Marine Protected Areas: Hitting the Target but Forgetting the Goal
Fishes on a deep reef in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. Photo: Greg McFall/NOAA Claire Rapp is a student in the Masters of Coastal and Ocean Policy program at UNC Wilmington. She is a 2015 graduate from Bucknell University with a BS in biology. Claire demonstrates her a passion for marine environmental conservation by working with organizations such as, the Central Caribbean Marine Institute in Little Cayman and the NC Coastal Federation to bridge the gap between science and policy through education. Global demand for seafood and fish oil result in destructive fishing practices and pollution that harm the health of the ocean. Conflict between consumption and conservation demands drive controversy over the extent of ocean closures in marine protected areas (MPAs). Scientists often use biodiversity- the variety of life- to measure the health of the ocean. The more biodiversity the ocean has, the more resilient it is to disturbances. Scientific research, howeve...