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ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil Advance Access originally published online on December 2, 2008
ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil 2009 66(1):188-194; doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsn198
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© 2008 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Published by Oxford Journals. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

This article appears in the following ICES Journal of Marine Science issue: European Symposium on Marine Protected Areas as a Tool for Fisheries Management and Ecosystem Conservation [View the issue table of contents]

Developing best practice for using Marxan to locate Marine Protected Areas in European waters

Robert J. Smith1, Paul D. Eastwood2, Yoshitaka Ota3 and Stuart I. Rogers2

1 Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NR, UK
2 Cefas, Pakefield Road, Lowestoft, Suffolk, NR33 0HT, UK. P. D. Eastwood current address: Secretariat of the Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission, Private Mail Bag, GPO, Suva, Fiji Islands
3 Department of Anthropology, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NR, UK

Correspondence to R. J. Smith: tel: +44 1227 823455; fax: +44 1227 827289; e-mail: r.j.smith{at}kent.ac.uk.

Smith, R. J., Eastwood, P. D., Ota, Y., and Rogers, S. I. 2009. Developing best practice for using Marxan to locate Marine Protected Areas in European waters. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 66: 188–194.

Several recent studies have investigated the use of the conservation planning software Marxan to design Marine Protected Area (MPA) networks in UK waters. The systematic conservation planning approach embodied by Marxan has a number of advantages, but these studies have highlighted the need for guidance and advice on best practice. Here, we discuss two broad topics that we feel should inform future developments in the UK and elsewhere in the European Union. First, several technical issues need to be addressed to ensure the scientific defensibility of any conservation planning project. These include identifying which conservation features should be represented in an MPA system, developing a system for setting representation targets, and identifying which data should be included to minimize conflict with human uses of the sea. Second, it is necessary for researchers to engage at an early stage with those responsible for implementation and recognize that reserve selection should be part of a broader conservation planning process centred on a stakeholder-developed implementation strategy. A more-inclusive approach will make use of technical outputs, such as those generated by Marxan, as part of the process of policy development.

Keywords: biodiversity, fisheries, marine conservation planning, reserve selection

Received 26 October 2007; accepted 5 June 2008; advance access publication 2 December 2008.


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