Monaco Blue Initiative - Marine Protected Areas (MPAs): Beyond the target numbers, we have to ensure their effectiveness

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A
t the end of March, I had the
pleasure of participating in the
Monaco Blue Initiative (MBI) for
the fourth time. This conference,
initiated in 2010 by HSH Prince
Albert II of Monaco, is a platform
for dialogue and networking co-
organised by the Oceanographic
Institute, Prince Albert I of Monaco
Foundation and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation. Its
members meet annually to discuss the current, and anticipate
future, global challenges of ocean management and conservation.
This year, the tenth edition of the MBI, 145 participants discussed
topics related to marine protected areas (MPAs), including the
ambition and actions needed to set the scene for the post-2020
period (when the current target to conserve at least 10% of coastal
and marine areas is to be achieved), the importance of ecological
and social networks for ensuring the effectiveness of MPAs, and
the links between MPAs and the economy of the ocean.
The meeting, convened under the presidency of HSH Prince
Albert II of Monaco, took place in Monaco, after being held in
Edinburgh last year. In his opening remarks, HSH Prince Albert II
of Monaco stressed the role of MPAs as an effective tool against
the threats facing the ocean, as well as their economic benets.
The need to go beyond the target number game
The overall MPA progress to date is that 14,882 MPAs have
been reported, covering 7.59 percent of the Oceans. However,
only 4.8 percent of the MPAs are implemented and actively
managed; approximately 2.2 percent are in strongly protected
no-take marine reserves. The overall distribution is extremely
skewed, with just 20 of the largest MPAs contributing about 70
percent of the total reported coverage.
In the Mediterranean Sea, 7.14 percent of the sea surface is
covered by MPAs, with only 0.04 percent being no-go or no-
shing zones. Only 12 percent of the funding is in place to allow
MPAs to be effectively managed.
During the conference, it became clear that the global
community may meet the 10 percent quantitative target by 2020,
but will clearly miss meeting the qualitative elements to have all
these MPAs actively, efciently and equitably managed and well
connected (development of corridors, as is already done on land
for biodiversity protection).
In Canada, as of April 25, 2019, 8.27 percent of marine and
coastal areas are contributing to marine conservation targets. On
that date, the Government of Canada adopted a new approach to
marine conservation by distinguishing two forms of protection:
MPAs and marine refuges. Four key industrial activities will
be prohibited in MPAs: oil and gas activities, mining, dumping
and bottom trawling. Marine refuges will offer more targeted
protection to species and their habitat from the impacts of shing
(note: the announcement is silent on aquaculture). Activities will
be assessed on a case-by-case basis, and will be allowed if they
are consistent with the conservation objectives of a specic area.
This is presented, by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, as a
balanced approach providing high levels of environmental
protection, while also recognizing and allowing for economic
activities, not harmful to sensitive areas, to continue to take place.
Asking the right questions and bringing clarity to be
able to progress
Jane Lubchenco (Oregon State University) chaired the rst
session of the conference, which was well-organised and very
instrumental in clearly positioning the issues: how to collectively
continue developing MPAs whilst ensuring their efciency?
When do we start to count a MA as really protected? When it
is announced/proposed; when it is legally designated; when it is
implemented; or when it is actively managed? That will seriously
affect the percentages of the reported truly operational MPAs.
Reecting the goals and priorities of communities and
governments, MPAs vary hugely in the uses/activities allowed
or disallowed, and in their conservation outcomes. For example,
the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
recognises seven types of reserves, with types V and VI allowing
some sustainable activities.
Jane Lubchenco indicated that a MPA Guide will soon be
released to harmonise and clarify the language used to describe
the MPA stages of establishment and levels of protection.
As underlined by HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, during his
welcome address, clarity and transparency will be needed to
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs):
Beyond the target numbers, we have
to ensure their effectiveness
MONACO
BLUE
INITIATIVE
Thierry Chopin raising
the topic that certain
types of aquaculture
and sheries could be
compatible with MPAs
(Photo credit: Cédric
Fruneau)
Opening remarks of
HSH Prince Albert II of
Monaco (Photo credit:
Thierry Chopin)
by Thierry Chopin
PART 2
30 | May 2019 - International Aquafeed
Aquaculture round-up

FEED EQUIPMENT
avoid confusion and lack of efciency, and it will be important to
involve all stakeholders in assessing different options for MPAs.
Economic benets and buy in by local communities are
essential for the proper functioning of MPAs
One of the key issues in the adoption and implementation of
MPAs, and, therefore, resistance to their development, can be the
local human populations, that, if not involved from the beginning
in the process, can feel displaced, devolved of responsibilities and
without jobs.
I pointed out that if we want economic development/economic
benets/buy in by and for the local populations, then, some kind
of activities should be allowed as long as they are compatible
with the goals of an MPA.
To my surprise, if some types of aquaculture and sheries were
part of the discussion during the three previous MBI editions
I participated in (São Paulo in 2016, Monaco in 2017 and
Edinburgh in 2018), they appeared to be kind of white elephants
(white whales?!) in the room for the 2019 edition of the MBI,
until I intervened in the afternoon.
I believe that certain types of aquaculture, like integrated
multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA), and certain types of sheries,
are truly compatible with the objectives, management and
governance of MPAs. However, if we want to progress in this
discussion, we need to evolve beyond this emotional, negative
reaction, so frequent in Europe and North America, where the
perception is that aquaculture can only be equated to salmon
aquaculture.
Aquaculture is needed urgently as food production systems
that can be sustainable for providing food and health benets to
an ever-increasing human population. It is important to have in
mind that, worldwide, 51.2 percent of mariculture is seaweed
aquaculture, 28.7 percent is mollusk aquaculture and 11.2 percent
is nsh aquaculture; salmon aquaculture is just a fraction of
these 11.2 percent. So, there are aquaculture practices other than
salmon aquaculture throughout the world and we should not
reject them a priori.
Recognising and valuing the ecosystem services
provided
The need to properly estimate the ecosystem services of MPAs was
noted by several speakers. The question of how to use these tools
to help integrate their values into the blue economy development
was raised. It was noted that we are starting to have good data
on provisioning services, but that there are still some gaps in the
valuation of supporting, regulating and cultural services.
I made the point that extractive aquaculture (seaweeds and
International Aquafeed - May 2019 | 31
Aquaculture round-up

