Even though there are about 5,000 marine protected areas (MPAs) around the planet, less than

two percent of the worlds oceans are full protected! "he number of MPAs is increasing rapidl , but the benefits the generate are still difficult to predict! #t would be nice to $now if the ones we%ve alread created are effective! &ith such a small percentage of our seas set aside for safe$eeping, understanding what ma$es an MPA effective becomes critical for conservation! A team of researchers, led b 'raham (! Edgar from the )niversit of "asmania, set out to uncover the factors that determine an MPA%s success! As a b product of these efforts, the learned that successful MPAs better protected large fish, which were declining b *0 to +0 percent outside the areas! ,ut the also found ver few of the e-isting MPAs could be considered successes! Protected areas suffer from similar issues to endangered species in that sometimes the protection e-ists solel on paper! "hese .paper par$s/ lac$ the funding and manpower to enforce rules against illegal harvesting! 0ther issues, such as regulations that allow harmful harvesting methods or the movement of animals between the reserve and waters that lie outside its boundaries, can also influence whether MPAs live up to their full potential! "hese socioeconomic and biological factors ma$e it difficult to predict the conservation benefits of new MPAs, as success is variable among even well1designed ones! )nli$e previous studies, which onl assessed one factor at a time, Edgars new surve loo$ed at how five $e features interact to influence success2 degree of protection, level of enforcement, age, si3e, and pro-imit ! )sing data collected from dive surve s at *4 MPAs around the world, the team loo$ed at how biomass, abundance, and diversit of species varied among each reserve! &hen par$s had a combination of five features, the conservation benefits of MPAs increased e-ponentiall ! "hese $e features were2 full protected (no e-tractive activities allowed), well enforced, old (more than 50 ears), large (over 500 s6uare $ilometers), and isolated b deep water or sand! MPAs with four or five of these $e features were regarded as effective, while MPAs with fewer than three of them appeared to have nearl no value for conservation! 0f the *4 MPAs investigated, onl four possessed all five $e features while 7ust another five had four of them! "ogether, these MPAs account for 50 percent of the total surve ed, which the authors conclude probabl overstates the true proportion of effective MPAs worldwide! &hile all five factors are hard to achieve8onl a small subset of MPAs are li$el to 6ualif as large8 the authors sa that most MPAs could achieve the other four! 9et in a related :ews and ;iews article, ,en7amin <! =alpern of the )niversit of >alifornia at <anta ,arbara points out that most managers dont have the option of placing protected areas in isolated locations! )nfortunatel , that was the most significant factor in determining a reserve%s effectiveness! Either wa , the path forward is clear2 sta$eholders, managers, and politicians need to wor$ together to hit as man of these five goals as possible in future MPAs! "he stud was also telling in that it used effective MPAs as a standard for what unfished environments loo$ li$e, allowing the first global assessment of the magnitude of fishing effects! ,ased on these numbers, the authors estimate that fish biomass has declined about two1thirds from historical baselines as a result of fishing! ?or large fish and shar$s, the reduction in biomass was even greater2 *0 percent of large fish, *@ percent of groupers, *5 percent of 7ac$s, and +A percent of shar$s have apparentl been removed from reefs b fishing! "he researchers note that a reduction of *0 percent coincides with the threshold value used to categori3e species as criticall endangered on the #)>: Bed Cist! Appl ing Bed Cist thresholds to e-ploited fish stoc$s is controversial, largel due to a difference in

beliefs as to whether fish should be considered wildlife or commodities! <o the researchers simpl state that the high number of large species included in this decline indicates that countless species of fish are li$el threatened and that effective MPAs will need to have a ma7or role in safeguarding man of these species! Even though there are about 5,000 marine protected areas (MPAs) around the planet, less than two percent of the worlds oceans are full protected! "he number of MPAs is increasing rapidl , but the benefits the generate are still difficult to predict! #t would be nice to $now if the ones we%ve alread created are effective! &ith such a small percentage of our seas set aside for safe$eeping, understanding what ma$es an MPA effective becomes critical for conservation! A team of researchers, led b 'raham (! Edgar from the )niversit of "asmania, set out to uncover the factors that determine an MPA%s success! As a b product of these efforts, the learned that successful MPAs better protected large fish, which were declining b *0 to +0 percent outside the areas! ,ut the also found ver few of the e-isting MPAs could be considered successes! Protected areas suffer from similar issues to endangered species in that sometimes the protection e-ists solel on paper! "hese .paper par$s/ lac$ the funding and manpower to enforce rules against illegal harvesting! 0ther issues, such as regulations that allow harmful harvesting methods or the movement of animals between the reserve and waters that lie outside its boundaries, can also influence whether MPAs live up to their full potential! "hese socioeconomic and biological factors ma$e it difficult to predict the conservation benefits of new MPAs, as success is variable among even well1designed ones! )nli$e previous studies, which onl assessed one factor at a time, Edgars new surve loo$ed at how five $e features interact to influence success2 degree of protection, level of enforcement, age, si3e, and pro-imit ! )sing data collected from dive surve s at *4 MPAs around the world, the team loo$ed at how biomass, abundance, and diversit of species varied among each reserve! &hen par$s had a combination of five features, the conservation benefits of MPAs increased e-ponentiall ! "hese $e features were2 full protected (no e-tractive activities allowed), well enforced, old (more than 50 ears), large (over 500 s6uare $ilometers), and isolated b deep water or sand! MPAs with four or five of these $e features were regarded as effective, while MPAs with fewer than three of them appeared to have nearl no value for conservation! 0f the *4 MPAs investigated, onl four possessed all five $e features while 7ust another five had four of them! "ogether, these MPAs account for 50 percent of the total surve ed, which the authors conclude probabl overstates the true proportion of effective MPAs worldwide! &hile all five factors are hard to achieve8onl a small subset of MPAs are li$el to 6ualif as large8 the authors sa that most MPAs could achieve the other four! 9et in a related :ews and ;iews article, ,en7amin <! =alpern of the )niversit of >alifornia at <anta ,arbara points out that most managers dont have the option of placing protected areas in isolated locations! )nfortunatel , that was the most significant factor in determining a reserve%s effectiveness! Either wa , the path forward is clear2 sta$eholders, managers, and politicians need to wor$ together to hit as man of these five goals as possible in future MPAs! "he stud was also telling in that it used effective MPAs as a standard for what unfished environments loo$ li$e, allowing the first global assessment of the magnitude of fishing effects! ,ased on these numbers, the authors estimate that fish biomass has declined about two1thirds from historical baselines as a result of fishing! ?or large fish and shar$s, the reduction in biomass was even greater2 *0 percent of large fish, *@

percent of groupers, *5 percent of 7ac$s, and +A percent of shar$s have apparentl been removed from reefs b fishing! "he researchers note that a reduction of *0 percent coincides with the threshold value used to categori3e species as criticall endangered on the #)>: Bed Cist! Appl ing Bed Cist thresholds to e-ploited fish stoc$s is controversial, largel due to a difference in beliefs as to whether fish should be considered wildlife or commodities! <o the researchers simpl state that the high number of large species included in this decline indicates that countless species of fish are li$el threatened and that effective MPAs will need to have a ma7or role in safeguarding man of these species! Even though there are about 5,000 marine protected areas (MPAs) around the planet, less than two percent of the worlds oceans are full protected! "he number of MPAs is increasing rapidl , but the benefits the generate are still difficult to predict! #t would be nice to $now if the ones we%ve alread created are effective! &ith such a small percentage of our seas set aside for safe$eeping, understanding what ma$es an MPA effective becomes critical for conservation! A team of researchers, led b 'raham (! Edgar from the )niversit of "asmania, set out to uncover the factors that determine an MPA%s success! As a b product of these efforts, the learned that successful MPAs better protected large fish, which were declining b *0 to +0 percent outside the areas! ,ut the also found ver few of the e-isting MPAs could be considered successes! Protected areas suffer from similar issues to endangered species in that sometimes the protection e-ists solel on paper! "hese .paper par$s/ lac$ the funding and manpower to enforce rules against illegal harvesting! 0ther issues, such as regulations that allow harmful harvesting methods or the movement of animals between the reserve and waters that lie outside its boundaries, can also influence whether MPAs live up to their full potential! "hese socioeconomic and biological factors ma$e it difficult to predict the conservation benefits of new MPAs, as success is variable among even well1designed ones! )nli$e previous studies, which onl assessed one factor at a time, Edgars new surve loo$ed at how five $e features interact to influence success2 degree of protection, level of enforcement, age, si3e, and pro-imit ! )sing data collected from dive surve s at *4 MPAs around the world, the team loo$ed at how biomass, abundance, and diversit of species varied among each reserve! &hen par$s had a combination of five features, the conservation benefits of MPAs increased e-ponentiall ! "hese $e features were2 full protected (no e-tractive activities allowed), well enforced, old (more than 50 ears), large (over 500 s6uare $ilometers), and isolated b deep water or sand! MPAs with four or five of these $e features were regarded as effective, while MPAs with fewer than three of them appeared to have nearl no value for conservation! 0f the *4 MPAs investigated, onl four possessed all five $e features while 7ust another five had four of them! "ogether, these MPAs account for 50 percent of the total surve ed, which the authors conclude probabl overstates the true proportion of effective MPAs worldwide! &hile all five factors are hard to achieve8onl a small subset of MPAs are li$el to 6ualif as large8 the authors sa that most MPAs could achieve the other four! 9et in a related :ews and ;iews article, ,en7amin <! =alpern of the )niversit of >alifornia at <anta ,arbara points out that most managers dont have the option of placing protected areas in isolated locations! )nfortunatel , that was the most significant factor in determining a reserve%s effectiveness! Either wa , the path forward is clear2 sta$eholders, managers, and politicians need to wor$ together to hit as man of these five goals as possible in future MPAs! "he stud was also telling in that it used effective MPAs as a standard for what unfished environments

