DOI: 10.5061/dryad.9zw3r22g2
title: Data from: China's little-known efforts to protect its marine ecosystem safeguards some habitats but omits others

description: China’s stature as the world’s major producer and consumer of seafood is
 legendary, but its long-standing tradition of protecting marine life
 domestically is virtually unknown.  We present the most
 comprehensive database on area-based marine conservation in China
 including 326 sites that conserve 12.98% of China’s seas and address 142
 conservation objectives.  Twenty-two percent of shallow habitats
 (&lt;10 meters) were fully or highly protected and 20% of waters 10-50
 meters deep were conserved to some degree.  Recent studies have
 identified deep waters (&gt;50 meters) as critical to protect, yet
 &lt;5% of these waters in China were conserved, primarily in areas
 with the highest chl.-α concentrations.  Habitats such as
 underwater canyons and seamounts beyond the continental shelf had no
 area-based protection.  While China has made progress in marine
 protection within its boundaries, there is more work to be done to ensure
 that the full suite of marine life is safeguarded.
description: This data set was collected via a combination of remote research
 and expert consultation on China's national network of marine
 protected areas (MPAs) and aquatic germplasm reserves (AGRs).  Refer to
 the manuscript and corresponding supplementary text for further
 information.
description: Journal: Science Advances Title: China’s
 little-known efforts to protect its marine ecosystems safeguards some
 habitats but omits others<br> Authors: John J. Bohorquez1,2, Guifang
 Xue3, Timothy Frankstone1,2, Maria M. Grima1,2, Karine Kleinhaus1,2,4,
 Yiyi Zhao3, Ellen K. Pikitch*,1,2 *Corresponding author
 Email: ellen.pikitch@stonybrook.edu<br> Stony Brook University,
 School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook, NY, USA
 11794<br> Institute for Ocean Conservation Science, Stony Brook
 University, Stony Brook, NY, USA 11794<br> KoGuan Law School,
 Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China<br> School of Global
 Public Health (GPH), New York University, New York, NY 10012
 Date of data collection: November 2019 – April 2021
 Abstract: China’s stature as the world’s major
 producer and consumer of seafood is legendary, but its long-standing
 tradition of protecting marine life domestically is virtually unknown.  We
 present the most comprehensive database on area-based marine conservation
 in China including 326 sites that conserve 12.98% of China’s seas and
 address 142 conservation objectives.  Twenty-two percent of shallow
 habitats (&lt;10 meters) were fully or highly protected and 20% of
 waters 10-50 meters deep were conserved to some degree.  Recent studies
 have identified deep waters (&gt;50 meters) as critical to protect,
 yet &lt;5% of these waters in China were conserved, primarily in areas
 with the highest chl.-α concentrations.  Habitats such as underwater
 canyons and seamounts beyond the continental shelf had no area-based
 protection.  While China has made progress in marine protection within its
 boundaries, there is more work to be done to ensure that the full suite of
 marine life is safeguarded. Data Files:
 SUPPLEMENTAL_MPA_DATA.xlsx
 Description: This Excel workbook contains data
 for each MPA and AGR used in the analysis compiled into different formats
 across five sheets.  Sheet 1, “Data Guide” contains a checklist of what is
 included in each of the other four sheets.  Sheet 2, “Consolidated
 Dataset” includes only the basic data that was used in the overlap
 analysis.  Sheet 3, “Full Dataset”, includes everything in Sheet 2 in
 addition to other contextual information and background sources used to
 populate the dataset.  Sheet 4, “Conservation Objectives” includes a list
 of the presence or absence (“TRUE” or “FALSE”) of each conservation
 objective identified in the research process for each MPA and AGR, as well
 as the level 1 and 2 aggregations for each objective (see main body and
 supplemental text).  Sheet 5, “Sites Outside Study Scope”, includes all of
 the data for the 2 MPAs and 2 AGRs that were outside of the spatial scope
 for the study and not directly included in the analysis (see main body and
 supplemental text).  The variables and relevant rows and columns in Sheets
 2 through 5 are indicated in the following lists: Sheet
 2, “Consolidated Dataset” - Columns [column letter(s)]:
 Site ID [A]: Unique identifier for each MPA and AGR in the
 study<br> Chinese Name 1 [B]: Name of MPA/AGR in Chine characters
 from remote research process (see methods for description).<br>
