Marine protected areas (MPAs) are special areas of the ocean that are legally protected from harmful human activities – creating important refuges where fish and other marine life can recover and thrive. These protected areas provide safe havens for aquatic species to recover from the many stresses they face, including pollution, overfishing, habitat loss and climate change. And they often allow for sustainable fishing and recreation.

Sounds great, doesn’t it? So why aren’t more people getting excited and speaking up in support of strong legal safeguards for the sea?

There’s a lot of information floating around about marine protected areas: what they do, and potential pros and cons for ocean life, food security and communities – but many Canadians haven’t heard about the benefits marine protected areas can bring for the ocean and our coastal livelihoods that depend on it.

Here are four key ways that marine protected areas can benefit people and nature.

Overfishing and destructive fishing practices are driving serious declines in BC’s marine ecosystems. Many fish populations have been hit hard by commercial overharvesting and habitat damage – pressures now intensified by climate change. Yet critics often dismiss overfishing concerns and downplay harmful practices like bottom trawling, arguing that BC has “world-class” fisheries management.

The reality is that less than one-third of Canadian fish stocks are considered healthy, nearly 40% lack updated assessments, and only a fraction of depleted stocks have rebuilding plans – and it’s getting worse, rather than better. Outdated management approaches like Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY), combined with poor data and weak enforcement, have failed to protect key species such as Pacific herring, rockfish and salmon. Bottom trawling alone has wasted nearly a quarter of its catch as bycatch, destroyed half of BC’s ancient glass sponge reefs, and damaged habitats vital to salmon and endangered killer whales.

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are one of the best tools to address these issues. By safeguarding habitats and food webs, MPAs reduce fishing pressures, allow ecosystems to recover and strengthen resilience to climate change. As a result, they deliver long-term benefits for nature and for the coastal and Indigenous communities, including fishing communities, that depend on healthy oceans.
 

Like nature reserves on land, MPAs set aside parts of the ocean where certain human activities are limited. This gives marine life and habitats the space to recover and remain healthy over the long term. They also safeguard food sources while strengthening the ocean’s ability to withstand climate change and other pressures.

Some critics argue MPAs are unnecessary, claiming fisheries are already well managed or that the science does not support their benefits. These claims not only fail to acknowledge the weaknesses of current fisheries management, as described above, but wrongly conflate the purposes of fisheries management and MPAs. 

Tools to manage fisheries, such as quotas or seasonal closures, are designed to regulate catches of individual species and are often short-term. MPAs, by contrast, protect whole ecosystems and the connections that sustain them. 

Fish need healthy ecosystems. And unlike fisheries management, MPAs can also restrict other harmful human activities – such as seabed mining, bottom trawling or ocean dumping – providing safeguards that extend well beyond fishing.

MPAs and fisheries management work side by side – both are required, not one or the other. MPAs act as an insurance policy, stepping in where fisheries management falls short, and helping ensure healthy oceans for people, marine animals and nature. 

MPAs can create short-term costs for fisheries, but research shows they deliver long-term gains. By protecting habitats and giving fish space to recover, MPAs help rebuild stocks, improve catches, and support the communities that rely on them.

Critics argue MPAs will harm fisheries by causing job losses, reducing seafood supplies, or intensifying fishing in smaller areas. But evidence shows that, with proper planning, the impacts are generally much less severe than feared.

In BC, the MPA Network in the Great Bear Sea is expected to affect less than 8% of commercial fishing activity, with most MPAs remaining open to sustainable fishing (small-scale, non-bottom contact fishing). At the same time, it is forecasted to bring hundreds of millions of dollars in new investment to the coast, more than 3,000 new jobs and over 200 new businesses across a range of ocean-based industries over the next 20 years.

One of the clearest ways that MPAs benefit fisheries is through acting as fish nurseries. When fish are given safe places to grow and reproduce, their populations increase inside these protected areas. Over time, adult fish move into surrounding waters, while eggs and larvae drift beyond MPA boundaries, replenishing nearby fishing grounds.

Around the world, there are numerous examples of MPAs providing benefits to fisheries in regions similar to BC:

• A global review found 46 cases where MPAs boosted fish stocks, catches and/or reproduction without net costs to fisheries (Costello, 2024).
• In California, spiny lobster catches near MPAs grew by over 200% within six years (Lenihan et al., 2021).
• In New Zealand, snapper from a no-take reserve contributed offspring up to 55 km away, adding millions annually to commercial and recreational fisheries (Qu et al., 2021).
• In Sweden, cod stocks recovered after an MPA was established and fishing effort was reduced nearby (Bergström et al. 2022).
• In Spain’s Columbretes Islands, lobster catches rose ~10% each year near the reserve (Goñi et al., 2010).
• A global meta-analysis of 23 MPAs confirmed biomass and abundance were consistently higher just outside protected areas, especially for commercially valuable species (Di Lorenzo et al., 2020).

These studies and many others show that MPAs can boost fisheries and coastal economies by enhancing catches in nearby waters within just a few years. MPAs are not about taking fishing opportunities away, but about making them last into the future.

MPAs are most effective when they are created through fair and inclusive approaches that support both healthy oceans and thriving communities. Research shows that when Indigenous nations and local voices are part of the decision-making process, MPAs are better supported and deliver stronger ecological and economic results. 

Some critics argue MPAs are politically motivated or ignore community concerns. In the Great Bear Sea, however, the MPA network was co-developed with 16 First Nations in partnership with British Columbia and Canada. It draws on Western science, traditional knowledge, and local input. Fishing industry representatives also participated, and while it’s likely that no single stakeholder will be fully satisfied, the process has been transparent, inclusive and built on compromise.

Socially equitable MPAs benefit both people and nature. They not only protect ecosystems, but also support cultural values, food security and local economies – helping to build stronger and more resilient coastal communities.

_{Top photo: Sport fishing boats heading out on the water (Credit: Markus Thompson).}