loo$ li$e, allowing the first global assessment of the magnitude of fishing effects! ,ased on these numbers, the authors estimate that fish biomass has declined about two1thirds from historical baselines as a result of fishing! ?or large fish and shar$s, the reduction in biomass was even greater2 *0 percent of large fish, *@ percent of groupers, *5 percent of 7ac$s, and +A percent of shar$s have apparentl been removed from reefs b fishing! "he researchers note that a reduction of *0 percent coincides with the threshold value used to categori3e species as criticall endangered on the #)>: Bed Cist! Appl ing Bed Cist thresholds to e-ploited fish stoc$s is controversial, largel due to a difference in beliefs as to whether fish should be considered wildlife or commodities! <o the researchers simpl state that the high number of large species included in this decline indicates that countless species of fish are li$el threatened and that effective MPAs will need to have a ma7or role in safeguarding man of these species! Even though there are about 5,000 marine protected areas (MPAs) around the planet, less than two percent of the worlds oceans are full protected! "he number of MPAs is increasing rapidl , but the benefits the generate are still difficult to predict! #t would be nice to $now if the ones we%ve alread created are effective! &ith such a small percentage of our seas set aside for safe$eeping, understanding what ma$es an MPA effective becomes critical for conservation! A team of researchers, led b 'raham (! Edgar from the )niversit of "asmania, set out to uncover the factors that determine an MPA%s success! As a b product of these efforts, the learned that successful MPAs better protected large fish, which were declining b *0 to +0 percent outside the areas! ,ut the also found ver few of the e-isting MPAs could be considered successes! Protected areas suffer from similar issues to endangered species in that sometimes the protection e-ists solel on paper! "hese .paper par$s/ lac$ the funding and manpower to enforce rules against illegal harvesting! 0ther issues, such as regulations that allow harmful harvesting methods or the movement of animals between the reserve and waters that lie outside its boundaries, can also influence whether MPAs live up to their full potential! "hese socioeconomic and biological factors ma$e it difficult to predict the conservation benefits of new MPAs, as success is variable among even well1designed ones! )nli$e previous studies, which onl assessed one factor at a time, Edgars new surve loo$ed at how five $e features interact to influence success2 degree of protection, level of enforcement, age, si3e, and pro-imit ! )sing data collected from dive surve s at *4 MPAs around the world, the team loo$ed at how biomass, abundance, and diversit of species varied among each reserve! &hen par$s had a combination of five features, the conservation benefits of MPAs increased e-ponentiall ! "hese $e features were2 full protected (no e-tractive activities allowed), well enforced, old (more than 50 ears), large (over 500 s6uare $ilometers), and isolated b deep water or sand! MPAs with four or five of these $e features were regarded as effective, while MPAs with fewer than three of them appeared to have nearl no value for conservation! 0f the *4 MPAs investigated, onl four possessed all five $e features while 7ust another five had four of them! "ogether, these MPAs account for 50 percent of the total surve ed, which the authors conclude probabl overstates the true proportion of effective MPAs worldwide! &hile all five factors are hard to achieve8onl a small subset of MPAs are li$el to 6ualif as large8 the authors sa that most MPAs could achieve the other four! 9et in a related :ews and ;iews article, ,en7amin <! =alpern of the )niversit of >alifornia at <anta ,arbara points out that most managers dont have the option of placing protected areas in isolated locations! )nfortunatel , that was the most

significant factor in determining a reserve%s effectiveness! Either wa , the path forward is clear2 sta$eholders, managers, and politicians need to wor$ together to hit as man of these five goals as possible in future MPAs! "he stud was also telling in that it used effective MPAs as a standard for what unfished environments loo$ li$e, allowing the first global assessment of the magnitude of fishing effects! ,ased on these numbers, the authors estimate that fish biomass has declined about two1thirds from historical baselines as a result of fishing! ?or large fish and shar$s, the reduction in biomass was even greater2 *0 percent of large fish, *@ percent of groupers, *5 percent of 7ac$s, and +A percent of shar$s have apparentl been removed from reefs b fishing! "he researchers note that a reduction of *0 percent coincides with the threshold value used to categori3e species as criticall endangered on the #)>: Bed Cist! Appl ing Bed Cist thresholds to e-ploited fish stoc$s is controversial, largel due to a difference in beliefs as to whether fish should be considered wildlife or commodities! <o the researchers simpl state that the high number of large species included in this decline indicates that countless species of fish are li$el threatened and that effective MPAs will need to have a ma7or role in safeguarding man of these species! Even though there are about 5,000 marine protected areas (MPAs) around the planet, less than two percent of the worlds oceans are full protected! "he number of MPAs is increasing rapidl , but the benefits the generate are still difficult to predict! #t would be nice to $now if the ones we%ve alread created are effective! &ith such a small percentage of our seas set aside for safe$eeping, understanding what ma$es an MPA effective becomes critical for conservation! A team of researchers, led b 'raham (! Edgar from the )niversit of "asmania, set out to uncover the factors that determine an MPA%s success! As a b product of these efforts, the learned that successful MPAs better protected large fish, which were declining b *0 to +0 percent outside the areas! ,ut the also found ver few of the e-isting MPAs could be considered successes! Protected areas suffer from similar issues to endangered species in that sometimes the protection e-ists solel on paper! "hese .paper par$s/ lac$ the funding and manpower to enforce rules against illegal harvesting! 0ther issues, such as regulations that allow harmful harvesting methods or the movement of animals between the reserve and waters that lie outside its boundaries, can also influence whether MPAs live up to their full potential! "hese socioeconomic and biological factors ma$e it difficult to predict the conservation benefits of new MPAs, as success is variable among even well1designed ones! )nli$e previous studies, which onl assessed one factor at a time, Edgars new surve loo$ed at how five $e features interact to influence success2 degree of protection, level of enforcement, age, si3e, and pro-imit ! )sing data collected from dive surve s at *4 MPAs around the world, the team loo$ed at how biomass, abundance, and diversit of species varied among each reserve! &hen par$s had a combination of five features, the conservation benefits of MPAs increased e-ponentiall ! "hese $e features were2 full protected (no e-tractive activities allowed), well enforced, old (more than 50 ears), large (over 500 s6uare $ilometers), and isolated b deep water or sand! MPAs with four or five of these $e features were regarded as effective, while MPAs with fewer than three of them appeared to have nearl no value for conservation! 0f the *4 MPAs investigated, onl four possessed all five $e features while 7ust another five had four of them! "ogether, these MPAs account for 50 percent of the total surve ed, which the authors conclude probabl overstates the true proportion of effective MPAs worldwide!

&hile all five factors are hard to achieve8onl a small subset of MPAs are li$el to 6ualif as large8 the authors sa that most MPAs could achieve the other four! 9et in a related :ews and ;iews article, ,en7amin <! =alpern of the )niversit of >alifornia at <anta ,arbara points out that most managers dont have the option of placing protected areas in isolated locations! )nfortunatel , that was the most significant factor in determining a reserve%s effectiveness! Either wa , the path forward is clear2 sta$eholders, managers, and politicians need to wor$ together to hit as man of these five goals as possible in future MPAs! "he stud was also telling in that it used effective MPAs as a standard for what unfished environments loo$ li$e, allowing the first global assessment of the magnitude of fishing effects! ,ased on these numbers, the authors estimate that fish biomass has declined about two1thirds from historical baselines as a result of fishing! ?or large fish and shar$s, the reduction in biomass was even greater2 *0 percent of large fish, *@ percent of groupers, *5 percent of 7ac$s, and +A percent of shar$s have apparentl been removed from reefs b fishing! "he researchers note that a reduction of *0 percent coincides with the threshold value used to categori3e species as criticall endangered on the #)>: Bed Cist! Appl ing Bed Cist thresholds to e-ploited fish stoc$s is controversial, largel due to a difference in beliefs as to whether fish should be considered wildlife or commodities! <o the researchers simpl state that the high number of large species included in this decline indicates that countless species of fish are li$el threatened and that effective MPAs will need to have a ma7or role in safeguarding man of these species! Even though there are about 5,000 marine protected areas (MPAs) around the planet, less than two percent of the worlds oceans are full protected! "he number of MPAs is increasing rapidl , but the benefits the generate are still difficult to predict! #t would be nice to $now if the ones we%ve alread created are effective! &ith such a small percentage of our seas set aside for safe$eeping, understanding what ma$es an MPA effective becomes critical for conservation! A team of researchers, led b 'raham (! Edgar from the )niversit of "asmania, set out to uncover the factors that determine an MPA%s success! As a b product of these efforts, the learned that successful MPAs better protected large fish, which were declining b *0 to +0 percent outside the areas! ,ut the also found ver few of the e-isting MPAs could be considered successes! Protected areas suffer from similar issues to endangered species in that sometimes the protection e-ists solel on paper! "hese .paper par$s/ lac$ the funding and manpower to enforce rules against illegal harvesting! 0ther issues, such as regulations that allow harmful harvesting methods or the movement of animals between the reserve and waters that lie outside its boundaries, can also influence whether MPAs live up to their full potential! "hese socioeconomic and biological factors ma$e it difficult to predict the conservation benefits of new MPAs, as success is variable among even well1designed ones! )nli$e previous studies, which onl assessed one factor at a time, Edgars new surve loo$ed at how five $e features interact to influence success2 degree of protection, level of enforcement, age, si3e, and pro-imit ! )sing data collected from dive surve s at *4 MPAs around the world, the team loo$ed at how biomass, abundance, and diversit of species varied among each reserve! &hen par$s had a combination of five features, the conservation benefits of MPAs increased e-ponentiall ! "hese $e features were2 full protected (no e-tractive activities allowed), well enforced, old (more than 50 ears), large (over 500 s6uare $ilometers), and isolated b deep water or sand! MPAs with four or five of these $e features were regarded as effective, while MPAs with fewer than

three of them appeared to have nearl no value for conservation! 0f the *4 MPAs investigated, onl four possessed all five $e features while 7ust another five had four of them! "ogether, these MPAs account for 50 percent of the total surve ed, which the authors conclude probabl overstates the true proportion of effective MPAs worldwide! &hile all five factors are hard to achieve8onl a small subset of MPAs are li$el to 6ualif as large8 the authors sa that most MPAs could achieve the other four! 9et in a related :ews and ;iews article, ,en7amin <! =alpern of the )niversit of >alifornia at <anta ,arbara points out that most managers dont have the option of placing protected areas in isolated locations! )nfortunatel , that was the most significant factor in determining a reserve%s effectiveness! Either wa , the path forward is clear2 sta$eholders, managers, and politicians need to wor$ together to hit as man of these five goals as possible in future MPAs! "he stud was also telling in that it used effective MPAs as a standard for what unfished environments loo$ li$e, allowing the first global assessment of the magnitude of fishing effects! ,ased on these numbers, the authors estimate that fish biomass has declined about two1thirds from historical baselines as a result of fishing! ?or large fish and shar$s, the reduction in biomass was even greater2 *0 percent of large fish, *@ percent of groupers, *5 percent of 7ac$s, and +A percent of shar$s have apparentl been removed from reefs b fishing! "he researchers note that a reduction of *0 percent coincides with the threshold value used to categori3e species as criticall endangered on the #)>: Bed Cist! Appl ing Bed Cist thresholds to e-ploited fish stoc$s is controversial, largel due to a difference in beliefs as to whether fish should be considered wildlife or commodities! <o the researchers simpl state that the high number of large species included in this decline indicates that countless species of fish are li$el threatened and that effective MPAs will need to have a ma7or role in safeguarding man of these species! Even though there are about 5,000 marine protected areas (MPAs) around the planet, less than two percent of the worlds oceans are full protected! "he number of MPAs is increasing rapidl , but the benefits the generate are still difficult to predict! #t would be nice to $now if the ones we%ve alread created are effective! &ith such a small percentage of our seas set aside for safe$eeping, understanding what ma$es an MPA effective becomes critical for conservation! A team of researchers, led b 'raham (! Edgar from the )niversit of "asmania, set out to uncover the factors that determine an MPA%s success! As a b product of these efforts, the learned that successful MPAs better protected large fish, which were declining b *0 to +0 percent outside the areas! ,ut the also found ver few of the e-isting MPAs could be considered successes! Protected areas suffer from similar issues to endangered species in that sometimes the protection e-ists solel on paper! "hese .paper par$s/ lac$ the funding and manpower to enforce rules against illegal harvesting! 0ther issues, such as regulations that allow harmful harvesting methods or the movement of animals between the reserve and waters that lie outside its boundaries, can also influence whether MPAs live up to their full potential! "hese socioeconomic and biological factors ma$e it difficult to predict the conservation benefits of new MPAs, as success is variable among even well1designed ones! )nli$e previous studies, which onl assessed one factor at a time, Edgars new surve loo$ed at how five $e features interact to influence success2 degree of protection, level of enforcement, age, si3e, and pro-imit ! )sing data collected from dive surve s at *4 MPAs around the world, the team loo$ed at how biomass, abundance, and diversit of species varied among each reserve! &hen par$s had a combination of five

