Marine Protected Areas: Tools for Sustaining Ocean Ecosystems

This book is actually a report in ten sections written by a committee on the subject of marine protected areas (MPAs). At a time when there is substantial popular demand not only for more marine protected areas but also for more marine reserves, more marine sanctuaries, and now for an extensive system of underwater “national parks” or “wilderness areas,” it is not surprising that the book reaches the general conclusion that: “Networks of marine reserves, where the goal is to protect all components of the ecosystem through spatially defined closures, should be included as an essential element of ecosystembased management.” Nor does such a conclusion come as a surprise when one also understands that the funding for this committee project and the ensuing report was provided primarily by the United States Department of Commerce through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service and the National Marine Sanctuaries Program, with additional funding from the Department of Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service. Under President Clinton’s Executive Order of May 26, 2000, both the Commerce Department and the Interior Department were exhorted to “develop a national system of MPAs” and to “enhance and expand protection