Marine Protected Areas 2020: 

Building Efective Conservation Networks 

Marine Protected Areas of the United States 

m a r i n e p r o t e c t e d a r e a s . n o a a . g o v 
 

 

 

 

Contributors: Lauren Wenzel, Mimi D'Iorio, Charles Wahle, Gonzalo Cid, Zachary Cannizzo, 

Katherine Darr 

Designer: Dayna McLaughlin 

Cover photo: A NOAA archaeologist surveys the wreck of the USS Schurz off North Carolina 

while fish school around divers and the wreck. Photo: Tane Casserley/NOAA 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MARINE PROTECTED AREAS 2020: 

Building Effective Conservation Networks 

This report summarizes U.S. contributions towards six key aspects of 

successful marine protected area (MPA) networks. The U.S. has established 

nearly 1,000 MPAs (as defined by the International Union for the 

Conservation of Nature (IUCN)) to protect important places in our ocean, 

estuaries, coastal waters, and Great Lakes. Scientists and managers have 

identified the following characteristics for networks of MPAs to achieve 

conservation outcomes1,2: 

• Area protected 

• Ecologically representative 

• Ecologically connected 

• Other effective conservation measures (that are not MPAs) 

• Effectively and equitably managed MPAs 

• Integrated into the wider seascape 

Most marine protected areas allow multiple uses, such as recreational activities like kayaking. Photo: Sienna 

Streamfellow 

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Protecting Coastal and Marine Areas 

Based on scientific guidance, nearly every country in the 

world, including the U.S., has agreed to a goal of protecting 

at least 10% of the globe’s coastal and marine areas by 2020. 

As of June 2020, 26% of U.S. waters (including the Great 

Lakes) are in some type of MPA, and 3% of U.S. waters are 

in the most highly protected category of MPAs (“no take” 

MPAs that prohibit extractive uses). Nearly all the highly 

protected MPAs in the U.S. are located in two large MPAs in 

the remote Pacific Ocean – Papahānaumokuākea Marine

National Monument and Pacific Remote Islands Marine 

National Monument. Less than 0.1% of U.S. waters outside 

of these sites are in highly protected MPAs. 

U.S. marine waters, in blue, encompass 

3.5% of the global ocean. Image: NOAA 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MPA (yellow) and no-take MPA (red) coverage throughout U.S. marine waters. MPAs cover 26% of U.S. marine 

waters, of which 3% are in no-take marine reserves. Image: NOAA 

Highly protected areas have been shown to produce stronger conservation outcomes than areas 

where more extractive uses are allowed.3,4 New highly protected areas can be established, 

working with stakeholders, to: 

• Enhance the level of protection within existing MPAs by effectively addressing current 

and emerging threats, and by creating special use zones where needed to protect key 

habitats and resources. 

• Develop and adaptively manage new sites and networks with high levels of protection 

reflecting local uses, threats, and conservation values. 

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West Coast 

7% 

Percentage of U.S. Waters by Region 

Northeast Great Lakes Southeast 3% 1% 4% Caribbean 

2% 

Gulf of Mexico Alaska 6% 30% 

Pacific Islands 

47% 

The U.S. encompasses more than 4.8 million square miles (12.4 million square kilometers) of marine waters. This pie 

chart depicts the percent of U.S. marine waters in each geographic region. Nearly half of U.S. waters lie in the Pacific 

Islands region. Source: NOAA 

Percentage of Waters in MPAs per Region 

60.0 

52.1 

0.6 

5.2 

2.1 2.2 1.9 

5.1 

11.6 

0.0 

10.0 

20.0 

30.0 

40.0 

50.0 

Perercentage of Waters in MPA 

Alaska Pacific West Coast Gulf of Caribbean Southeast Northeast Great Lakes 

Islands Mexico 

Region 

Graph shows the percent of regional waters that are in marine protected areas (MPAs). Relative to the area of marine 

waters, the Pacific Islands have the highest proportion of MPAs (52%) while Alaska has the lowest (<1%). Source: 