features, the conservation benefits of MPAs increased e-ponentiall ! "hese $e features were2 full protected (no e-tractive activities allowed), well enforced, old (more than 50 ears), large (over 500 s6uare $ilometers), and isolated b deep water or sand! MPAs with four or five of these $e features were regarded as effective, while MPAs with fewer than three of them appeared to have nearl no value for conservation! 0f the *4 MPAs investigated, onl four possessed all five $e features while 7ust another five had four of them! "ogether, these MPAs account for 50 percent of the total surve ed, which the authors conclude probabl overstates the true proportion of effective MPAs worldwide! &hile all five factors are hard to achieve8onl a small subset of MPAs are li$el to 6ualif as large8 the authors sa that most MPAs could achieve the other four! 9et in a related :ews and ;iews article, ,en7amin <! =alpern of the )niversit of >alifornia at <anta ,arbara points out that most managers dont have the option of placing protected areas in isolated locations! )nfortunatel , that was the most significant factor in determining a reserve%s effectiveness! Either wa , the path forward is clear2 sta$eholders, managers, and politicians need to wor$ together to hit as man of these five goals as possible in future MPAs! "he stud was also telling in that it used effective MPAs as a standard for what unfished environments loo$ li$e, allowing the first global assessment of the magnitude of fishing effects! ,ased on these numbers, the authors estimate that fish biomass has declined about two1thirds from historical baselines as a result of fishing! ?or large fish and shar$s, the reduction in biomass was even greater2 *0 percent of large fish, *@ percent of groupers, *5 percent of 7ac$s, and +A percent of shar$s have apparentl been removed from reefs b fishing! "he researchers note that a reduction of *0 percent coincides with the threshold value used to categori3e species as criticall endangered on the #)>: Bed Cist! Appl ing Bed Cist thresholds to e-ploited fish stoc$s is controversial, largel due to a difference in beliefs as to whether fish should be considered wildlife or commodities! <o the researchers simpl state that the high number of large species included in this decline indicates that countless species of fish are li$el threatened and that effective MPAs will need to have a ma7or role in safeguarding man of these species! Even though there are about 5,000 marine protected areas (MPAs) around the planet, less than two percent of the worlds oceans are full protected! "he number of MPAs is increasing rapidl , but the benefits the generate are still difficult to predict! #t would be nice to $now if the ones we%ve alread created are effective! &ith such a small percentage of our seas set aside for safe$eeping, understanding what ma$es an MPA effective becomes critical for conservation! A team of researchers, led b 'raham (! Edgar from the )niversit of "asmania, set out to uncover the factors that determine an MPA%s success! As a b product of these efforts, the learned that successful MPAs better protected large fish, which were declining b *0 to +0 percent outside the areas! ,ut the also found ver few of the e-isting MPAs could be considered successes! Protected areas suffer from similar issues to endangered species in that sometimes the protection e-ists solel on paper! "hese .paper par$s/ lac$ the funding and manpower to enforce rules against illegal harvesting! 0ther issues, such as regulations that allow harmful harvesting methods or the movement of animals between the reserve and waters that lie outside its boundaries, can also influence whether MPAs live up to their full potential! "hese socioeconomic and biological factors ma$e it difficult to predict the conservation benefits of new MPAs, as success is variable among even well1designed ones! )nli$e previous studies, which onl

assessed one factor at a time, Edgars new surve loo$ed at how five $e features interact to influence success2 degree of protection, level of enforcement, age, si3e, and pro-imit ! )sing data collected from dive surve s at *4 MPAs around the world, the team loo$ed at how biomass, abundance, and diversit of species varied among each reserve! &hen par$s had a combination of five features, the conservation benefits of MPAs increased e-ponentiall ! "hese $e features were2 full protected (no e-tractive activities allowed), well enforced, old (more than 50 ears), large (over 500 s6uare $ilometers), and isolated b deep water or sand! MPAs with four or five of these $e features were regarded as effective, while MPAs with fewer than three of them appeared to have nearl no value for conservation! 0f the *4 MPAs investigated, onl four possessed all five $e features while 7ust another five had four of them! "ogether, these MPAs account for 50 percent of the total surve ed, which the authors conclude probabl overstates the true proportion of effective MPAs worldwide! &hile all five factors are hard to achieve8onl a small subset of MPAs are li$el to 6ualif as large8 the authors sa that most MPAs could achieve the other four! 9et in a related :ews and ;iews article, ,en7amin <! =alpern of the )niversit of >alifornia at <anta ,arbara points out that most managers dont have the option of placing protected areas in isolated locations! )nfortunatel , that was the most significant factor in determining a reserve%s effectiveness! Either wa , the path forward is clear2 sta$eholders, managers, and politicians need to wor$ together to hit as man of these five goals as possible in future MPAs! "he stud was also telling in that it used effective MPAs as a standard for what unfished environments loo$ li$e, allowing the first global assessment of the magnitude of fishing effects! ,ased on these numbers, the authors estimate that fish biomass has declined about two1thirds from historical baselines as a result of fishing! ?or large fish and shar$s, the reduction in biomass was even greater2 *0 percent of large fish, *@ percent of groupers, *5 percent of 7ac$s, and +A percent of shar$s have apparentl been removed from reefs b fishing! "he researchers note that a reduction of *0 percent coincides with the threshold value used to categori3e species as criticall endangered on the #)>: Bed Cist! Appl ing Bed Cist thresholds to e-ploited fish stoc$s is controversial, largel due to a difference in beliefs as to whether fish should be considered wildlife or commodities! <o the researchers simpl state that the high number of large species included in this decline indicates that countless species of fish are li$el threatened and that effective MPAs will need to have a ma7or role in safeguarding man of these species! Even though there are about 5,000 marine protected areas (MPAs) around the planet, less than two percent of the worlds oceans are full protected! "he number of MPAs is increasing rapidl , but the benefits the generate are still difficult to predict! #t would be nice to $now if the ones we%ve alread created are effective! &ith such a small percentage of our seas set aside for safe$eeping, understanding what ma$es an MPA effective becomes critical for conservation! A team of researchers, led b 'raham (! Edgar from the )niversit of "asmania, set out to uncover the factors that determine an MPA%s success! As a b product of these efforts, the learned that successful MPAs better protected large fish, which were declining b *0 to +0 percent outside the areas! ,ut the also found ver few of the e-isting MPAs could be considered successes! Protected areas suffer from similar issues to endangered species in that sometimes the protection e-ists solel on paper! "hese .paper par$s/ lac$ the funding and manpower to enforce rules against illegal harvesting! 0ther issues, such as regulations that allow harmful harvesting methods or the movement of

animals between the reserve and waters that lie outside its boundaries, can also influence whether MPAs live up to their full potential! "hese socioeconomic and biological factors ma$e it difficult to predict the conservation benefits of new MPAs, as success is variable among even well1designed ones! )nli$e previous studies, which onl assessed one factor at a time, Edgars new surve loo$ed at how five $e features interact to influence success2 degree of protection, level of enforcement, age, si3e, and pro-imit ! )sing data collected from dive surve s at *4 MPAs around the world, the team loo$ed at how biomass, abundance, and diversit of species varied among each reserve! &hen par$s had a combination of five features, the conservation benefits of MPAs increased e-ponentiall ! "hese $e features were2 full protected (no e-tractive activities allowed), well enforced, old (more than 50 ears), large (over 500 s6uare $ilometers), and isolated b deep water or sand! MPAs with four or five of these $e features were regarded as effective, while MPAs with fewer than three of them appeared to have nearl no value for conservation! 0f the *4 MPAs investigated, onl four possessed all five $e features while 7ust another five had four of them! "ogether, these MPAs account for 50 percent of the total surve ed, which the authors conclude probabl overstates the true proportion of effective MPAs worldwide! &hile all five factors are hard to achieve8onl a small subset of MPAs are li$el to 6ualif as large8 the authors sa that most MPAs could achieve the other four! 9et in a related :ews and ;iews article, ,en7amin <! =alpern of the )niversit of >alifornia at <anta ,arbara points out that most managers dont have the option of placing protected areas in isolated locations! )nfortunatel , that was the most significant factor in determining a reserve%s effectiveness! Either wa , the path forward is clear2 sta$eholders, managers, and politicians need to wor$ together to hit as man of these five goals as possible in future MPAs! "he stud was also telling in that it used effective MPAs as a standard for what unfished environments loo$ li$e, allowing the first global assessment of the magnitude of fishing effects! ,ased on these numbers, the authors estimate that fish biomass has declined about two1thirds from historical baselines as a result of fishing! ?or large fish and shar$s, the reduction in biomass was even greater2 *0 percent of large fish, *@ percent of groupers, *5 percent of 7ac$s, and +A percent of shar$s have apparentl been removed from reefs b fishing! "he researchers note that a reduction of *0 percent coincides with the threshold value used to categori3e species as criticall endangered on the #)>: Bed Cist! Appl ing Bed Cist thresholds to e-ploited fish stoc$s is controversial, largel due to a difference in beliefs as to whether fish should be considered wildlife or commodities! <o the researchers simpl state that the high number of large species included in this decline indicates that countless species of fish are li$el threatened and that effective MPAs will need to have a ma7or role in safeguarding man of these species! Even though there are about 5,000 marine protected areas (MPAs) around the planet, less than two percent of the worlds oceans are full protected! "he number of MPAs is increasing rapidl , but the benefits the generate are still difficult to predict! #t would be nice to $now if the ones we%ve alread created are effective! &ith such a small percentage of our seas set aside for safe$eeping, understanding what ma$es an MPA effective becomes critical for conservation! A team of researchers, led b 'raham (! Edgar from the )niversit of "asmania, set out to uncover the factors that determine an MPA%s success! As a b product of these efforts, the learned that successful MPAs better protected large fish, which were declining b *0 to +0 percent outside the areas! ,ut the also found ver few of the e-isting MPAs could be

