A variety of criteria may influence the efficacy of networks of marine protected areas (MPA) designed to enhance biodiversity conservation and provide fisheries benefits. Meta-analyses have evaluated the influence of MPA attributes on abundance, biomass, and size structure of harvested species, reporting that MPA size, age, depth, and connectivity influence the strength of MPA responses. However, few empirical MPA evaluation studies have used consistent sampling methodology across multiple MPAs and years. Our collaborative fisheries research program systematically sampled 12 no-take or highly protective limited-take MPAs and paired fished reference areas across a network spanning 1100 km of coastline to evaluate the factors driving MPA efficacy across a large geographic region. We found that increased size and age consistently contributed to increased fish catch, biomass, and positive species responses inside MPAs, while accounting for factors such as latitude, primary productivity, and distance to the nearest MPA. Our study provides a model framework to collaboratively engage diverse stakeholders in fisheries research and provide high-quality data to assess the success of conservation strategies.

中文翻译：

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渔业合作研究揭示了保护区规模和年龄决定了整个海洋保护区网络的功效

各种标准可能会影响旨在加强生物多样性保护和提供渔业效益的海洋保护区网络的功效。荟萃分析评估了 MPA 属性对收获物种的丰度、生物量和大小结构的影响，报告 MPA 大小、年龄、深度和连通性影响 MPA 响应的强度。然而，很少有实证海洋保护区评估研究在多个海洋保护区和年份中使用一致的抽样方法。我们的渔业合作研究项目系统地对 12 个禁捕或高度保护性限制捕捞的海洋保护区进行了抽样，并在横跨 1100 公里海岸线的网络中配对了捕捞参考区，以评估在一个大的地理区域内推动海洋保护区功效的因素。我们发现，尺寸和年龄的增加始终有助于增加海洋保护区内的鱼类捕获量、生物量和积极的物种反应，同时考虑到纬度、初级生产力和距最近海洋保护区的距离等因素。我们的研究提供了一个模型框架，可以让不同的利益相关者共同参与渔业研究，并提供高质量的数据来评估保护策略的成功。