NOAA 

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Ecologically Representative Networks 

Aldo Leopold, the father of wildlife ecology, said, “To keep every cog and wheel is the first 

precaution of intelligent tinkering.” In this spirit, ecologically representative systems of MPAs 

conserve characteristic areas in their local eco-regions, and protect marine and coastal areas 

that support ecologically important habitats, communities, species, processes, and features. This 

integration of ecological representativeness into the design and management of MPA networks 

can enhance conservation outcomes, particularly for species and habitats with small ranges.5 

The goal of “representativeness” is embraced by many federal and state MPA programs in the

U.S. Examples include: 

• National Estuarine Research Reserve System, a robust conservation partnership between 

NOAA and 29 coastal states. 

• California’s statewide MPA network.

• Executive Order 13158 calling for a “scientifically based, comprehensive national system

of MPAs representing diverse U.S. marine ecosystems, and the nation’s natural and

cultural resources.”

Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve is one of the 29 coastal sites that make up the National 

Estuarine Research Reserve System. Photo: Chesapeake Bay NERR 

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By several measures, the current collection of federal and state MPAs in the U.S. is moderately 

representative of the nation’s key eco-regions, ecosystems, and taxa. In 2015 and 2020, NOAA’s 

National MPA Center conducted preliminary assessments of the degree of representativeness in 

the nation’s portfolio of MPAs. These analyses found that all of the 19 marine ecoregions in the 

U.S. contained at least one and often many MPAs. The relative number and sizes of these MPAs 

vary widely within and among ecoregions, as do their levels of protection, management 

approaches, and likely conservation impacts on those ecosystem features. 

Percent of marine ecoregions protected in an MPA. Marine ecoregions are mapped to represent areas with similar 

habitats and ecosystems. Ecoregions with the highest percent of waters in MPA protection are the coral reef 

ecosystems in the Pacific Islands and South Florida. Image: Commission for Environmental Cooperation and NOAA 

MPA Inventory 

Additionally, many ecologically significant ecosystem types, habitats, processes, and taxa are 

protected by federal and state MPAs. For example, 80% of shallow tropical corals, 83% of 

mangroves, 63% of seagrasses, and 54% of deep corals (based on their current extent mapped) 

are contained within an MPA in U.S. waters. 

Percentages of mapped habitat area that is protected in U.S MPAs. Image: NOAA 

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Achieving a more representative network of MPAs in the U.S. will require: 

• Filling Critical Data Gaps – Creating better access to reliable and comparable data on 

the distribution of ecologically important features throughout the exclusive economic 

zone, including the deep sea and polar regions. Additionally, MPA programs and their 

research and exploration partners must develop high-resolution maps of the distribution 

and abundance of diverse taxa, habitats, and ecologically important processes to identify 

areas of conservation concern, including outside MPAs. 

• Strengthening Legal Authorities – MPA statutes, policies, and designations should more 

explicitly incorporate and operationalize the concept of representativeness in the 

structure, composition, and management of new and existing networks. 

• Incorporating Climate Change – Design for new MPA networks, and adjustments to 

existing ones, must plan for expected changes in species composition, habitat types, and 

ecological processes over time as the climate changes. 

Migratory species like this sea turtle can travel extraordinary distances and often use MPAs that may be thousands of 

miles apart as breeding or feeding areas. MPA networks help managers care for these far flung species during 

different life stages. Photo: Matt McIntosh/NOAA 

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Ecologically Connected Systems of MPAs 

Ecological connectivity refers to the functional linkages between spatially distinct populations, 

communities, habitats, or ecosystems, including the exchange of organisms, nutrients, or 

materials. Connectivity enhances the effectiveness, biodiversity, productivity, stability, and 

resilience of MPAs and networks.6 

Ecological connectivity is only beginning to be a factor in the design and adaptive management 

of MPAs and MPA networks in U.S. waters. To date, the states of California and Hawai‘i have 

created the nation’s first MPA networks that take connectivity into account in the location of 

sites. In contrast, most other U.S. MPAs were established over several decades by many different 

programs, each with distinct conservation goals and management approaches. MPA 

establishment processes have historically focused on individual sites of local significance, rather 

than on connected networks of ecologically linked sites. 