considered successes! Protected areas suffer from similar issues to endangered species in that sometimes the protection e-ists solel on paper! "hese .paper par$s/ lac$ the funding and manpower to enforce rules against illegal harvesting! 0ther issues, such as regulations that allow harmful harvesting methods or the movement of animals between the reserve and waters that lie outside its boundaries, can also influence whether MPAs live up to their full potential! "hese socioeconomic and biological factors ma$e it difficult to predict the conservation benefits of new MPAs, as success is variable among even well1designed ones! )nli$e previous studies, which onl assessed one factor at a time, Edgars new surve loo$ed at how five $e features interact to influence success2 degree of protection, level of enforcement, age, si3e, and pro-imit ! )sing data collected from dive surve s at *4 MPAs around the world, the team loo$ed at how biomass, abundance, and diversit of species varied among each reserve! &hen par$s had a combination of five features, the conservation benefits of MPAs increased e-ponentiall ! "hese $e features were2 full protected (no e-tractive activities allowed), well enforced, old (more than 50 ears), large (over 500 s6uare $ilometers), and isolated b deep water or sand! MPAs with four or five of these $e features were regarded as effective, while MPAs with fewer than three of them appeared to have nearl no value for conservation! 0f the *4 MPAs investigated, onl four possessed all five $e features while 7ust another five had four of them! "ogether, these MPAs account for 50 percent of the total surve ed, which the authors conclude probabl overstates the true proportion of effective MPAs worldwide! &hile all five factors are hard to achieve8onl a small subset of MPAs are li$el to 6ualif as large8 the authors sa that most MPAs could achieve the other four! 9et in a related :ews and ;iews article, ,en7amin <! =alpern of the )niversit of >alifornia at <anta ,arbara points out that most managers dont have the option of placing protected areas in isolated locations! )nfortunatel , that was the most significant factor in determining a reserve%s effectiveness! Either wa , the path forward is clear2 sta$eholders, managers, and politicians need to wor$ together to hit as man of these five goals as possible in future MPAs! "he stud was also telling in that it used effective MPAs as a standard for what unfished environments loo$ li$e, allowing the first global assessment of the magnitude of fishing effects! ,ased on these numbers, the authors estimate that fish biomass has declined about two1thirds from historical baselines as a result of fishing! ?or large fish and shar$s, the reduction in biomass was even greater2 *0 percent of large fish, *@ percent of groupers, *5 percent of 7ac$s, and +A percent of shar$s have apparentl been removed from reefs b fishing! "he researchers note that a reduction of *0 percent coincides with the threshold value used to categori3e species as criticall endangered on the #)>: Bed Cist! Appl ing Bed Cist thresholds to e-ploited fish stoc$s is controversial, largel due to a difference in beliefs as to whether fish should be considered wildlife or commodities! <o the researchers simpl state that the high number of large species included in this decline indicates that countless species of fish are li$el threatened and that effective MPAs will need to have a ma7or role in safeguarding man of these species! Even though there are about 5,000 marine protected areas (MPAs) around the planet, less than two percent of the worlds oceans are full protected! "he number of MPAs is increasing rapidl , but the benefits the generate are still difficult to predict! #t would be nice to $now if the ones we%ve alread created are effective!

&ith such a small percentage of our seas set aside for safe$eeping, understanding what ma$es an MPA effective becomes critical for conservation! A team of researchers, led b 'raham (! Edgar from the )niversit of "asmania, set out to uncover the factors that determine an MPA%s success! As a b product of these efforts, the learned that successful MPAs better protected large fish, which were declining b *0 to +0 percent outside the areas! ,ut the also found ver few of the e-isting MPAs could be considered successes! Protected areas suffer from similar issues to endangered species in that sometimes the protection e-ists solel on paper! "hese .paper par$s/ lac$ the funding and manpower to enforce rules against illegal harvesting! 0ther issues, such as regulations that allow harmful harvesting methods or the movement of animals between the reserve and waters that lie outside its boundaries, can also influence whether MPAs live up to their full potential! "hese socioeconomic and biological factors ma$e it difficult to predict the conservation benefits of new MPAs, as success is variable among even well1designed ones! )nli$e previous studies, which onl assessed one factor at a time, Edgars new surve loo$ed at how five $e features interact to influence success2 degree of protection, level of enforcement, age, si3e, and pro-imit ! )sing data collected from dive surve s at *4 MPAs around the world, the team loo$ed at how biomass, abundance, and diversit of species varied among each reserve! &hen par$s had a combination of five features, the conservation benefits of MPAs increased e-ponentiall ! "hese $e features were2 full protected (no e-tractive activities allowed), well enforced, old (more than 50 ears), large (over 500 s6uare $ilometers), and isolated b deep water or sand! MPAs with four or five of these $e features were regarded as effective, while MPAs with fewer than three of them appeared to have nearl no value for conservation! 0f the *4 MPAs investigated, onl four possessed all five $e features while 7ust another five had four of them! "ogether, these MPAs account for 50 percent of the total surve ed, which the authors conclude probabl overstates the true proportion of effective MPAs worldwide! &hile all five factors are hard to achieve8onl a small subset of MPAs are li$el to 6ualif as large8 the authors sa that most MPAs could achieve the other four! 9et in a related :ews and ;iews article, ,en7amin <! =alpern of the )niversit of >alifornia at <anta ,arbara points out that most managers dont have the option of placing protected areas in isolated locations! )nfortunatel , that was the most significant factor in determining a reserve%s effectiveness! Either wa , the path forward is clear2 sta$eholders, managers, and politicians need to wor$ together to hit as man of these five goals as possible in future MPAs! "he stud was also telling in that it used effective MPAs as a standard for what unfished environments loo$ li$e, allowing the first global assessment of the magnitude of fishing effects! ,ased on these numbers, the authors estimate that fish biomass has declined about two1thirds from historical baselines as a result of fishing! ?or large fish and shar$s, the reduction in biomass was even greater2 *0 percent of large fish, *@ percent of groupers, *5 percent of 7ac$s, and +A percent of shar$s have apparentl been removed from reefs b fishing! "he researchers note that a reduction of *0 percent coincides with the threshold value used to categori3e species as criticall endangered on the #)>: Bed Cist! Appl ing Bed Cist thresholds to e-ploited fish stoc$s is controversial, largel due to a difference in beliefs as to whether fish should be considered wildlife or commodities! <o the researchers simpl state that the high number of large species included in this decline indicates that countless species of fish are li$el threatened and that effective MPAs will need to have a ma7or role in safeguarding man of these species!

Even though there are about 5,000 marine protected areas (MPAs) around the planet, less than two percent of the worlds oceans are full protected! "he number of MPAs is increasing rapidl , but the benefits the generate are still difficult to predict! #t would be nice to $now if the ones we%ve alread created are effective! &ith such a small percentage of our seas set aside for safe$eeping, understanding what ma$es an MPA effective becomes critical for conservation! A team of researchers, led b 'raham (! Edgar from the )niversit of "asmania, set out to uncover the factors that determine an MPA%s success! As a b product of these efforts, the learned that successful MPAs better protected large fish, which were declining b *0 to +0 percent outside the areas! ,ut the also found ver few of the e-isting MPAs could be considered successes! Protected areas suffer from similar issues to endangered species in that sometimes the protection e-ists solel on paper! "hese .paper par$s/ lac$ the funding and manpower to enforce rules against illegal harvesting! 0ther issues, such as regulations that allow harmful harvesting methods or the movement of animals between the reserve and waters that lie outside its boundaries, can also influence whether MPAs live up to their full potential! "hese socioeconomic and biological factors ma$e it difficult to predict the conservation benefits of new MPAs, as success is variable among even well1designed ones! )nli$e previous studies, which onl assessed one factor at a time, Edgars new surve loo$ed at how five $e features interact to influence success2 degree of protection, level of enforcement, age, si3e, and pro-imit ! )sing data collected from dive surve s at *4 MPAs around the world, the team loo$ed at how biomass, abundance, and diversit of species varied among each reserve! &hen par$s had a combination of five features, the conservation benefits of MPAs increased e-ponentiall ! "hese $e features were2 full protected (no e-tractive activities allowed), well enforced, old (more than 50 ears), large (over 500 s6uare $ilometers), and isolated b deep water or sand! MPAs with four or five of these $e features were regarded as effective, while MPAs with fewer than three of them appeared to have nearl no value for conservation! 0f the *4 MPAs investigated, onl four possessed all five $e features while 7ust another five had four of them! "ogether, these MPAs account for 50 percent of the total surve ed, which the authors conclude probabl overstates the true proportion of effective MPAs worldwide! &hile all five factors are hard to achieve8onl a small subset of MPAs are li$el to 6ualif as large8 the authors sa that most MPAs could achieve the other four! 9et in a related :ews and ;iews article, ,en7amin <! =alpern of the )niversit of >alifornia at <anta ,arbara points out that most managers dont have the option of placing protected areas in isolated locations! )nfortunatel , that was the most significant factor in determining a reserve%s effectiveness! Either wa , the path forward is clear2 sta$eholders, managers, and politicians need to wor$ together to hit as man of these five goals as possible in future MPAs! "he stud was also telling in that it used effective MPAs as a standard for what unfished environments loo$ li$e, allowing the first global assessment of the magnitude of fishing effects! ,ased on these numbers, the authors estimate that fish biomass has declined about two1thirds from historical baselines as a result of fishing! ?or large fish and shar$s, the reduction in biomass was even greater2 *0 percent of large fish, *@ percent of groupers, *5 percent of 7ac$s, and +A percent of shar$s have apparentl been removed from reefs b fishing! "he researchers note that a reduction of *0 percent coincides with the threshold value used to categori3e species as criticall endangered on the #)>: Bed Cist! Appl ing Bed Cist thresholds to e-ploited fish stoc$s is controversial, largel due to a difference in

