Marine Protected Areas in North Carolina
Abstract
The current array of marine protected areas (MPAs) in the U.S. has been designated
haphazardly by a variety of agencies, under the authority of different legislation.
MPAs are
often established without clearly defined objectives and they lack a scientific foundation.
Further, many MPAs are subject to overlapping or conflicting jurisdictions and regulations,
with
limited management coordination. Executive Order 13158, issued in May 2000, seeks
to address
these issues by requiring an assessment of MPAs, which will be used to strengthen
MPA
management and to develop a system of MPAs. The assessment, and ultimately a list
of MPAs,
will be based on data compiled in the Marine Managed Area (MMA) Inventory.
The MMA Inventory was conducted in North Carolina from October 2003 – February
2004. There are 108 MMAs in North Carolina, ranging from fisheries areas to coastal
reserves
to national and state parks. This paper focuses on the 97 state and de facto sites
that were
compiled during the state inventory process. For the 97 MMAs, management authority
and
responsibility are split among 13 different entities. These MMAs were established
for different
reasons, they offer varying degrees of resource protection, they lack evaluation measures,
and
they frequently overlap with other MMAs.
Preliminary analysis reveals a need for improved coordination and integration.
California’s Marine Life Protection Act and Marine Managed Areas Improvement Act offer
a
model for North Carolina to draw from and suggest that North Carolina can improve
MPA
management by developing a master plan and a system of MPAs. For MPA management to
be
effective and efficient, policies must consider the following factors: minimal duplication
and
overlap, consistent management, clearly defined authority and responsibility, protection
of
representative resources & habitats, integration across the land/sea interface, and
reliable
funding. The inventory will be a useful source of information and a practical planning
and
management tool as North Carolina attempts to rationalize MPA management.
Type
Master's projectPermalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/253Citation
Trappee, Carleigh (2004). Marine Protected Areas in North Carolina. Master's project, Duke University. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/253.Collections
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