Contribution of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) towards ecosystem services and fisheries: An experts’ perspective from Mediterranean MPAs

The Ecosystem Service framework is essential for understanding the role of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in delivering conservation benefits and societal goods such as fisheries. A perception analysis was conducted to capture the views of 33 experts on MPA-associated ecosystem services. Moreover, us...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Boubekri, Ibrahim, Schumacher, Johanna, Thenen, Miriam von, Sánchez-Jiménez, Astrid, Lloveras, Anna, Sardá, Rafael, Amara, Rachid, Schernewski, Gerald
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2026
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/421902
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/421902
https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/105029678342
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Ecosystem service assessment
European union
Fisheries sustainability
Marine protected area
Mediterranean sea
Scenario-based approach
id ES_dfd969b90dffc1e0973e71f0b9ff6da1
oai_identifier_str oai:digital.csic.es:10261/421902
network_acronym_str ES
network_name_str España
repository_id_str
spelling Contribution of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) towards ecosystem services and fisheries: An experts’ perspective from Mediterranean MPAsBoubekri, IbrahimSchumacher, JohannaThenen, Miriam vonSánchez-Jiménez, AstridLloveras, AnnaSardá, RafaelAmara, RachidSchernewski, GeraldEcosystem service assessmentEuropean unionFisheries sustainabilityMarine protected areaMediterranean seaScenario-based approachThe Ecosystem Service framework is essential for understanding the role of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in delivering conservation benefits and societal goods such as fisheries. A perception analysis was conducted to capture the views of 33 experts on MPA-associated ecosystem services. Moreover, using The MPA Guide, we applied a scenario-based approach to assess the potential impact of different degrees of protection (i.e., fully, highly, lightly, and minimally protected levels) on fisheries-related ecosystem services. An expert-based evaluation explored the influence of these protection levels on fisheries-related ecosystem services across two prospective timeframes, set at 3- and 7-years post-implementation. Findings indicate a broad consensus on the perceived importance of cultural services attributed to MPAs. Provisioning MPA-associated ecosystem services are moderate, and their relevance varies by experiential and disciplinary backgrounds of experts. Fully and highly protected levels were perceived as the most effective in enhancing fisheries-related ecosystem services, particularly through increased fish abundance, individual size, and biomass. While provisioning fisheries-related ecosystem services were clearly perceived as increasing over time, especially under higher protection levels, the trends for regulation/maintenance and cultural fisheries-related ecosystem services were more subtle. This study highlights the need for adaptive protection strategies that account for temporal scales, reinforcing the role of long-term monitoring frameworks that capture both socioeconomic and social-ecological outcomes. Moreover, by introducing a qualitative cost-effective expert judgment, this methodology can be implemented in data-poor contexts such as the Mediterranean region. The findings provide valuable insights for policymakers and MPA planners striving to implement the EU 2030 Biodiversity Strategy in the Mediterranean Sea in terms of design, zoning, and governance of strictly protected MPAs that are both ecologically effective and socially acceptable.We would like to sincerely thank our colleague Ms. Amelia Agranovich for the English proofreading of the manuscript, and Ms. Juliana Socrate and Ms. Giulia Bellon for their valuable assistance in translating the questionnaire. The authors declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. EU GRANT – Project: 101112752 — EFFECTIVE — HORIZON-MISS-2022-OCEAN-01-01.Peer reviewedElsevierEuropean CommissionBoubekri, Ibrahim [0000-0002-1473-7025]Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas [https://ror.org/02gfc7t72]202620262026info:eu-repo/semantics/articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501Publisher's versioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/10261/421902https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/105029678342reponame:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSICinstname:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)Inglés#PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE#info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/HE/101112752The underlying dataset has been published as supplementary material of the article in the publisher platform at DOI 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.108061https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.108061Síinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:digital.csic.es:10261/4219022026-05-22T06:33:51Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Contribution of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) towards ecosystem services and fisheries: An experts’ perspective from Mediterranean MPAs
title Contribution of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) towards ecosystem services and fisheries: An experts’ perspective from Mediterranean MPAs