beliefs as to whether fish should be considered wildlife or commodities! <o the researchers simpl state that the high number of large species included in this decline indicates that countless species of fish are li$el threatened and that effective MPAs will need to have a ma7or role in safeguarding man of these species! Even though there are about 5,000 marine protected areas (MPAs) around the planet, less than two percent of the worlds oceans are full protected! "he number of MPAs is increasing rapidl , but the benefits the generate are still difficult to predict! #t would be nice to $now if the ones we%ve alread created are effective! &ith such a small percentage of our seas set aside for safe$eeping, understanding what ma$es an MPA effective becomes critical for conservation! A team of researchers, led b 'raham (! Edgar from the )niversit of "asmania, set out to uncover the factors that determine an MPA%s success! As a b product of these efforts, the learned that successful MPAs better protected large fish, which were declining b *0 to +0 percent outside the areas! ,ut the also found ver few of the e-isting MPAs could be considered successes! Protected areas suffer from similar issues to endangered species in that sometimes the protection e-ists solel on paper! "hese .paper par$s/ lac$ the funding and manpower to enforce rules against illegal harvesting! 0ther issues, such as regulations that allow harmful harvesting methods or the movement of animals between the reserve and waters that lie outside its boundaries, can also influence whether MPAs live up to their full potential! "hese socioeconomic and biological factors ma$e it difficult to predict the conservation benefits of new MPAs, as success is variable among even well1designed ones! )nli$e previous studies, which onl assessed one factor at a time, Edgars new surve loo$ed at how five $e features interact to influence success2 degree of protection, level of enforcement, age, si3e, and pro-imit ! )sing data collected from dive surve s at *4 MPAs around the world, the team loo$ed at how biomass, abundance, and diversit of species varied among each reserve! &hen par$s had a combination of five features, the conservation benefits of MPAs increased e-ponentiall ! "hese $e features were2 full protected (no e-tractive activities allowed), well enforced, old (more than 50 ears), large (over 500 s6uare $ilometers), and isolated b deep water or sand! MPAs with four or five of these $e features were regarded as effective, while MPAs with fewer than three of them appeared to have nearl no value for conservation! 0f the *4 MPAs investigated, onl four possessed all five $e features while 7ust another five had four of them! "ogether, these MPAs account for 50 percent of the total surve ed, which the authors conclude probabl overstates the true proportion of effective MPAs worldwide! &hile all five factors are hard to achieve8onl a small subset of MPAs are li$el to 6ualif as large8 the authors sa that most MPAs could achieve the other four! 9et in a related :ews and ;iews article, ,en7amin <! =alpern of the )niversit of >alifornia at <anta ,arbara points out that most managers dont have the option of placing protected areas in isolated locations! )nfortunatel , that was the most significant factor in determining a reserve%s effectiveness! Either wa , the path forward is clear2 sta$eholders, managers, and politicians need to wor$ together to hit as man of these five goals as possible in future MPAs! "he stud was also telling in that it used effective MPAs as a standard for what unfished environments loo$ li$e, allowing the first global assessment of the magnitude of fishing effects! ,ased on these numbers, the authors estimate that fish biomass has declined about two1thirds from historical baselines as a result of fishing! ?or large fish and shar$s, the reduction in biomass was even greater2 *0 percent of large fish, *@

percent of groupers, *5 percent of 7ac$s, and +A percent of shar$s have apparentl been removed from reefs b fishing! "he researchers note that a reduction of *0 percent coincides with the threshold value used to categori3e species as criticall endangered on the #)>: Bed Cist! Appl ing Bed Cist thresholds to e-ploited fish stoc$s is controversial, largel due to a difference in beliefs as to whether fish should be considered wildlife or commodities! <o the researchers simpl state that the high number of large species included in this decline indicates that countless species of fish are li$el threatened and that effective MPAs will need to have a ma7or role in safeguarding man of these species! Even though there are about 5,000 marine protected areas (MPAs) around the planet, less than two percent of the worlds oceans are full protected! "he number of MPAs is increasing rapidl , but the benefits the generate are still difficult to predict! #t would be nice to $now if the ones we%ve alread created are effective! &ith such a small percentage of our seas set aside for safe$eeping, understanding what ma$es an MPA effective becomes critical for conservation! A team of researchers, led b 'raham (! Edgar from the )niversit of "asmania, set out to uncover the factors that determine an MPA%s success! As a b product of these efforts, the learned that successful MPAs better protected large fish, which were declining b *0 to +0 percent outside the areas! ,ut the also found ver few of the e-isting MPAs could be considered successes! Protected areas suffer from similar issues to endangered species in that sometimes the protection e-ists solel on paper! "hese .paper par$s/ lac$ the funding and manpower to enforce rules against illegal harvesting! 0ther issues, such as regulations that allow harmful harvesting methods or the movement of animals between the reserve and waters that lie outside its boundaries, can also influence whether MPAs live up to their full potential! "hese socioeconomic and biological factors ma$e it difficult to predict the conservation benefits of new MPAs, as success is variable among even well1designed ones! )nli$e previous studies, which onl assessed one factor at a time, Edgars new surve loo$ed at how five $e features interact to influence success2 degree of protection, level of enforcement, age, si3e, and pro-imit ! )sing data collected from dive surve s at *4 MPAs around the world, the team loo$ed at how biomass, abundance, and diversit of species varied among each reserve! &hen par$s had a combination of five features, the conservation benefits of MPAs increased e-ponentiall ! "hese $e features were2 full protected (no e-tractive activities allowed), well enforced, old (more than 50 ears), large (over 500 s6uare $ilometers), and isolated b deep water or sand! MPAs with four or five of these $e features were regarded as effective, while MPAs with fewer than three of them appeared to have nearl no value for conservation! 0f the *4 MPAs investigated, onl four possessed all five $e features while 7ust another five had four of them! "ogether, these MPAs account for 50 percent of the total surve ed, which the authors conclude probabl overstates the true proportion of effective MPAs worldwide! &hile all five factors are hard to achieve8onl a small subset of MPAs are li$el to 6ualif as large8 the authors sa that most MPAs could achieve the other four! 9et in a related :ews and ;iews article, ,en7amin <! =alpern of the )niversit of >alifornia at <anta ,arbara points out that most managers dont have the option of placing protected areas in isolated locations! )nfortunatel , that was the most significant factor in determining a reserve%s effectiveness! Either wa , the path forward is clear2 sta$eholders, managers, and politicians need to wor$ together to hit as man of these five goals as possible in future MPAs! "he stud was also telling in that it used effective MPAs as a standard for what unfished environments

loo$ li$e, allowing the first global assessment of the magnitude of fishing effects! ,ased on these numbers, the authors estimate that fish biomass has declined about two1thirds from historical baselines as a result of fishing! ?or large fish and shar$s, the reduction in biomass was even greater2 *0 percent of large fish, *@ percent of groupers, *5 percent of 7ac$s, and +A percent of shar$s have apparentl been removed from reefs b fishing! "he researchers note that a reduction of *0 percent coincides with the threshold value used to categori3e species as criticall endangered on the #)>: Bed Cist! Appl ing Bed Cist thresholds to e-ploited fish stoc$s is controversial, largel due to a difference in beliefs as to whether fish should be considered wildlife or commodities! <o the researchers simpl state that the high number of large species included in this decline indicates that countless species of fish are li$el threatened and that effective MPAs will need to have a ma7or role in safeguarding man of these species! Even though there are about 5,000 marine protected areas (MPAs) around the planet, less than two percent of the worlds oceans are full protected! "he number of MPAs is increasing rapidl , but the benefits the generate are still difficult to predict! #t would be nice to $now if the ones we%ve alread created are effective! &ith such a small percentage of our seas set aside for safe$eeping, understanding what ma$es an MPA effective becomes critical for conservation! A team of researchers, led b 'raham (! Edgar from the )niversit of "asmania, set out to uncover the factors that determine an MPA%s success! As a b product of these efforts, the learned that successful MPAs better protected large fish, which were declining b *0 to +0 percent outside the areas! ,ut the also found ver few of the e-isting MPAs could be considered successes! Protected areas suffer from similar issues to endangered species in that sometimes the protection e-ists solel on paper! "hese .paper par$s/ lac$ the funding and manpower to enforce rules against illegal harvesting! 0ther issues, such as regulations that allow harmful harvesting methods or the movement of animals between the reserve and waters that lie outside its boundaries, can also influence whether MPAs live up to their full potential! "hese socioeconomic and biological factors ma$e it difficult to predict the conservation benefits of new MPAs, as success is variable among even well1designed ones! )nli$e previous studies, which onl assessed one factor at a time, Edgars new surve loo$ed at how five $e features interact to influence success2 degree of protection, level of enforcement, age, si3e, and pro-imit ! )sing data collected from dive surve s at *4 MPAs around the world, the team loo$ed at how biomass, abundance, and diversit of species varied among each reserve! &hen par$s had a combination of five features, the conservation benefits of MPAs increased e-ponentiall ! "hese $e features were2 full protected (no e-tractive activities allowed), well enforced, old (more than 50 ears), large (over 500 s6uare $ilometers), and isolated b deep water or sand! MPAs with four or five of these $e features were regarded as effective, while MPAs with fewer than three of them appeared to have nearl no value for conservation! 0f the *4 MPAs investigated, onl four possessed all five $e features while 7ust another five had four of them! "ogether, these MPAs account for 50 percent of the total surve ed, which the authors conclude probabl overstates the true proportion of effective MPAs worldwide! &hile all five factors are hard to achieve8onl a small subset of MPAs are li$el to 6ualif as large8 the authors sa that most MPAs could achieve the other four! 9et in a related :ews and ;iews article, ,en7amin <! =alpern of the )niversit of >alifornia at <anta ,arbara points out that most managers dont have the option of placing protected areas in isolated locations! )nfortunatel , that was the most

