Overhauling ocean spatial planning to improve marine megafauna conservation

Ana Micaela Martins Sequeira*, Graeme Clive Hays, David W. Sims, Víctor M. Eguíluz, Jorge P. Rodríguez, Michelle R. Heupel, Rob Harcourt, Hannah Calich, Nuno Queiroz, Daniel Paul Costa, Juan Fernández-Gracia, Luciana C. Ferreira, Simon David Goldsworthy, Mark A. Hindell, Mary-Anne Lea, Mark G. Meekan, Anthony M. Pagano, Scott A. Shaffer, Julia Reisser, Michele ThumsMichael Weise, Carlos M. Duarte

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    67 Citations (Scopus)
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    Abstract

    Tracking data have led to evidence-based conservation of marine megafauna, but a disconnect remains between the many 1000s of individual animals that have been tracked and the use of these data in conservation and management actions. Furthermore, the focus of most conservation efforts is within Exclusive Economic Zones despite the ability of these species to move 1000s of kilometers across multiple national jurisdictions. To assist the goal of the United Nations General Assembly’s recent effort to negotiate a global treaty to conserve biodiversity on the high seas, we propose the development of a new frontier in dynamic marine spatial management. We argue that a global approach combining tracked movements of marine megafauna and human activities at-sea, and using existing and emerging technologies (e.g., through new tracking devices and big data approaches) can be applied to deliver near real-time diagnostics on existing risks and threats to mitigate global risks for marine megafauna. With technology developments over the next decade expected to catalyze the potential to survey marine animals and human activities in ever more detail and at global scales, the development of dynamic predictive tools based on near real-time tracking and environmental data will become crucial to address increasing risks. Such global tools for dynamic spatial and temporal management will, however, require extensive synoptic data updates and will be dependent on a shift to a culture of data sharing and open access. We propose a global mechanism to store and make such data available in near real-time, enabling a holistic view of space use by marine megafauna and humans that would significantly accelerate efforts to mitigate impacts and improve conservation and management of marine megafauna.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number639
    Pages (from-to)1-12
    Number of pages12
    JournalFrontiers in Marine Science
    Volume6
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Nov 2019

    Bibliographical note

    Copyright the Author(s) 2019. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

    Keywords

    • global ocean conservation and policy
    • real-time management
    • marine megafauna tracking data
    • Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction
    • global repository
    • improved data sharing
    • Global Ocean Observing System

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