S. allow some type of extractive use. Less than 1% of U.S. waters prohibit all extractive activities. [5]

Sources

[1]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exclusive_economic_zone#United_States accessed February 10, 2012.

[2]	http://www.mpa.gov/pdf/helpful-resources/us_mpas_snapshot.pdf accessed February 10, 2012.

[3]	http://www.mpa.gov/nationalsystem/nationalsystemlist accessed February 10, 2012.

[4]    Christie, P., & White, A. (2007). Best practices for improved governance of coral reef marine protected areas. Coral Reefs, 26(4), 1047-1056. Springer Berlin / Heidelberg. doi:10.1007/s00338-007-0235-9

[5]    http://www.mpa.gov/pdf/helpful-resources/us_mpas_snapshot.pdf accessed February 14, 2012.

MPA Agencies

National Marine Sanctuary Program

NOAA National Marine Protected Areas Center

National Wildlife Refuge Program

Marine National Monuments

http://www.fws.gov/marinenationalmonuments/

http://www.fpir.noaa.gov/MNM/mnm_index.html