significant factor in determining a reserve%s effectiveness! Either wa , the path forward is clear2 sta$eholders, managers, and politicians need to wor$ together to hit as man of these five goals as possible in future MPAs! "he stud was also telling in that it used effective MPAs as a standard for what unfished environments loo$ li$e, allowing the first global assessment of the magnitude of fishing effects! ,ased on these numbers, the authors estimate that fish biomass has declined about two1thirds from historical baselines as a result of fishing! ?or large fish and shar$s, the reduction in biomass was even greater2 *0 percent of large fish, *@ percent of groupers, *5 percent of 7ac$s, and +A percent of shar$s have apparentl been removed from reefs b fishing! "he researchers note that a reduction of *0 percent coincides with the threshold value used to categori3e species as criticall endangered on the #)>: Bed Cist! Appl ing Bed Cist thresholds to e-ploited fish stoc$s is controversial, largel due to a difference in beliefs as to whether fish should be considered wildlife or commodities! <o the researchers simpl state that the high number of large species included in this decline indicates that countless species of fish are li$el threatened and that effective MPAs will need to have a ma7or role in safeguarding man of these species! Even though there are about 5,000 marine protected areas (MPAs) around the planet, less than two percent of the worlds oceans are full protected! "he number of MPAs is increasing rapidl , but the benefits the generate are still difficult to predict! #t would be nice to $now if the ones we%ve alread created are effective! &ith such a small percentage of our seas set aside for safe$eeping, understanding what ma$es an MPA effective becomes critical for conservation! A team of researchers, led b 'raham (! Edgar from the )niversit of "asmania, set out to uncover the factors that determine an MPA%s success! As a b product of these efforts, the learned that successful MPAs better protected large fish, which were declining b *0 to +0 percent outside the areas! ,ut the also found ver few of the e-isting MPAs could be considered successes! Protected areas suffer from similar issues to endangered species in that sometimes the protection e-ists solel on paper! "hese .paper par$s/ lac$ the funding and manpower to enforce rules against illegal harvesting! 0ther issues, such as regulations that allow harmful harvesting methods or the movement of animals between the reserve and waters that lie outside its boundaries, can also influence whether MPAs live up to their full potential! "hese socioeconomic and biological factors ma$e it difficult to predict the conservation benefits of new MPAs, as success is variable among even well1designed ones! )nli$e previous studies, which onl assessed one factor at a time, Edgars new surve loo$ed at how five $e features interact to influence success2 degree of protection, level of enforcement, age, si3e, and pro-imit ! )sing data collected from dive surve s at *4 MPAs around the world, the team loo$ed at how biomass, abundance, and diversit of species varied among each reserve! &hen par$s had a combination of five features, the conservation benefits of MPAs increased e-ponentiall ! "hese $e features were2 full protected (no e-tractive activities allowed), well enforced, old (more than 50 ears), large (over 500 s6uare $ilometers), and isolated b deep water or sand! MPAs with four or five of these $e features were regarded as effective, while MPAs with fewer than three of them appeared to have nearl no value for conservation! 0f the *4 MPAs investigated, onl four possessed all five $e features while 7ust another five had four of them! "ogether, these MPAs account for 50 percent of the total surve ed, which the authors conclude probabl overstates the true proportion of effective MPAs worldwide!

&hile all five factors are hard to achieve8onl a small subset of MPAs are li$el to 6ualif as large8 the authors sa that most MPAs could achieve the other four! 9et in a related :ews and ;iews article, ,en7amin <! =alpern of the )niversit of >alifornia at <anta ,arbara points out that most managers dont have the option of placing protected areas in isolated locations! )nfortunatel , that was the most significant factor in determining a reserve%s effectiveness! Either wa , the path forward is clear2 sta$eholders, managers, and politicians need to wor$ together to hit as man of these five goals as possible in future MPAs! "he stud was also telling in that it used effective MPAs as a standard for what unfished environments loo$ li$e, allowing the first global assessment of the magnitude of fishing effects! ,ased on these numbers, the authors estimate that fish biomass has declined about two1thirds from historical baselines as a result of fishing! ?or large fish and shar$s, the reduction in biomass was even greater2 *0 percent of large fish, *@ percent of groupers, *5 percent of 7ac$s, and +A percent of shar$s have apparentl been removed from reefs b fishing! "he researchers note that a reduction of *0 percent coincides with the threshold value used to categori3e species as criticall endangered on the #)>: Bed Cist! Appl ing Bed Cist thresholds to e-ploited fish stoc$s is controversial, largel due to a difference in beliefs as to whether fish should be considered wildlife or commodities! <o the researchers simpl state that the high number of large species included in this decline indicates that countless species of fish are li$el threatened and that effective MPAs will need to have a ma7or role in safeguarding man of these species! Even though there are about 5,000 marine protected areas (MPAs) around the planet, less than two percent of the worlds oceans are full protected! "he number of MPAs is increasing rapidl , but the benefits the generate are still difficult to predict! #t would be nice to $now if the ones we%ve alread created are effective! &ith such a small percentage of our seas set aside for safe$eeping, understanding what ma$es an MPA effective becomes critical for conservation! A team of researchers, led b 'raham (! Edgar from the )niversit of "asmania, set out to uncover the factors that determine an MPA%s success! As a b product of these efforts, the learned that successful MPAs better protected large fish, which were declining b *0 to +0 percent outside the areas! ,ut the also found ver few of the e-isting MPAs could be considered successes! Protected areas suffer from similar issues to endangered species in that sometimes the protection e-ists solel on paper! "hese .paper par$s/ lac$ the funding and manpower to enforce rules against illegal harvesting! 0ther issues, such as regulations that allow harmful harvesting methods or the movement of animals between the reserve and waters that lie outside its boundaries, can also influence whether MPAs live up to their full potential! "hese socioeconomic and biological factors ma$e it difficult to predict the conservation benefits of new MPAs, as success is variable among even well1designed ones! )nli$e previous studies, which onl assessed one factor at a time, Edgars new surve loo$ed at how five $e features interact to influence success2 degree of protection, level of enforcement, age, si3e, and pro-imit ! )sing data collected from dive surve s at *4 MPAs around the world, the team loo$ed at how biomass, abundance, and diversit of species varied among each reserve! &hen par$s had a combination of five features, the conservation benefits of MPAs increased e-ponentiall ! "hese $e features were2 full protected (no e-tractive activities allowed), well enforced, old (more than 50 ears), large (over 500 s6uare $ilometers), and isolated b deep water or sand! MPAs with four or five of these $e features were regarded as effective, while MPAs with fewer than

three of them appeared to have nearl no value for conservation! 0f the *4 MPAs investigated, onl four possessed all five $e features while 7ust another five had four of them! "ogether, these MPAs account for 50 percent of the total surve ed, which the authors conclude probabl overstates the true proportion of effective MPAs worldwide! &hile all five factors are hard to achieve8onl a small subset of MPAs are li$el to 6ualif as large8 the authors sa that most MPAs could achieve the other four! 9et in a related :ews and ;iews article, ,en7amin <! =alpern of the )niversit of >alifornia at <anta ,arbara points out that most managers dont have the option of placing protected areas in isolated locations! )nfortunatel , that was the most significant factor in determining a reserve%s effectiveness! Either wa , the path forward is clear2 sta$eholders, managers, and politicians need to wor$ together to hit as man of these five goals as possible in future MPAs! "he stud was also telling in that it used effective MPAs as a standard for what unfished environments loo$ li$e, allowing the first global assessment of the magnitude of fishing effects! ,ased on these numbers, the authors estimate that fish biomass has declined about two1thirds from historical baselines as a result of fishing! ?or large fish and shar$s, the reduction in biomass was even greater2 *0 percent of large fish, *@ percent of groupers, *5 percent of 7ac$s, and +A percent of shar$s have apparentl been removed from reefs b fishing! "he researchers note that a reduction of *0 percent coincides with the threshold value used to categori3e species as criticall endangered on the #)>: Bed Cist! Appl ing Bed Cist thresholds to e-ploited fish stoc$s is controversial, largel due to a difference in beliefs as to whether fish should be considered wildlife or commodities! <o the researchers simpl state that the high number of large species included in this decline indicates that countless species of fish are li$el threatened and that effective MPAs will need to have a ma7or role in safeguarding man of these species! Even though there are about 5,000 marine protected areas (MPAs) around the planet, less than two percent of the worlds oceans are full protected! "he number of MPAs is increasing rapidl , but the benefits the generate are still difficult to predict! #t would be nice to $now if the ones we%ve alread created are effective! &ith such a small percentage of our seas set aside for safe$eeping, understanding what ma$es an MPA effective becomes critical for conservation! A team of researchers, led b 'raham (! Edgar from the )niversit of "asmania, set out to uncover the factors that determine an MPA%s success! As a b product of these efforts, the learned that successful MPAs better protected large fish, which were declining b *0 to +0 percent outside the areas! ,ut the also found ver few of the e-isting MPAs could be considered successes! Protected areas suffer from similar issues to endangered species in that sometimes the protection e-ists solel on paper! "hese .paper par$s/ lac$ the funding and manpower to enforce rules against illegal harvesting! 0ther issues, such as regulations that allow harmful harvesting methods or the movement of animals between the reserve and waters that lie outside its boundaries, can also influence whether MPAs live up to their full potential! "hese socioeconomic and biological factors ma$e it difficult to predict the conservation benefits of new MPAs, as success is variable among even well1designed ones! )nli$e previous studies, which onl assessed one factor at a time, Edgars new surve loo$ed at how five $e features interact to influence success2 degree of protection, level of enforcement, age, si3e, and pro-imit ! )sing data collected from dive surve s at *4 MPAs around the world, the team loo$ed at how biomass, abundance, and diversit of species varied among each reserve! &hen par$s had a combination of five

features, the conservation benefits of MPAs increased e-ponentiall ! "hese $e features were2 full protected (no e-tractive activities allowed), well enforced, old (more than 50 ears), large (over 500 s6uare $ilometers), and isolated b deep water or sand! MPAs with four or five of these $e features were regarded as effective, while MPAs with fewer than three of them appeared to have nearl no value for conservation! 0f the *4 MPAs investigated, onl four possessed all five $e features while 7ust another five had four of them! "ogether, these MPAs account for 50 percent of the total surve ed, which the authors conclude probabl overstates the true proportion of effective MPAs worldwide! &hile all five factors are hard to achieve8onl a small subset of MPAs are li$el to 6ualif as large8 the authors sa that most MPAs could achieve the other four! 9et in a related :ews and ;iews article, ,en7amin <! =alpern of the )niversit of >alifornia at <anta ,arbara points out that most managers dont have the option of placing protected areas in isolated locations! )nfortunatel , that was the most significant factor in determining a reserve%s effectiveness! Either wa , the path forward is clear2 sta$eholders, managers, and politicians need to wor$ together to hit as man of these five goals as possible in future MPAs! "he stud was also telling in that it used effective MPAs as a standard for what unfished environments loo$ li$e, allowing the first global assessment of the magnitude of fishing effects! ,ased on these numbers, the authors estimate that fish biomass has declined about two1thirds from historical baselines as a result of fishing! ?or large fish and shar$s, the reduction in biomass was even greater2 *0 percent of large fish, *@ percent of groupers, *5 percent of 7ac$s, and +A percent of shar$s have apparentl been removed from reefs b fishing! "he researchers note that a reduction of *0 percent coincides with the threshold value used to categori3e species as criticall endangered on the #)>: Bed Cist! Appl ing Bed Cist thresholds to e-ploited fish stoc$s is controversial, largel due to a difference in beliefs as to whether fish should be considered wildlife or commodities! <o the researchers simpl state that the high number of large species included in this decline indicates that countless species of fish are li$el threatened and that effective MPAs will need to have a ma7or role in safeguarding man of these species! Even though there are about 5,000 marine protected areas (MPAs) around the planet, less than two percent of the worlds oceans are full protected! "he number of MPAs is increasing rapidl , but the benefits the generate are still difficult to predict! #t would be nice to $now if the ones we%ve alread created are effective! &ith such a small percentage of our seas set aside for safe$eeping, understanding what ma$es an MPA effective becomes critical for conservation! A team of researchers, led b 'raham (! Edgar from the )niversit of "asmania, set out to uncover the factors that determine an MPA%s success! As a b product of these efforts, the learned that successful MPAs better protected large fish, which were declining b *0 to +0 percent outside the areas! ,ut the also found ver few of the e-isting MPAs could be considered successes! Protected areas suffer from similar issues to endangered species in that sometimes the protection e-ists solel on paper! "hese .paper par$s/ lac$ the funding and manpower to enforce rules against illegal harvesting! 0ther issues, such as regulations that allow harmful harvesting methods or the movement of animals between the reserve and waters that lie outside its boundaries, can also influence whether MPAs live up to their full potential! "hese socioeconomic and biological factors ma$e it difficult to predict the conservation benefits of new MPAs, as success is variable among even well1designed ones! )nli$e previous studies, which onl

