There is growing concern that the world’s oceans are in crisis because of climate change [1], overfishing [2], pollution [3] and other stresses. One response is creating marine protected areas [4], or ocean parks, to conserve sea life and key habitats that support it, such as coral reefs.

In 2000, marine protected areas covered just 0.7 percent [5] of the world’s oceans. Today 6.4 percent [5] of the oceans are protected – about 9 million square miles. In 2010, 196 countries set a goal of protecting 10 percent [6] of the world’s oceans by 2020.

Ocean parks that are very large and often remote account for most recent progress toward this goal, but they also are controversial [7]. Some ecologists view them as the most effective way to protect ecosystems, deep-sea and open ocean habitats and large, highly migratory species [8]. Critics say they may divert attention [9] from conservation priorities closer to more densely populated areas, and are hard to monitor and enforce [10]. And social scientists have questioned whether protecting such large zones infringes on indigenous people’s rights [11].

Continue reading To succeed, large ocean sanctuaries need to benefit both sea life and people [12] in The Conversation. [13]