U.S. MPA managers are addressing the connectivity of their sites through such approaches as 

working with adjacent watershed managers to curb land-based pollution; partnering with ocean 

managers to protect known connections among nearby habitats needed by species at different 

life stages; and establishing international sister site partnerships with other MPAs that may 

share migratory species or are linked by ocean currents. 

Case Study: California’s Statewide Network of MPAs

The state of California’s portfolio of MPAs is the nation’s only example of an intentionally

designed, ecologically connected, cohesive, regional network of MPAs. This network design 

involved significant stakeholder input and relied on models and studies of ocean circulation, 

larval dispersal, optimal size and spacing distances, and projected impacts on commercial 

and recreational fisheries. This planning approach allowed California to leverage ecological 

connectivity to maximize conservation and economic outcomes throughout the state’s 

waters. It can serve as a model for other U.S. and international MPA programs in the 

establishment of ecologically connected networks. 

Point Lobos State Marine Reserve is a California marine protected area. Photo: NOAA 

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Improving Connectivity of MPA Networks in the U.S. 

More effective and locally focused outreach 

and communication tools would help 

planners, stakeholders, and decision-makers 

understand the importance, value, and 

mechanics of ecological connectivity in their 

geographical context. The following additional 

actions would improve near-term capacity to 

improve MPA connectivity: 

• Developing new authorities, policies, 

governance frameworks, and planning 

tools that explicitly incorporate 

ecological connectivity into the design 

and management of MPA networks. 

• Developing new insights into how Species that move slowly, or not at all, like this sea connectivity works across a variety of cucumber on a coral reef in American Samoa, depend on ecosystems, taxa, life stages, and connectivity through larval dispersal to maintain healthy 

regions, and how those linkages may populations. Photo: Greg McFall/NOAA 

change with a changing climate. 

• Integrating areas that are not MPAs but contribute to conservation outcomes (defined as 

“other effective conservation measures” by the IUCN), into MPA networks to provide 

additional opportunities to incorporate ecological connectivity. 

There are two primary types of ecological connectivity in MPAs. Habitat connectivity links geographically separated 

habitats of the same type (e.g., larval dispersal among coral reefs) while seascape connectivity links habitats of 

different types within the same ecosystem (e.g., juvenile fish migrating from mangrove nurseries to nearby 

seagrasses and coral reefs). Both are important to the long-term effectiveness of MPA networks. Image: NOAA 

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Other Effective Conservation Measures for U.S. 

Waters 

Effective management of ocean areas that are not MPAs also 

contributes to MPA goals of ecosystem and biodiversity 

conservation. An “other effective conservation measure” (OECM)

occurs outside of a protected area, but may nevertheless achieve 

long-term biodiversity conservation outcomes. Because of these 

potential benefits, OECMs (such as military exclusion zones or 

some fishery closures) can make important contributions to MPA 

networks. 

Role of OECMs for Ocean Conservation in the U.S. 

In 2008, anticipating the important role of the OECM concept in 

spatial planning, the National MPA Center published a report on de 

facto MPAs in U.S. waters – areas that were not designated as 

MPAs, but potentially provide conservation benefits. The report 

found that approximately 3% of U.S. waters were in such areas, 

which vary widely in their purpose, size, and level of protection. 

While OECMs are more narrowly defined than de facto MPAs, this 

review provides a useful starting point for U.S. efforts to identify 

and report on OECMs and to consider their potential role in 

improving MPA effectiveness and protecting ecosystem 

connectivity. The U.S. has not yet developed a comprehensive 

inventory of OECMs that contribute to MPA networks. 

