Understanding and Using the MPA Guide
I took a social media class one time where the instructor said people are more likely to share your tweets if it includes a quote and a picture. I’ve worked since 2008 to designate some of the largest marine protected areas (MPAs) in the United States and around the world. Since my first day on the job, the global growth of marine protected areas has been exponential, expanding from less than one percent of the ocean when I started and slowly inching towards ten percent today. But not all marine protected areas are created the same. In my career I’ve advocated for some of the largest, most highly protected marine sanctuaries on the planet, including the Mariana Trench and the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monuments in the US Pacific Territories. But some protected areas are poorly designed and allow all sorts of damaging activities, from industrial fishing to deep sea mining, while others are poorly implemented, the oft-maligned "paper parks" that have stro...