assessed one factor at a time, Edgars new surve loo$ed at how five $e features interact to influence success2 degree of protection, level of enforcement, age, si3e, and pro-imit ! )sing data collected from dive surve s at *4 MPAs around the world, the team loo$ed at how biomass, abundance, and diversit of species varied among each reserve! &hen par$s had a combination of five features, the conservation benefits of MPAs increased e-ponentiall ! "hese $e features were2 full protected (no e-tractive activities allowed), well enforced, old (more than 50 ears), large (over 500 s6uare $ilometers), and isolated b deep water or sand! MPAs with four or five of these $e features were regarded as effective, while MPAs with fewer than three of them appeared to have nearl no value for conservation! 0f the *4 MPAs investigated, onl four possessed all five $e features while 7ust another five had four of them! "ogether, these MPAs account for 50 percent of the total surve ed, which the authors conclude probabl overstates the true proportion of effective MPAs worldwide! &hile all five factors are hard to achieve8onl a small subset of MPAs are li$el to 6ualif as large8 the authors sa that most MPAs could achieve the other four! 9et in a related :ews and ;iews article, ,en7amin <! =alpern of the )niversit of >alifornia at <anta ,arbara points out that most managers dont have the option of placing protected areas in isolated locations! )nfortunatel , that was the most significant factor in determining a reserve%s effectiveness! Either wa , the path forward is clear2 sta$eholders, managers, and politicians need to wor$ together to hit as man of these five goals as possible in future MPAs! "he stud was also telling in that it used effective MPAs as a standard for what unfished environments loo$ li$e, allowing the first global assessment of the magnitude of fishing effects! ,ased on these numbers, the authors estimate that fish biomass has declined about two1thirds from historical baselines as a result of fishing! ?or large fish and shar$s, the reduction in biomass was even greater2 *0 percent of large fish, *@ percent of groupers, *5 percent of 7ac$s, and +A percent of shar$s have apparentl been removed from reefs b fishing! "he researchers note that a reduction of *0 percent coincides with the threshold value used to categori3e species as criticall endangered on the #)>: Bed Cist! Appl ing Bed Cist thresholds to e-ploited fish stoc$s is controversial, largel due to a difference in beliefs as to whether fish should be considered wildlife or commodities! <o the researchers simpl state that the high number of large species included in this decline indicates that countless species of fish are li$el threatened and that effective MPAs will need to have a ma7or role in safeguarding man of these species! Even though there are about 5,000 marine protected areas (MPAs) around the planet, less than two percent of the worlds oceans are full protected! "he number of MPAs is increasing rapidl , but the benefits the generate are still difficult to predict! #t would be nice to $now if the ones we%ve alread created are effective! &ith such a small percentage of our seas set aside for safe$eeping, understanding what ma$es an MPA effective becomes critical for conservation! A team of researchers, led b 'raham (! Edgar from the )niversit of "asmania, set out to uncover the factors that determine an MPA%s success! As a b product of these efforts, the learned that successful MPAs better protected large fish, which were declining b *0 to +0 percent outside the areas! ,ut the also found ver few of the e-isting MPAs could be considered successes! Protected areas suffer from similar issues to endangered species in that sometimes the protection e-ists solel on paper! "hese .paper par$s/ lac$ the funding and manpower to enforce rules against illegal harvesting! 0ther issues, such as regulations that allow harmful harvesting methods or the movement of

animals between the reserve and waters that lie outside its boundaries, can also influence whether MPAs live up to their full potential! "hese socioeconomic and biological factors ma$e it difficult to predict the conservation benefits of new MPAs, as success is variable among even well1designed ones! )nli$e previous studies, which onl assessed one factor at a time, Edgars new surve loo$ed at how five $e features interact to influence success2 degree of protection, level of enforcement, age, si3e, and pro-imit ! )sing data collected from dive surve s at *4 MPAs around the world, the team loo$ed at how biomass, abundance, and diversit of species varied among each reserve! &hen par$s had a combination of five features, the conservation benefits of MPAs increased e-ponentiall ! "hese $e features were2 full protected (no e-tractive activities allowed), well enforced, old (more than 50 ears), large (over 500 s6uare $ilometers), and isolated b deep water or sand! MPAs with four or five of these $e features were regarded as effective, while MPAs with fewer than three of them appeared to have nearl no value for conservation! 0f the *4 MPAs investigated, onl four possessed all five $e features while 7ust another five had four of them! "ogether, these MPAs account for 50 percent of the total surve ed, which the authors conclude probabl overstates the true proportion of effective MPAs worldwide! &hile all five factors are hard to achieve8onl a small subset of MPAs are li$el to 6ualif as large8 the authors sa that most MPAs could achieve the other four! 9et in a related :ews and ;iews article, ,en7amin <! =alpern of the )niversit of >alifornia at <anta ,arbara points out that most managers dont have the option of placing protected areas in isolated locations! )nfortunatel , that was the most significant factor in determining a reserve%s effectiveness! Either wa , the path forward is clear2 sta$eholders, managers, and politicians need to wor$ together to hit as man of these five goals as possible in future MPAs! "he stud was also telling in that it used effective MPAs as a standard for what unfished environments loo$ li$e, allowing the first global assessment of the magnitude of fishing effects! ,ased on these numbers, the authors estimate that fish biomass has declined about two1thirds from historical baselines as a result of fishing! ?or large fish and shar$s, the reduction in biomass was even greater2 *0 percent of large fish, *@ percent of groupers, *5 percent of 7ac$s, and +A percent of shar$s have apparentl been removed from reefs b fishing! "he researchers note that a reduction of *0 percent coincides with the threshold value used to categori3e species as criticall endangered on the #)>: Bed Cist! Appl ing Bed Cist thresholds to e-ploited fish stoc$s is controversial, largel due to a difference in beliefs as to whether fish should be considered wildlife or commodities! <o the researchers simpl state that the high number of large species included in this decline indicates that countless species of fish are li$el threatened and that effective MPAs will need to have a ma7or role in safeguarding man of these species! Even though there are about 5,000 marine protected areas (MPAs) around the planet, less than two percent of the worlds oceans are full protected! "he number of MPAs is increasing rapidl , but the benefits the generate are still difficult to predict! #t would be nice to $now if the ones we%ve alread created are effective! &ith such a small percentage of our seas set aside for safe$eeping, understanding what ma$es an MPA effective becomes critical for conservation! A team of researchers, led b 'raham (! Edgar from the )niversit of "asmania, set out to uncover the factors that determine an MPA%s success! As a b product of these efforts, the learned that successful MPAs better protected large fish, which were declining b *0 to +0 percent outside the areas! ,ut the also found ver few of the e-isting MPAs could be

considered successes! Protected areas suffer from similar issues to endangered species in that sometimes the protection e-ists solel on paper! "hese .paper par$s/ lac$ the funding and manpower to enforce rules against illegal harvesting! 0ther issues, such as regulations that allow harmful harvesting methods or the movement of animals between the reserve and waters that lie outside its boundaries, can also influence whether MPAs live up to their full potential! "hese socioeconomic and biological factors ma$e it difficult to predict the conservation benefits of new MPAs, as success is variable among even well1designed ones! )nli$e previous studies, which onl assessed one factor at a time, Edgars new surve loo$ed at how five $e features interact to influence success2 degree of protection, level of enforcement, age, si3e, and pro-imit ! )sing data collected from dive surve s at *4 MPAs around the world, the team loo$ed at how biomass, abundance, and diversit of species varied among each reserve! &hen par$s had a combination of five features, the conservation benefits of MPAs increased e-ponentiall ! "hese $e features were2 full protected (no e-tractive activities allowed), well enforced, old (more than 50 ears), large (over 500 s6uare $ilometers), and isolated b deep water or sand! MPAs with four or five of these $e features were regarded as effective, while MPAs with fewer than three of them appeared to have nearl no value for conservation! 0f the *4 MPAs investigated, onl four possessed all five $e features while 7ust another five had four of them! "ogether, these MPAs account for 50 percent of the total surve ed, which the authors conclude probabl overstates the true proportion of effective MPAs worldwide! &hile all five factors are hard to achieve8onl a small subset of MPAs are li$el to 6ualif as large8 the authors sa that most MPAs could achieve the other four! 9et in a related :ews and ;iews article, ,en7amin <! =alpern of the )niversit of >alifornia at <anta ,arbara points out that most managers dont have the option of placing protected areas in isolated locations! )nfortunatel , that was the most significant factor in determining a reserve%s effectiveness! Either wa , the path forward is clear2 sta$eholders, managers, and politicians need to wor$ together to hit as man of these five goals as possible in future MPAs! "he stud was also telling in that it used effective MPAs as a standard for what unfished environments loo$ li$e, allowing the first global assessment of the magnitude of fishing effects! ,ased on these numbers, the authors estimate that fish biomass has declined about two1thirds from historical baselines as a result of fishing! ?or large fish and shar$s, the reduction in biomass was even greater2 *0 percent of large fish, *@ percent of groupers, *5 percent of 7ac$s, and +A percent of shar$s have apparentl been removed from reefs b fishing! "he researchers note that a reduction of *0 percent coincides with the threshold value used to categori3e species as criticall endangered on the #)>: Bed Cist! Appl ing Bed Cist thresholds to e-ploited fish stoc$s is controversial, largel due to a difference in beliefs as to whether fish should be considered wildlife or commodities! <o the researchers simpl state that the high number of large species included in this decline indicates that countless species of fish are li$el threatened and that effective MPAs will need to have a ma7or role in safeguarding man of these species! Even though there are about 5,000 marine protected areas (MPAs) around the planet, less than two percent of the worlds oceans are full protected! "he number of MPAs is increasing rapidl , but the benefits the generate are still difficult to predict! #t would be nice to $now if the ones we%ve alread created are effective!