Other Effective AreaBased Conservation 

Measure 

IUCN defines an other 

effective area-based 

conservation measure 

(OECM) as “a

geographically defined 

area other than a 

protected area, which is 

governed and managed in 

ways that achieve positive 

and sustained long-term 

outcomes for the in-situ 

conservation of 

biodiversity with 

associated ecosystem 

functions and services 

and where applicable, 

cultural, spiritual, socioeconomic, and other 

locally relevant values.”

Case Study: No Motor Zone for Manatee Protection 

The Indian River lagoon (including the Banana River) 

near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center is home to one of

the largest concentrations of manatees in Florida. These 

endangered marine mammals have been monitored 

since the 1970s, and in 1990, NASA closed the area to 

motor boats to minimize disturbance. The Florida Fish 

and Wildlife Commission manages the area and 

delineates the boundary of the No Motor Zone with 

signs. This 10,600 acre open water area is one of the few 

places in Florida free from motor boats and has become 

a desirable destination for paddlers and fishermen. 

Much of the shoreline of this part of the lagoon is 

within the Security Area of the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force 

Station, and access to the No Motor Zone is limited. The overall trend in the number of 

manatees in these waters has increased over time, and ranges from 200-300 in the 

summer to over 1,000 in the spring. Manatees and other marine life in the Indian River 

Lagoon system have been negatively impacted by poor water quality, which kills the 

seagrasses they feed on and causes harmful algal blooms, and efforts are underway to 

address this problem. 

Photo: Keith Ramos/USFWS 

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Effectively and Equitably Managed MPAs 

Well-managed MPAs are those that achieve the conservation outcomes, goals, and objectives in 

their management plans. Most MPAs in the U.S. have management plans with goals and 

objectives. However, the diverse range of federal, state, territorial, tribal, and local MPAs and 

programs each measure effectiveness differently, making it difficult to derive a regional or 

national picture of MPA effectiveness. 

For example, even within the federal government, MPA programs use different mechanisms to 

measure management effectiveness and adapt their management to environmental, policy, and 

socioeconomic changes. NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuary System produces condition reports 

to assess the condition and trends of the resources found in each national marine sanctuary. 

Condition reports also identify drivers and pressures on target resources, trends for resources 

and ecosystem services, and existing management responses to pressures. 

Other federal agency-level examples implemented nationally or at the site or ecosystem levels 

include the inventory and monitoring programs of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the 

National Park Service, which select indicators to represent the overall health or condition of 

protected area resources, including some socioeconomic indicators such as human values. 

There are many opportunities for public involvement to help ensure equitable management of 

MPAs in the U.S. For example, federal and state legislation (the National Environmental Policy 

Act and state counterparts to this law) requires agencies to assess the social and economic 

impacts of a proposed action, including different alternatives, during MPA designations and the 

development of management plans, and to provide for public comment. This process ensures 

that social and economic impacts are considered explicitly before management decisions are 

made. Some MPAs have taken the additional step of establishing citizen advisory councils that 

meet regularly and advise agencies on aspects of MPA management. Other programs have 

worked with local communities to create “friends” groups for specific MPAs that conduct 

education, stewardship, and fundraising activities. As the U.S. population becomes more 

diverse, there is an increased need to reflect this diversity in the audiences who experience and 

benefit from our public lands and waters. 

Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, Channel Islands National Park, and the state of California cooperate to 

monitor marine resources. Photo: Donna Hendricks 

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Improving Management Effectiveness in U.S. MPAs 

Among the key opportunities for U.S. MPAs in 

addressing management effectiveness are: 

• Standardizing and routinely applying 

management effectiveness assessment tools 

among national and state level MPA agencies. 

