The Wildlife Conservation Society has released a new report that speaks to the effectiveness of “no-take” zones and how they benefit both local economies as well as the surrounding ecology. Focused on the Central American country of Belize (a world leader in this effort), the study focuses on the efforts of the Belize government to enforce the “no-take” zones and how these zones impact the lives of both humans as well as marine animals. The study found that, contrary to what people might think, the “no-take” zones were good for the livelihoods of the people who lived near them. The zones allowed commercially viable and economically valuable species to recover from overfishing and, once they spread from the zone, fishermen and others can catch the species to both eat and sell. Species like lobsters, conch, and certain fish have been able to catch up and reproduce safely, allowing their populations to recover to a sustainable level. As long as these “no-take” zones stay in place, all sea creatures will have an area where they can breed safely.
Unsurprisingly, these zones are also good for helping the ecology recover. Coral reefs that were dying and abandoned saw an increase in recolonization which could lead to regrowth of the coral. The large number of new animals means that new places to live will have to be found and coral reefs are perfect for that. With the regrowth and repopulation of the reefs and the new levels of sea creatures it is easy to imagine that the tourism industry will explode as well, further adding to the local economy. These zones are a good thing for a variety of reasons. Hopefully this report will allow us to see more countries taking the health of the oceans and their own people into their hands.
If you’d like to read more, the link is below:
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