Public perceptions of ocean health and marine protection: Drivers of support for Oregon's marine reserves

Manson, Paul; Granek, Elise F.; Swearingen, Thomas C.

doi:10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2020.105480

Cited by 19 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 65 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This was unexpected, as generally individuals living closer to a marine coastline would be expected to have a more negative perception of ocean health, potentially driven by a better understanding of ocean threats through their economic and cultural ties to ocean services (e.g., fishing and tourism), and regular contact with the marine environment. The reason for this result is unclear, but the relationship between proximity to the coast and threat perception or concern for ocean health differs around the world among different communities and places (Potts et al, 2016;Davison et al, 2021;Manson et al, 2021) and appears to be largely affected by specific characteristics of the local society and environment (Hamilton and Safford, 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public awareness and perceptions of ocean plastic pollution and support for solutions in the United States

Baechler,

De Frond,

Dropkin

et al. 2024

Front. Mar. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We conducted a nationally-representative survey of United States (U.S.) adults (n=1,960) in 2021 to gather insights on the knowledge, perceptions, and concerns about threats to the ocean, with a specific focus on plastics and microplastic pollution. Responses from the U.S. adult survey group were compared to a group of highly-engaged, Ocean Conservancy members who are very attuned to ocean issues (n=882). Ocean Conservancy is a U.S.-based nonprofit environmental advocacy group working to protect the ocean from today’s greatest challenges. Plastic pollution was the primary ocean concern identified by both U.S. adults and Ocean Conservancy members, surpassing eight other threat categories including oil spills, chemical and nutrient pollution, and climate change. Broad concern was reported for both study groups about the impacts of ocean plastics on marine wildlife, with human health and coastal community impact concerns being less prominent. About half of U.S. adults and 90% of Ocean Conservancy members had heard of microplastics. Both study groups indicated widespread support for microplastic pollution prevention measures in the U.S. and believed industry to be most responsible for taking action to address it. Ocean Conservancy members were generally better informed and more concerned about plastic pollution impacts and microplastics than U.S. adults and reported significantly greater levels of personal action to reduce their plastic footprint when compared to U.S. adults. In general, U.S. adults reported a willingness to refuse single-use plastics, but less frequently brought personal food containers to restaurants for takeout, or contacted local representatives or businesses about reducing plastic waste and pollution. Overall, our survey results provide new insights about public understanding of ocean threats and plastic pollution, willingness to participate in individual plastic-reduction actions, and support for needed solutions.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public awareness and perceptions of ocean plastic pollution and support for solutions in the United States

Baechler,

De Frond,

Dropkin

et al. 2024

Front. Mar. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This opposition causes confusion and conflict between stakeholders, slowing progress towards ocean protection targets (Ballantine 2014, Manson et al 2021. As economic benefits, food security and other ecosystem services are underpinned by the restoration and bolstering of ecological functions, failure to adequately protect marine biodiversity and important larval dispersal ranges through increased recruitment, as, for example, was found by Le Port et al (2017), Pelc et al (2009Pelc et al ( , 2010 and Harrison et al (2012).…”

Section: Fisheriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence of economic benefits from marine protected areas

Costello

2024

Sci. mar.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Marine protected areas (MPAs) have been used for biodiversity conservation for decades. However, critics argue that evidence of their economic benefits is weak, particularly with regard to fisheries. This continued opposition to MPAs for fisheries slows progress towards conservation targets and undermines the economic and ecological sustainability of the oceans. This paper provides 48 examples of fishery-related and 31 of tourism-related economic benefits in 25 and 24 countries, respectively. There was no evidence of net costs of MPAs to fisheries anywhere. Fishery benefits included increased fish stocks, catch volumes, catch per unit effort, fecundity and larval export, and larger fish and lobsters. Well-designed and enforced MPAs provide sustainable benefits for fishing communities and even sub-optimally designed MPAs can provide economic advantages. MPAs represent one of the best strategies for maintaining the sustainable exploitation of marine resources.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Amongst Oregon coastal residents, there was a belief that commercial and recreational fishers could be harmed by MR implementation (Needham, Cramer & Perry, 2013; Lindberg & Williams, 2019). Opposition to MRs was highest among coastal residents who did not live in close proximity to a reserve (Needham, Cramer & Perry, 2013) and Oregon residents with more positive attitudes toward commercial fisheries (Manson et al, 2021). However, the majority of all Oregon residents also believed that MRs were generally beneficial, providing a range of conservation and research benefits (Needham, Cramer & Perry, 2013; Needham, Cramer & Johnston, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An interrupted time series approach to assess Marine Protected Area impacts on recreational fishing licence sales

Fox

Molina

Swearingen

2022

Aquatic Conservation

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are increasingly used as a management and conservation strategy. However, the effects of MPA implementation (i.e. restrictions on extractive use) on recreational fishers' spatial behaviour are often not considered. Spatial shifts in fishing pressure and which port fishers choose to fish from can have ecological and economic impacts. Therefore, it is critical that MPA impacts on recreational fishers are adequately investigated and weighed against potential conservation benefits from MPA designation. The State of Oregon, USA, has a system of five no‐take marine reserves (MRs) with adjacent limited‐take MPAs. This study used an interrupted time series approach to investigate how fishing licence sales were impacted by MR implementation. This study found that recreational fishers near only one MR were potentially adversely impacted by MR implementation. The proportion of coastal licence sales near Redfish Rocks MR displayed an immediate sustained 47.1% proportional decrease following reserve implementation. Conversely, there was a 0.5% proportional increase in monthly demand for licence sales near Otter Rock and Cascade Head MRs. This study suggests that most MRs in Oregon were designated in a manner that limited significant adverse impacts to some ocean users, a specified MR objective. The process of MR planning in Oregon, which involved considerable public input, could be used as an example for MR designation in other similar settings. However, when a potential MR site and adjacent town's conditions match those at Redfish Rocks MR, there may be adverse socio‐economic impacts that should be weighed against potential ecological benefits. This study also demonstrates the application of an interrupted time series approach. When sufficient data are available, this is a robust approach that addresses numerous shortfalls of traditional MPA impact evaluations.

show abstract

Public perceptions of ocean health and marine protection: Drivers of support for Oregon's marine reserves

Cited by 19 publications

References 65 publications

Public awareness and perceptions of ocean plastic pollution and support for solutions in the United States

Public awareness and perceptions of ocean plastic pollution and support for solutions in the United States

Evidence of economic benefits from marine protected areas

An interrupted time series approach to assess Marine Protected Area impacts on recreational fishing licence sales

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About