The study has just been published in the journal Science. To study the state of fish populations in Hawaii, three American scientists, Sarah Medoff, biologist, John Lynham, environmental economist and Jennifer Raynor, ecologist, measured what was going up in their nets by hundreds of fishing boats from the Hawaiian archipelago. They did so from 2010 to 2019 and their conclusion shows that marine reserves, areas without fishing, totally protected, are indeed effective and make it possible to revive marine ecosystems that were suffocating.
In Hawaii, the American archipelago in the middle of the Pacific known for being a large international fishing zone, this was what was happening before 2016, before Barack Obama, at the end of his second term, decided to multiply by four the size of the local marine reserve to make it the largest in the world. The Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument is 1.5 million square kilometers, the size of Mongolia, and is home to magical wildlife, green turtles, seals, but above all thousands of species of fish, including tuna which, facing to overfishing, had ended up becoming scarce.
“The closer you get to the area, the more fish there are, which is exactly the effect we hoped for when creating this area.”
John Lynham, environmental economist and co-author of the studyto National Geographic magazine
However, the study proves that since the creation of the marine protected area, fishermen bring more tuna to port. A good dozen more per boat and per year. The explanation is as follows: by creating no-fishing areas, the fish multiply there, and they do so to the point of leaving the reserve area, and therefore being able to be fished in authorized waters. The highest catch rates were recorded at the edge of the marine area. “The closer you get to the area, the more fish there are, explains one of the researchers John Lynham to National Geographic magazine, this is exactly the effect hoped for when creating this area.“
The researchers suggest multiplying studies in other marine protected areas to confirm this mechanism, but their work is already providing arguments for the creation of new sanctuaries and for the expansion of existing protected areas. According to the UN, 30% of maritime areas should be protected to allow fish populations to escape the voracity of industrial fishing, and thus guarantee more sustainable fishing.