Improving Monitoring and Evaluation of Enforcement in Coastal Marine Protected Areas and Fisheries

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are protected ocean areas that restrict certain human activities, and typically include fishing limitations. MPAs can improve the health of marine species and habitats and are a critical tool in ocean conservation efforts. However, their effectiveness is often limited by a lack of enforcement, which allows for extensive illegal fishing despite their protected status. WildAid Marine partners with MPAs globally to improve law enforcement measures. They designed the Marine Protection System (MPS) Tracker to quantify and monitor progress in MPA enforcement. Through this project, the capstone team created a reproducible workflow to streamline data entry for the MPS Tracker, as well as a data visualization tool to summarize and highlight trends. These deliverables allow WildAid Marine to increase their efficiency in monitoring and improving MPA enforcement, and successfully share progress with donors and stakeholders.

Acknowledgements

UC Santa Barbara: Gavin McDonald, Senior Project Scientist, Environmental Markets Lab; Ruth Oliver, Assistant Professor, Bren School of Environmental Science & Management; Christina (Naomi) Tague, Professor, Bren School of Environmental Science & Management

WildAid Marine: Silvia Bor, Marine Program Manager; Meaghan Brosnan, Marine Program Director