Aquaculture and marine protected areas: Potential opportunities and synergies

Raphaëla Le Gouvello, Laure Elise Hochart, Dan Laffoley, François Simard, Carlos Andrade, Dror Angel, Myriam Callier, David De Monbrison, Davide Fezzardi, Ricardo Haroun, Alasdair Harris, Adam Hughes, Fabio Massa, Emmanuelle Roque, Doris Soto, Selina Stead, Giovanna Marino

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

To meet the Convention on Biological Diversity's Aichi Target 11 on marine biodiversity protection and Aichi Target 6 on sustainable fisheries by 2020, as well as the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 on food security and SDG 14 on oceans by 2030, there is an urgent need to rethink how best to reconcile nature conservation and sustainable development. This paper argues for effective governance to support processes that apply principles of sustainable development and an ecosystem approach to decide about economic activities at sea such as aquaculture. It describes opportunities, benefits and synergies between aquaculture and MPAs as a basis for wider debate. The scope is not a comprehensive analysis of aquaculture and MPAs, but rather to present examples of positive interactions between aquaculture activities and MPAs. The unintended negative consequences are also discussed to present balanced arguments. This work draws from four workshops held in 2015 and 2016 and used to collect information from about 100 experts representing various sectors and perspectives. It is recognized that aquaculture is an important activity in terms of sustainable development. It can play a role in providing food security, poverty alleviation and economic resilience, in particular for MPA local communities, and contribute to wild stock enhancement, as an alternative to overfishing and for providing services to the ecosystem. This study showed that there is a need from both aquaculture and MPA sides for clarity of objectives and willingness for open and extensive dialogue. The paper concludes by describing a number of tools and methods for supporting greater synergies between aquaculture and MPAs. The results from this work have already helped to build a common understanding between conservation and aquaculture and initiate a rapprochement for increasing synergies.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)138-150
Number of pages13
JournalAquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems
Volume27
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2017

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Keywords

  • aquaculture
  • ecosystem approach
  • environmental impact assessment
  • littoral
  • marine protected area
  • ocean, sublittoral

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Aquatic Science
  • Ecology
  • Nature and Landscape Conservation

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Aquaculture and marine protected areas: Potential opportunities and synergies'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this