Major data gaps and recommendations in monitoring regulations of activities in EU marine protected areas
Abstract Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) play a central role in maritime policies, but there are no comprehensive analyses of regulations in EU MPAs. Using publicly available data on EU MPAs’ regulations for nine activities, we first show that MPA and MSP databases display significant gaps in data com...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-02-01
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| Series: | npj Ocean Sustainability |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s44183-025-00104-x |
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| author | Juliette Aminian-Biquet Jennifer Sletten Timothé Vincent Margherita Pieraccini Betty Queffelec Anastasiya Laznya Natașa Vaidianu Joachim Claudet Juliette Young Barbara Horta e Costa |
| author_facet | Juliette Aminian-Biquet Jennifer Sletten Timothé Vincent Margherita Pieraccini Betty Queffelec Anastasiya Laznya Natașa Vaidianu Joachim Claudet Juliette Young Barbara Horta e Costa |
| author_sort | Juliette Aminian-Biquet |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) play a central role in maritime policies, but there are no comprehensive analyses of regulations in EU MPAs. Using publicly available data on EU MPAs’ regulations for nine activities, we first show that MPA and MSP databases display significant gaps in data comprehensiveness. The regulation of each activity was known in 40% or less of the MPA area (whether allowed, prohibited, or restricted), except for fishing activities (70% of MPA area), albeit with limited detail. Fishing, mining, or dredging/dumping activities were allowed in half of MPA area. Only mining was reported as prohibited in at least 10% of the MPA area. We discuss gaps in MPA regulatory data in light of existing reporting requirements, insufficient connection between various actors and data sources, and challenges in translating legal information into actionable indicators. We provide recommendations for future initiatives to improve the collection and standardization for environmental policies. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4e4ca9767c9a4863b6af33e8fde826f9 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2731-426X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | npj Ocean Sustainability |
| spelling | doaj-art-4e4ca9767c9a4863b6af33e8fde826f92025-02-09T12:26:24ZengNature Portfolionpj Ocean Sustainability2731-426X2025-02-014111410.1038/s44183-025-00104-xMajor data gaps and recommendations in monitoring regulations of activities in EU marine protected areasJuliette Aminian-Biquet0Jennifer Sletten1Timothé Vincent2Margherita Pieraccini3Betty Queffelec4Anastasiya Laznya5Natașa Vaidianu6Joachim Claudet7Juliette Young8Barbara Horta e Costa9Centre of Marine Sciences (CCMAR), Universidade do Algarve, Campus de GambelasProtectedSeas - Anthropocene InstitutProtectedSeas - Anthropocene InstitutUniversity of Bristol Law SchoolUniv Brest, Ifremer, CNRS, UMR 6308, AMURE, IUEMStockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm UniversityFaculty of Natural Sciences and Agricultural Sciences, Ovidius University of ConstantaNational Center for Scientific Research, PSL Université Paris, CRIOBE, CNRS-EPHE-UPVD, Maison de l’Océan, 195 rue Saint-JacquesAgroécologie, INRAE, Institut Agro, Université de Bourgogne Franche-ComtéCentre of Marine Sciences (CCMAR), Universidade do Algarve, Campus de GambelasAbstract Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) play a central role in maritime policies, but there are no comprehensive analyses of regulations in EU MPAs. Using publicly available data on EU MPAs’ regulations for nine activities, we first show that MPA and MSP databases display significant gaps in data comprehensiveness. The regulation of each activity was known in 40% or less of the MPA area (whether allowed, prohibited, or restricted), except for fishing activities (70% of MPA area), albeit with limited detail. Fishing, mining, or dredging/dumping activities were allowed in half of MPA area. Only mining was reported as prohibited in at least 10% of the MPA area. We discuss gaps in MPA regulatory data in light of existing reporting requirements, insufficient connection between various actors and data sources, and challenges in translating legal information into actionable indicators. We provide recommendations for future initiatives to improve the collection and standardization for environmental policies.https://doi.org/10.1038/s44183-025-00104-x |
| spellingShingle | Juliette Aminian-Biquet Jennifer Sletten Timothé Vincent Margherita Pieraccini Betty Queffelec Anastasiya Laznya Natașa Vaidianu Joachim Claudet Juliette Young Barbara Horta e Costa Major data gaps and recommendations in monitoring regulations of activities in EU marine protected areas npj Ocean Sustainability |
| title | Major data gaps and recommendations in monitoring regulations of activities in EU marine protected areas |
| title_full | Major data gaps and recommendations in monitoring regulations of activities in EU marine protected areas |
| title_fullStr | Major data gaps and recommendations in monitoring regulations of activities in EU marine protected areas |
| title_full_unstemmed | Major data gaps and recommendations in monitoring regulations of activities in EU marine protected areas |
| title_short | Major data gaps and recommendations in monitoring regulations of activities in EU marine protected areas |
| title_sort | major data gaps and recommendations in monitoring regulations of activities in eu marine protected areas |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s44183-025-00104-x |
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