invertebrates) provides several ecosystem services. For example,
seaweeds 1) are excellent at recovering and remediating
dissolved nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon;
2) in an IMTA setting, they can be cultivated without fertilisers
and agrochemicals; 3) they do not need to be irrigated at a time
when water is becoming a pressing issue on this planet; 4) their
cultivation does not need more arable soil nor deforestation; 5)
they can be used for habitat restoration; 6) they provide oxygen,
while all other aquaculture components consume oxygen; 7)
by sequestering carbon dioxide, they can participate in slowing
down global warming; 8) they can also participate in reducing
coastal acidication; and 9) their participation in a multi-crop
diversication approach can be an economic risk mitigation and
management option for addressing pending climate change and
coastal acidication impacts.
Improving the effectiveness of MPAs
The concepts of ecosystem services and natural capital should
help in valuing intangible benets into tangible economic benets
from MPAs.
I believe that the types of aquaculture and sheries compatible
with the management of MPAs could be part of the bio-economic
development tools and benets to use when moving towards
sustainable and actively managed MPAs in different parts of the
world, including in Canada.
By being involved in driving the management of MPAs
strategically, local communities could gain resilience, and buy
more willingly into the process leading to successful MPAs, with
high levels of compliance.
If a number of speakers at the MBI were recommending being
bold in our ambitions, specics as to what actions to undertake
were not always provided. However, some interesting case
studies were provided such as the Marine Spatial Plan for
the Seychelles: 15 percent of the waters will be under strong
protective MPAs, 15 percent under a sustainable use regime and
70 percent for multiple uses; the nancing of the MPAs is secured
through a trust fund resulting from a debt swap mechanism.
Remaining bold to go beyond the 2020 targets
The tenth edition of the MBI was useful for taking stock of the
situation in 2019 and reassessing what will be needed in the post-
2020 period, after the current global MPA target will, hopefully,
have been achieved.
A lot remains to be done and bold/ambitious actions need to
be taken if we want to go beyond merely announcing proposed
MPAs to having MPAs that are really effective, connected, and
actively and equitably managed, with high compliance levels
and full valuation of the ecosystem services they – and the
compatible, sustainable activities within – can provide.
François Simard (IUCN), in his closing address, emphasised
where we need to step up to deliver real tools demonstrating real
economic benets to be full player in the development of a greener
Blue Economy (what I like to call the Turquoise Economy).
There is a need for clarity and transparency to gain efciency,
and for partnerships and networks to build capacity for effective
management. Local communities need to be empowered to
co-drive processes with the different levels of government, in
which interdisciplinary approaches allow to integrate natural and
societal sciences with traditional knowledge.
Initiatives need to be adequately funded in the long term so that
what may presently be intangible benets become real economic
benets, that will provide full valuation to MPAs, whose existence
and place within the economy of the ocean will, then, not need
to be justied to the general public, economic players and policy
makers, but will implicitly be accepted in a wider seascape.
The MPA Guide – The conservation outcomes will be a result of the
level of protection provided and the stage of establishment reached
by the MPAs (Photo credit: Thierry Chopin)
Dr. Thierry Chopin is Professor of Marine Biology, and
Director of the Seaweed and Integrated Multi-Trophic
Aquaculture Research Laboratory, at the University of New
Brunswick in Canada. He is also the owner and President
of Chopin Coastal Health Solutions Inc., since 2016.
During this tenth edition of the MBI, Thierry Chopin had
the great pleasure and honour to present HSH Prince
Albert II of Monaco with a tie and a commemorative
medal of the National Federation of the Order of the
Maritime Merit of France, an Order of which they are
both members.
In fact, the colours of the ribbon of the Order t them
perfectly: the background is ultramarine blue with two
green borders on each side. Thierry Chopin has always said
that there is a need to make the Blue Economy greener,
and, therefore, that we should now think of the Turquoise
Economy, especially with regard to aquaculture, which,
if developed properly (as with integrated multi-trophic
aquaculture systems) can be compatible with the development
of marine protected areas.
Thierry Chopin was pleasantly surprised when he saw the
Prince wearing the tie to the end of the conference; a gesture
for which he was very appreciative, as was the National
Federation of the Maritime Merit. This side event of the
conference was also a testament to the commitment of the
Prince to the world of the sea and seafarers from all ways of
life.
HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco and Thierry Chopin both wearing
the tie of the National Federation of the Order of the Maritime
Merit of France (Photo credit: Cédric Fruneau)
32 | May 2019 - International Aquafeed
Aquaculture round-up