think: act magazine No. 17 - Size Matters - Roland Berger

RubRik hieRthe periphery of the medasislands marine protected area.only small-scale fishing by boatsfrom L’estartit is allowed in themarine protected area.marine protected area.professional fishingis banned.L’EstartitillesmedesFRancESPainBarcelonamallorcathe village of L’Estartit, on thecosta brava in northwesterncatalonia, was once entirelydependent on fishing. It is nowalso a vacation resort with its ownmarina, and is home to around2,000 people.aquaculture and dredging will be temporarily or permanentlybanned. Activities such as swimming, boating and divingare normally allowed within an MPA. “The protected areaaround the Medas islands is only one kilometer wide, buttourism brings EUR 6 m in income each year. That’s 20times more than fishing can make in this area.”Expanding existing mPas makes senseMiquel Sacanell steers his way between Meda Gran andMeda Petit, in the company of two diving vessels and aglass-bottomed boat. Thanks to the wealth of fish, divingis booming, and local fishermen are doing fine. Sacanellphones Cofradia to report that he has no nets out; the areaoff L’Estartit is relatively small and easy to patrol.On the high seas, this is almost impossible. Governmentsoften feel that regulation is not their responsibility, and thefishing industry opposes it – concerned by the possibility ofshort-term losses. When fishing comes to a halt, fish-stocks alsorecover on the periphery of MPAs, where fishing is allowed.A study by the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies ofCoastal Oceans examined biological changes in 124 protectedareas. Biomass increased by an average of 446%, thenumber of animals by 166%, and animal body size increasedby 28%. Numbers like these help Rechberger and Salademonstrate the economic benefits of MPAs.Restoring Ocean Health has ambitious aims; thetask forces wants 20% of the world’s oceans to be givenprotection. “With every new marine protected area, we buytime,” says Sala. In April, for example, he met Chile’s presidentSebastián Piñera and reported on his expedition to theSalay Gómez islands. Piñera showed an interest in expandingthe MPA around the island, and as a result it now includes8% of Chilean sovereign waters.The next few years could see the creation of the world’sbiggest MPA, in the Southern Line Islands, part of the Pacificstate of Kiribati. Sala met with President Anote Tong, andrecommended setting up a 1.4 km protected area. Kiribatiis home to the world’s largest untouched coral reefs, and ifthese valuable ecosystems are ruined by a combination ofover fishing and sewage, they could bear out Jules Verne’sTHINK AcT sepTember 2011 49