The creation of the Chagos Marine Protected Area: a fisheries perspective. 2014

Johnson, M. L., Sandell, J. 2014, Advances in Marine Biology: Marine Managed Areas and Fisheries, vol. 69, Elsevier, Oxford, UK

Volume 69 contains a review paper entitled:

The creation of the Chagos Marine Protected Area: a fisheries perspective. Richard P. Dunne, Nicholas V. C. Polunin, Peter H. Sand, Magnus L. Johnson

Abstract

From a fisheries perspective, the declaration of a 640,000 km² ‘no-take’ marine protected area (MPA) in the Chagos Archipelago in 2010 was preceded by inadequate consideration of the scientific rationale for protection. The entire area was already a highly regulated zone which had been subject to a well-managed fisheries licensing system. The island of Diego Garcia, the only area where there is evidence of overfishing has, because of its military base, been excluded from the MPA. The ‘no-take’ mandate removes the primary source of sustenance and economic sustainability of any inhabitants, thus effectively preventing the return of the original residents who were removed for political reasons in the 1960s and 1970s. The principles of natural resource conservation and use have been further distorted by forcing off-shore fishing effort to other less well-managed areas where it will have a greater negative impact on the well-being of the species that were claimed to be one of the primary beneficiaries of the declaration. A failure to engage stakeholders has resulted in challenges in both the English courts and before an international tribunal.

Further details and purchase of the volume can be found at the Elsevier Store. Access to the article is available at: Science Direct - Advances in Marine Biology Chapter 3

Copies of the Review and detailed Annexes can also be obtained on request - please e-mail: richardpdunne@cantab.net