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Scientists call for the prohibition of all destructive fishing methods and industrial activities in Marine Protected Areas
Declaration of Support
September 12, 2022
Marine protected areas (MPAs) with high levels of protection have proven the most effective mechanism to restore marine life and all the benefits it provides to humanity, from food security to carbon sequestration, jobs and economic gains. However, EU waters, especially around continental Europe, are in a dismal state of conservation, with only 31% of the stocks studied in the Northeast Atlantic considered in a good state in 2020, while most are not even assessed. The EU currently has less than 1% of true MPAs, meaning that over 99% of continental EU waters fail to be adequately protected from high-impact activities such as industrial extractions or bottom trawling. As a result, the abundance of marine life inside many EU MPAs is lower than in unprotected areas nearby, which undermines any conservation goal. As they stand, EU MPAs fail to provide conservation benefits. If the EU aims at restoring marine life as part of its Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and intends to use MPAs as a tool to help replenish depleted fisheries, it must immediately prohibit bottom trawling and other industrial activities within its MPAs.
Read the full declaration and list of signatories in English, Français, and Español.
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By Enric Sala
Foreword by HRH The Prince of Wales
Introduction by Edward O. Wilson
In this inspiring manifesto, an internationally renowned ecologist makes a clear case for why protecting nature is our best health insurance, and why it makes economic sense.
Enric Sala wants to change the world—and in this compelling book, he shows us how. Once we appreciate how nature works, he asserts, we will understand why conservation is economically wise and essential to our survival.
Here Sala, director of National Geographic's Pristine Seas project (which has succeeded in protecting more than 5 million square kilometers of ocean), tells the story of his scientific awakening and his transition from academia to activism—as he puts it, he was tired of writing the obituary of the ocean.
His revelations are surprising, sometimes counterintuitive: More sharks signal a healthier ocean; crop diversity, not intensive monoculture farming, is the key to feeding the planet.
Using fascinating examples from his expeditions and those of other scientists, Sala shows the economic wisdom of making room for nature, even as the population becomes more urbanized. In a sober epilogue, he shows how saving nature can save us all, by reversing conditions that led to the coronavirus pandemic and preventing other global catastrophes.
With a foreword from Prince Charles and an introduction from E. O. Wilson, this powerful book will change the way you think about our world—and our future.