Marine managed areas what, why, and where

Abstract

Human population is increasing. All over the world, people are moving toward the coasts. Wild marine fish landings have reached a plateau worldwide, but fishing effort is still rising. Marine and coastal resources and habitats are being used more intensively and in increasingly different ways and, thus, are degraded. Global climate change is affecting coasts and oceans through such phenomena as rising sea levels, changing habitats, migrating populations, and ocean acidification. Governance systems developed in the era of the “freedom of the seas” are struggling to keep up with modern technology and practices.