• Synthesizing management effectiveness data to 

provide more regional and national scale 

pictures of key accomplishments, gaps, and 

challenges, and acting on those findings. 

• Increasing the integration of social science to 

address issues such as human uses and values of 

MPAs, and overcoming barriers to gathering this 

information. 

• Integrating climate change adaptation into 

management planning and providing additional 

tools that can be quickly implemented to address 

climate impacts (e.g., such as through dynamic 

management measures or through inter-agency 

or international partnerships). 

• Ensuring more effective public communication 

about how MPA management is conducted and 

its goals are being achieved. 

A researcher at San Francisco Bay National 

Estuarine Research Reserve gathers weather 

and water quality monitoring data to better 

understand estuarine systems nationwide. 

Photo: Matt Ferner/San Francisco Bay NERR 

National Park Service diver studies coral health in Virgin Islands National Park. Photo: NPS 

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Integrated MPAs in the Wider Seascape 

MPAs are not “islands” operating in isolation from their surroundings. Instead, many are 

integral components of a complex and dynamic seascape of physical and ecological processes 

and management jurisdictions supporting an expanding suite of ocean uses. For example, many 

MPAs contribute to nearby connected ecosystems and to the services they provide (e.g., fishing) 

through the dispersal from the site of larvae and spillover of adults of ecologically and/or 

economically important species. Conversely, many MPAs, and the valued resources they protect, 

are impacted by human activities originating far beyond their boundaries (e.g., energy 

development or pollution from adjacent watersheds) or by those that intermittently transit 

through the sites (e.g., shipping). As a result, MPAs in the U.S. and worldwide are integrated 

into the fabric of ocean management on geographic scales that reach beyond their individual 

local physical footprints, management priorities, or authorities. 

Case Study: Slower Ships and Safer Whales 

The U.S. West Coast hosts 293 federal and state MPAs located in some of the nation’s most

productive and heavily used waters. The confluence of whale feeding habitats and heavy 

shipping traffic led NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries to collaborate with the 

shipping industry and the U.S. Coast Guard to develop voluntary vessel speed reductions to 

limit ship strikes on blue, humpback, and fin whales in seasons of peak abundance. 

Additionally, slower speeds reduce ocean noise and decrease greenhouse gas emissions. 

Managers of Greater Farallones, Cordell Bank, Monterey Bay, and Channel Islands national 

marine sanctuaries used outreach to the shipping industry, annual report cards, and public 

recognition of successes to generate and celebrate cooperation among participating shipping 

companies. A related program, Blue Skies/Blue Whales, provided modest monetary 

incentives to companies to reduce vessel speeds, leading to higher levels of cooperation. This 

innovative initiative highlights how MPAs can leverage public-private partnerships with key 

user groups to enhance the conservation of important natural resources both within and 

beyond their boundaries. 

Several national marine sanctuaries are working with the shipping industry to voluntarily slow ships in areas with 

high whale concentrations to reduce ship strikes. Photo: Elliot Hazen/NOAA, NOAA Fisheries Permit #14245 

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Further Integrating U.S. MPAs into Seascape Management 

Outside of energy development and other industrial activities, existing U.S. ocean management 

regimes provide for limited coordination mechanisms for regions and states to share data and 

consider ocean uses. As place-based management tools that routinely engage local communities, 

user groups, and stakeholders, MPAs can serve as a trusted, local partner for diverse ocean 

interests to find practical and equitable solutions to these complex space use issues. Steps that 

would accelerate this trend include: 

• Broadening MPAs’ management focus to consider their interaction with and dependence 

on resources, habitats, and threats outside their boundaries. 

• Proactive and sustained effort to build and sustain meaningful, collaborative 

partnerships with the full range of stakeholder interests in the region. 

• Using knowledge of ecological connectivity and marine corridors within regions to help 

inform broader spatial management plans. 

Drakes Bay is part of California’s Tomales-Drake Watershed and Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. 