spellingShingle Contribution of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) towards ecosystem services and fisheries: An experts’ perspective from Mediterranean MPAs
Boubekri, Ibrahim
Ecosystem service assessment
European union
Fisheries sustainability
Marine protected area
Mediterranean sea
Scenario-based approach
title_short Contribution of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) towards ecosystem services and fisheries: An experts’ perspective from Mediterranean MPAs
title_full Contribution of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) towards ecosystem services and fisheries: An experts’ perspective from Mediterranean MPAs
title_fullStr Contribution of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) towards ecosystem services and fisheries: An experts’ perspective from Mediterranean MPAs
title_full_unstemmed Contribution of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) towards ecosystem services and fisheries: An experts’ perspective from Mediterranean MPAs
title_sort Contribution of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) towards ecosystem services and fisheries: An experts’ perspective from Mediterranean MPAs
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Boubekri, Ibrahim
Schumacher, Johanna
Thenen, Miriam von
Sánchez-Jiménez, Astrid
Lloveras, Anna
Sardá, Rafael
Amara, Rachid
Schernewski, Gerald
author Boubekri, Ibrahim
author_facet Boubekri, Ibrahim
Schumacher, Johanna
Thenen, Miriam von
Sánchez-Jiménez, Astrid
Lloveras, Anna
Sardá, Rafael
Amara, Rachid
Schernewski, Gerald
author_role author
author2 Schumacher, Johanna
Thenen, Miriam von
Sánchez-Jiménez, Astrid
Lloveras, Anna
Sardá, Rafael
Amara, Rachid
Schernewski, Gerald
author2_role author
author
author
author
author
author
author
dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv European Commission
Boubekri, Ibrahim [0000-0002-1473-7025]
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas [https://ror.org/02gfc7t72]
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Ecosystem service assessment
European union
Fisheries sustainability
Marine protected area
Mediterranean sea
Scenario-based approach
topic Ecosystem service assessment
European union
Fisheries sustainability
Marine protected area
Mediterranean sea
Scenario-based approach
description The Ecosystem Service framework is essential for understanding the role of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in delivering conservation benefits and societal goods such as fisheries. A perception analysis was conducted to capture the views of 33 experts on MPA-associated ecosystem services. Moreover, using The MPA Guide, we applied a scenario-based approach to assess the potential impact of different degrees of protection (i.e., fully, highly, lightly, and minimally protected levels) on fisheries-related ecosystem services. An expert-based evaluation explored the influence of these protection levels on fisheries-related ecosystem services across two prospective timeframes, set at 3- and 7-years post-implementation. Findings indicate a broad consensus on the perceived importance of cultural services attributed to MPAs. Provisioning MPA-associated ecosystem services are moderate, and their relevance varies by experiential and disciplinary backgrounds of experts. Fully and highly protected levels were perceived as the most effective in enhancing fisheries-related ecosystem services, particularly through increased fish abundance, individual size, and biomass. While provisioning fisheries-related ecosystem services were clearly perceived as increasing over time, especially under higher protection levels, the trends for regulation/maintenance and cultural fisheries-related ecosystem services were more subtle. This study highlights the need for adaptive protection strategies that account for temporal scales, reinforcing the role of long-term monitoring frameworks that capture both socioeconomic and social-ecological outcomes. Moreover, by introducing a qualitative cost-effective expert judgment, this methodology can be implemented in data-poor contexts such as the Mediterranean region. The findings provide valuable insights for policymakers and MPA planners striving to implement the EU 2030 Biodiversity Strategy in the Mediterranean Sea in terms of design, zoning, and governance of strictly protected MPAs that are both ecologically effective and socially acceptable.
publishDate 2026
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2026
2026
2026
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
Publisher's version
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/10261/421902
https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/105029678342
url http://hdl.handle.net/10261/421902
https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/105029678342
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv #PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE#
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/HE/101112752
The underlying dataset has been published as supplementary material of the article in the publisher platform at DOI 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.108061
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.108061
Sí
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
instname:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
instname_str Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
reponame_str DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
collection DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
_version_ 1869422101398552576
score 15,81155

Similares en LA Referencia