&ith such a small percentage of our seas set aside for safe$eeping, understanding what ma$es an MPA effective becomes critical for conservation! A team of researchers, led b 'raham (! Edgar from the )niversit of "asmania, set out to uncover the factors that determine an MPA%s success! As a b product of these efforts, the learned that successful MPAs better protected large fish, which were declining b *0 to +0 percent outside the areas! ,ut the also found ver few of the e-isting MPAs could be considered successes! Protected areas suffer from similar issues to endangered species in that sometimes the protection e-ists solel on paper! "hese .paper par$s/ lac$ the funding and manpower to enforce rules against illegal harvesting! 0ther issues, such as regulations that allow harmful harvesting methods or the movement of animals between the reserve and waters that lie outside its boundaries, can also influence whether MPAs live up to their full potential! "hese socioeconomic and biological factors ma$e it difficult to predict the conservation benefits of new MPAs, as success is variable among even well1designed ones! )nli$e previous studies, which onl assessed one factor at a time, Edgars new surve loo$ed at how five $e features interact to influence success2 degree of protection, level of enforcement, age, si3e, and pro-imit ! )sing data collected from dive surve s at *4 MPAs around the world, the team loo$ed at how biomass, abundance, and diversit of species varied among each reserve! &hen par$s had a combination of five features, the conservation benefits of MPAs increased e-ponentiall ! "hese $e features were2 full protected (no e-tractive activities allowed), well enforced, old (more than 50 ears), large (over 500 s6uare $ilometers), and isolated b deep water or sand! MPAs with four or five of these $e features were regarded as effective, while MPAs with fewer than three of them appeared to have nearl no value for conservation! 0f the *4 MPAs investigated, onl four possessed all five $e features while 7ust another five had four of them! "ogether, these MPAs account for 50 percent of the total surve ed, which the authors conclude probabl overstates the true proportion of effective MPAs worldwide! &hile all five factors are hard to achieve8onl a small subset of MPAs are li$el to 6ualif as large8 the authors sa that most MPAs could achieve the other four! 9et in a related :ews and ;iews article, ,en7amin <! =alpern of the )niversit of >alifornia at <anta ,arbara points out that most managers dont have the option of placing protected areas in isolated locations! )nfortunatel , that was the most significant factor in determining a reserve%s effectiveness! Either wa , the path forward is clear2 sta$eholders, managers, and politicians need to wor$ together to hit as man of these five goals as possible in future MPAs! "he stud was also telling in that it used effective MPAs as a standard for what unfished environments loo$ li$e, allowing the first global assessment of the magnitude of fishing effects! ,ased on these numbers, the authors estimate that fish biomass has declined about two1thirds from historical baselines as a result of fishing! ?or large fish and shar$s, the reduction in biomass was even greater2 *0 percent of large fish, *@ percent of groupers, *5 percent of 7ac$s, and +A percent of shar$s have apparentl been removed from reefs b fishing! "he researchers note that a reduction of *0 percent coincides with the threshold value used to categori3e species as criticall endangered on the #)>: Bed Cist! Appl ing Bed Cist thresholds to e-ploited fish stoc$s is controversial, largel due to a difference in beliefs as to whether fish should be considered wildlife or commodities! <o the researchers simpl state that the high number of large species included in this decline indicates that countless species of fish are li$el threatened and that effective MPAs will need to have a ma7or role in safeguarding man of these species!

Even though there are about 5,000 marine protected areas (MPAs) around the planet, less than two percent of the worlds oceans are full protected! "he number of MPAs is increasing rapidl , but the benefits the generate are still difficult to predict! #t would be nice to $now if the ones we%ve alread created are effective! &ith such a small percentage of our seas set aside for safe$eeping, understanding what ma$es an MPA effective becomes critical for conservation! A team of researchers, led b 'raham (! Edgar from the )niversit of "asmania, set out to uncover the factors that determine an MPA%s success! As a b product of these efforts, the learned that successful MPAs better protected large fish, which were declining b *0 to +0 percent outside the areas! ,ut the also found ver few of the e-isting MPAs could be considered successes! Protected areas suffer from similar issues to endangered species in that sometimes the protection e-ists solel on paper! "hese .paper par$s/ lac$ the funding and manpower to enforce rules against illegal harvesting! 0ther issues, such as regulations that allow harmful harvesting methods or the movement of animals between the reserve and waters that lie outside its boundaries, can also influence whether MPAs live up to their full potential! "hese socioeconomic and biological factors ma$e it difficult to predict the conservation benefits of new MPAs, as success is variable among even well1designed ones! )nli$e previous studies, which onl assessed one factor at a time, Edgars new surve loo$ed at how five $e features interact to influence success2 degree of protection, level of enforcement, age, si3e, and pro-imit ! )sing data collected from dive surve s at *4 MPAs around the world, the team loo$ed at how biomass, abundance, and diversit of species varied among each reserve! &hen par$s had a combination of five features, the conservation benefits of MPAs increased e-ponentiall ! "hese $e features were2 full protected (no e-tractive activities allowed), well enforced, old (more than 50 ears), large (over 500 s6uare $ilometers), and isolated b deep water or sand! MPAs with four or five of these $e features were regarded as effective, while MPAs with fewer than three of them appeared to have nearl no value for conservation! 0f the *4 MPAs investigated, onl four possessed all five $e features while 7ust another five had four of them! "ogether, these MPAs account for 50 percent of the total surve ed, which the authors conclude probabl overstates the true proportion of effective MPAs worldwide! &hile all five factors are hard to achieve8onl a small subset of MPAs are li$el to 6ualif as large8 the authors sa that most MPAs could achieve the other four! 9et in a related :ews and ;iews article, ,en7amin <! =alpern of the )niversit of >alifornia at <anta ,arbara points out that most managers dont have the option of placing protected areas in isolated locations! )nfortunatel , that was the most significant factor in determining a reserve%s effectiveness! Either wa , the path forward is clear2 sta$eholders, managers, and politicians need to wor$ together to hit as man of these five goals as possible in future MPAs! "he stud was also telling in that it used effective MPAs as a standard for what unfished environments loo$ li$e, allowing the first global assessment of the magnitude of fishing effects! ,ased on these numbers, the authors estimate that fish biomass has declined about two1thirds from historical baselines as a result of fishing! ?or large fish and shar$s, the reduction in biomass was even greater2 *0 percent of large fish, *@ percent of groupers, *5 percent of 7ac$s, and +A percent of shar$s have apparentl been removed from reefs b fishing! "he researchers note that a reduction of *0 percent coincides with the threshold value used to categori3e species as criticall endangered on the #)>: Bed Cist! Appl ing Bed Cist thresholds to e-ploited fish stoc$s is controversial, largel due to a difference in

beliefs as to whether fish should be considered wildlife or commodities! <o the researchers simpl state that the high number of large species included in this decline indicates that countless species of fish are li$el threatened and that effective MPAs will need to have a ma7or role in safeguarding man of these species! Even though there are about 5,000 marine protected areas (MPAs) around the planet, less than two percent of the worlds oceans are full protected! "he number of MPAs is increasing rapidl , but the benefits the generate are still difficult to predict! #t would be nice to $now if the ones we%ve alread created are effective! &ith such a small percentage of our seas set aside for safe$eeping, understanding what ma$es an MPA effective becomes critical for conservation! A team of researchers, led b 'raham (! Edgar from the )niversit of "asmania, set out to uncover the factors that determine an MPA%s success! As a b product of these efforts, the learned that successful MPAs better protected large fish, which were declining b *0 to +0 percent outside the areas! ,ut the also found ver few of the e-isting MPAs could be considered successes! Protected areas suffer from similar issues to endangered species in that sometimes the protection e-ists solel on paper! "hese .paper par$s/ lac$ the funding and manpower to enforce rules against illegal harvesting! 0ther issues, such as regulations that allow harmful harvesting methods or the movement of animals between the reserve and waters that lie outside its boundaries, can also influence whether MPAs live up to their full potential! "hese socioeconomic and biological factors ma$e it difficult to predict the conservation benefits of new MPAs, as success is variable among even well1designed ones! )nli$e previous studies, which onl assessed one factor at a time, Edgars new surve loo$ed at how five $e features interact to influence success2 degree of protection, level of enforcement, age, si3e, and pro-imit ! )sing data collected from dive surve s at *4 MPAs around the world, the team loo$ed at how biomass, abundance, and diversit of species varied among each reserve! &hen par$s had a combination of five features, the conservation benefits of MPAs increased e-ponentiall ! "hese $e features were2 full protected (no e-tractive activities allowed), well enforced, old (more than 50 ears), large (over 500 s6uare $ilometers), and isolated b deep water or sand! MPAs with four or five of these $e features were regarded as effective, while MPAs with fewer than three of them appeared to have nearl no value for conservation! 0f the *4 MPAs investigated, onl four possessed all five $e features while 7ust another five had four of them! "ogether, these MPAs account for 50 percent of the total surve ed, which the authors conclude probabl overstates the true proportion of effective MPAs worldwide! &hile all five factors are hard to achieve8onl a small subset of MPAs are li$el to 6ualif as large8 the authors sa that most MPAs could achieve the other four! 9et in a related :ews and ;iews article, ,en7amin <! =alpern of the )niversit of >alifornia at <anta ,arbara points out that most managers dont have the option of placing protected areas in isolated locations! )nfortunatel , that was the most significant factor in determining a reserve%s effectiveness! Either wa , the path forward is clear2 sta$eholders, managers, and politicians need to wor$ together to hit as man of these five goals as possible in future MPAs! "he stud was also telling in that it used effective MPAs as a standard for what unfished environments loo$ li$e, allowing the first global assessment of the magnitude of fishing effects! ,ased on these numbers, the authors estimate that fish biomass has declined about two1thirds from historical baselines as a result of fishing! ?or large fish and shar$s, the reduction in biomass was even greater2 *0 percent of large fish, *@

percent of groupers, *5 percent of 7ac$s, and +A percent of shar$s have apparentl been removed from reefs b fishing! "he researchers note that a reduction of *0 percent coincides with the threshold value used to categori3e species as criticall endangered on the #)>: Bed Cist! Appl ing Bed Cist thresholds to e-ploited fish stoc$s is controversial, largel due to a difference in beliefs as to whether fish should be considered wildlife or commodities! <o the researchers simpl state that the high number of large species included in this decline indicates that countless species of fish are li$el threatened and that effective MPAs will need to have a ma7or role in safeguarding man of these species!