Universal Images Group —Mark Conlin-VWPics.com via Gettyoday, June 8, is World Oceans Day, when stakeholders around the world stop to reconsider the value of ocean conservation. This year’s theme is “Planet Ocean: Tides are Changing”—making the case that by protecting the ocean we are ultimately protecting ourselves. One of its core pillars is supporting sustainable seafood, which, in some cases, means not fishing at all.
“This data proves that MPAs work, and they don’t harm fishermen,” he says. “The industry won’t be able to say anymore with a straight face that MPAs create famine and raise prices.” Now that data exist to back up the theory, the next step is convincing the world’s fishing industries of the value of reaching that 30% global goal. At the moment, only 3% of the world’s oceans are completely off-limits to fishing, says, director of the Marine Habitat Protection program at the Pew Charitable Trusts. “In order to shift the balance, we need even more research to show how MPAs like Revillagigedo can protect fisheries as well as the economy.