Contribution of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) towards ecosystem services and fisheries: An experts’ perspective from Mediterranean MPAs
Abstract
The Ecosystem Service framework is essential for understanding the role of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in delivering conservation benefits and societal goods such as fisheries. A perception analysis was conducted to capture the views of 33 experts on MPA-associated ecosystem services. Moreover, using The MPA Guide, we applied a scenario-based approach to assess the potential impact of different degrees of protection (i.e., fully, highly, lightly, and minimally protected levels) on fisheries-related ecosystem services. An expert-based evaluation explored the influence of these protection levels on fisheries-related ecosystem services across two prospective timeframes, set at 3- and 7-years post-implementation. Findings indicate a broad consensus on the perceived importance of cultural services attributed to MPAs. Provisioning MPA-associated ecosystem services are moderate, and their relevance varies by experiential and disciplinary backgrounds of experts. Fully and highly protected levels were perceived as the most effective in enhancing fisheries-related ecosystem services, particularly through increased fish abundance, individual size, and biomass. While provisioning fisheries-related ecosystem services were clearly perceived as increasing over time, especially under higher protection levels, the trends for regulation/maintenance and cultural fisheries-related ecosystem services were more subtle. This study highlights the need for adaptive protection strategies that account for temporal scales, reinforcing the role of long-term monitoring frameworks that capture both socioeconomic and social-ecological outcomes. Moreover, by introducing a qualitative cost-effective expert judgment, this methodology can be implemented in data-poor contexts such as the Mediterranean region. The findings provide valuable insights for policymakers and MPA planners striving to implement the EU 2030 Biodiversity Strategy in the Mediterranean Sea in terms of design, zoning, and governance of strictly protected MPAs that are both ecologically effective and socially acceptable.
Related
- Evidence of within- and between-stock connectivity in Mediterranean fisheries challenges the stock unit paradigm
- Mapping bycatch risk hotspots for marine megafauna in the Mediterranean: contrasting artisanal and industrial fisheries
- Ecosystem-based harvest strategies in regional fisheries management
- Key issues for European ecosystem based fisheries management
- Ecosystem service gradients at protected area borders reveal multiple patterns and prevalent management conflicts
BibTeX
@article{boubekri2026contribution,
title = {{Contribution of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) towards ecosystem services and fisheries: An experts’ perspective from Mediterranean MPAs}},
author = {Ibrahim Boubekri and Johanna Schumacher and Miriam von Thenen and Astrid Sánchez-Jiménez and Anna Lloveras and Rafael Sardá and Rachid Amara and Gerald Schernewski},
journal = {Ocean \& Coastal Management},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.108061},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05820767v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Contribution of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) towards ecosystem services and fisheries: An experts’ perspective from Mediterranean MPAs
AU - Ibrahim Boubekri
AU - Johanna Schumacher
AU - Miriam von Thenen
AU - Astrid Sánchez-Jiménez
AU - Anna Lloveras
AU - Rafael Sardá
AU - Rachid Amara
AU - Gerald Schernewski
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/26
JO - Ocean & Coastal Management
DO - 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.108061
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05820767v1
AB - The Ecosystem Service framework is essential for understanding the role of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in delivering conservation benefits and societal goods such as fisheries. A perception analysis was conducted to capture the views of 33 experts on MPA-associated ecosystem services. Moreover, using The MPA Guide, we applied a scenario-based approach to assess the potential impact of different degrees of protection (i.e., fully, highly, lightly, and minimally protected levels) on fisheries-related ecosystem services. An expert-based evaluation explored the influence of these protection levels on fisheries-related ecosystem services across two prospective timeframes, set at 3- and 7-years post-implementation. Findings indicate a broad consensus on the perceived importance of cultural services attributed to MPAs. Provisioning MPA-associated ecosystem services are moderate, and their relevance varies by experiential and disciplinary backgrounds of experts. Fully and highly protected levels were perceived as the most effective in enhancing fisheries-related ecosystem services, particularly through increased fish abundance, individual size, and biomass. While provisioning fisheries-related ecosystem services were clearly perceived as increasing over time, especially under higher protection levels, the trends for regulation/maintenance and cultural fisheries-related ecosystem services were more subtle. This study highlights the need for adaptive protection strategies that account for temporal scales, reinforcing the role of long-term monitoring frameworks that capture both socioeconomic and social-ecological outcomes. Moreover, by introducing a qualitative cost-effective expert judgment, this methodology can be implemented in data-poor contexts such as the Mediterranean region. The findings provide valuable insights for policymakers and MPA planners striving to implement the EU 2030 Biodiversity Strategy in the Mediterranean Sea in terms of design, zoning, and governance of strictly protected MPAs that are both ecologically effective and socially acceptable.
SN - 0964-5691
SN - 1873-524X
ER -