Photo: Brian Cluer/NOAA 

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Photo: Matt McIntosh/NOAA Conclusion 

The U.S. has made significant progress in designating and managing MPAs to conserve marine 

resources, which in turn help to sustain a healthy ocean and the coastal communities. With 26% 

of the country’s marine waters in MPAs, the U.S. exceeds the current United Nations 

Sustainable Development Goal target and the Convention on Biological Diversity’s Aichi Target

11 to protect 10%, and is well on its way to meeting the more ambitious target of 30% ocean 

protection recommended by scientists and under consideration by the Convention for Biological 

Diversity. The following strategies would continue to strengthen U.S. marine conservation 

efforts. 

Addressing Climate Change – The design of new MPAs and MPA networks, and the 

adaptive management of existing ones, requires consideration of the widespread and lasting 

impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems and species. This relates directly to the design 

and adaptive management of current and new MPAs. Additionally, the U.S. has an opportunity 

to mitigate climate change impacts by protecting areas that serve as carbon sinks (e.g., 

mangroves, salt marshes, and seagrasses), and by managing the carbon stored in marine and 

coastal habitats, living marine resources, and marine sediment by protecting it from 

disturbance. 

Ensuring Effective MPAs – Sustained, science-based, adaptive management of MPAs is 

increasingly vital to their success. U.S. MPA programs can increase their effectiveness by 

sustaining efforts to monitor, evaluate, and adaptively manage our MPAs in a rapidly changing 

ocean. 

Engaging the Public - Many MPA programs are actively involved in community engagement 

through visitor centers, public education, advisory councils, citizen science, social media, and 

other efforts. Continuing and expanding on these efforts would continue to build public 

understanding of the value of MPA networks and their role in sustaining a healthy ocean. 

Addressing Spatial Gaps in MPA Coverage - Most of the MPA coverage in the U.S. is in 

the remote Pacific Islands, providing a high level of protection to coral reef ecosystems and 

some of the world’s most important areas for seabirds, turtles, and marine mammals. However, 

other regions of the U.S. would benefit from expanded MPA coverage to ensure the continuity of 

benefits that marine resources provide to coastal communities and economies. 

A 2020 Vision 

By addressing these outstanding needs, the U.S. can build upon the successful MPA programs in 

place, and realize the full potential of MPA networks to sustain a healthy ocean and the essential 

benefits it provides. 

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Photo: Greg McFall/NOAA 

1 Convention for Biological Diversity. 2009. Azores Scientific Criteria and Guidance for Identifying Ecologically or 

Biologically Significant Areas and Designing Representative Networks of Marine Protected Areas in Open Ocean Waters 

and Deep Sea Habitats. https://www.cbd.int/marine/doc/azores-brochure-en.pdf. 

2 Convention for Biological Diversity Target 11 Technical Rationale. 2012. 

https://www.cbd.int/sp/targets/rationale/target-11/. 

3 Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans. 2007. The Science of Marine Reserves (2nd Edition, United 

States Version). 

4 Edgar, G., R. Stuart-Smith, T. Willis, et al. 2014. Global conservation outcomes depend on marine protected areas with 

five key features. Nature 506, 216–220. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13022. 

5 Magris, R.A., M. Andrello, R.L. Pressey, et al. 2018. Biologically representative and well‐connected marine reserves 

enhance biodiversity persistence in conservation planning. Conservation Letters 11, e12439. 

6 Olds, A.D., R.M. Connolly, K.A. Pitt, et al. 2016. Quantifying the conservation value of seascape connectivity: a global 

synthesis. Global Ecology and Biogeography 25, 3-15. 
www.marineprotectedareas.noaa.gov

Te National Marine Protected Areas Center is located within NOAA’s 

Ofce of National Marine Sanctuaries and works with the Department of 

the Interior to serve as a resource to all federal, state, territorial and tribal 

programs responsible for the health of the oceans.