 English Name 1 [C]: Name of MPA/AGR in English from remote research
 process, translated from Chinese.<br> Establishment Year [D]: Year
 MPA was established.<br> Governance Level [E]: Governance level of
 management authority; national, provincial, county,
 local/municipal.<br> Type [F]: AGR or type of MPA; Marine Nature
 Reserve, Special Marine Protected Area, Marine Park.<br> Location
 [G]: Specific town or municipality of location.<br> Province [H]:
 Province of location.<br> Sea [I]: Sea of location; Bohai Sea, East
 China Sea, South China Sea, Yellow Sea<br> Latitude [J]: Degrees
 North.<br> Longitude [K]: Degrees East.<br> Area (km2) [L]:
 Area of the MPA/AGR. Sheet 3, “Full Dataset” - Columns
 [column letter(s)]: Site ID [A]: Unique identifier for
 each MPA and AGR in the study<br> Chinese Name 1 [B]: Name of
 MPA/AGR in Chine characters from remote research process (see methods for
 description).<br> English Name 1 [C]: Name of MPA/AGR in English
 from remote research process, translated from Chinese.<br> Chinese
 Name 2 [D]: Name of MPA/AGR in Chine characters from expert consultation
 process (see methods for description).<br> English Name 2 [E]: Name
 of MPA/AGR in English from expert consultation process, translated from
 Chinese.<br> Establishment Year [F]: Year MPA was
 established.<br> Governance Level [G]: Governance level of
 management authority; national, provincial, county,
 local/municipal.<br> Type [H]: AGR or type of MPA; Marine Nature
 Reserve, Special Marine Protected Area, Marine Park.<br> Location
 [I]: Specific town or municipality of location.<br> Province [J]:
 Province of location.<br> Sea [K]: Sea of location; Bohai Sea, East
 China Sea, South China Sea, Yellow Sea<br> Latitude [L]: Degrees
 North.<br> Longitude [M]: Degrees East.<br> Source [N]: Name
 of source from where coordinates were found.<br> Method [O]: Method
 for identifying coordinates (see supplementary text).<br> Coordinate
 Source [P]: Details on source (e.g., page number or google search
 term).<br> Coordinate Link/Details [Q]: Direct website/link where
 coordinates were found.<br> Area (km2) [R]: Area of the
 MPA/AGR<br> Marine only (km2) [S]: If reported, area of the MPA/AGR
 that is marine only.<br> Area Source [T]: Name of the source of
 information for area (km2).<br> Details + Links [U]: Page number,
 weblink etc. for source of area data.<br> Objective Source [V]:
 Source where conservation objectives were determined (e.g. page number,
 weblink). Sheet 4, “Conservation Objectives” – Columns
 and Rows [column letter(s), row number(s)] Site ID [A,
 5:326]: Unique identifier for each MPA and AGR in the study<br>
 Conservation Objective [A:EM, 1]: Name of conservation objective as
 collected from data source (see “Objective Source” in Sheet 3, “Full
 Dataset).<br> Aggregate 1 [A:EM, 2]: Aggregate 1 category of each
 conservation objective.<br> Aggregate 2 [A:EM, 3]: Aggregate 2
 category of each conservation objective.<br> Presence/absence of
 conservation objective [B:EM, 5:326]: Presence or absence (“TRUE” or
 “FALSE”) of each conservation objective for each MPA or AGR.
 Sheet 5, “Sites Outside Study Scope” - Columns [column
 letter(s)]: Site ID [A]: Unique identifier for each MPA
 and AGR in the study<br> Chinese Name 1 [B]: Name of MPA/AGR in
 Chine characters from remote research process (see methods for
 description).<br> English Name 1 [C]: Name of MPA/AGR in English
 from remote research process, translated from Chinese.<br> Chinese
 Name 2 [D]: Name of MPA/AGR in Chine characters from expert consultation
 process (see methods for description).<br> English Name 2 [E]: Name
 of MPA/AGR in English from expert consultation process, translated from
 Chinese.<br> Establishment Year [F]: Year MPA was
 established.<br> Governance Level [G]: Governance level of
 management authority; national, provincial, county,
 local/municipal.<br> Type [H]: AGR or type of MPA; Marine Nature
 Reserve, Special Marine Protected Area, Marine Park.<br> Location
 [I]: Specific town or municipality of location.<br> Province [J]:
 Province of location.<br> Sea [K]: Sea of location; Bohai Sea, East
 China Sea, South China Sea, Yellow Sea<br> Latitude [L]: Degrees
 North.<br> Longitude [M]: Degrees East.<br> Source [N]: Name
 of source from where coordinates were found.<br> Method [O]: Method
 for identifying coordinates (see supplementary text).<br> Coordinate
 Source [P]: Details on source (e.g., page number or google search
 term).<br> Coordinate Link/Details [Q]: Direct website/link where
 coordinates were found.<br> Area (km2) [R]: Area of the
 MPA/AGR<br> Marine only (km2) [S]: If reported, area of the MPA/AGR
 that is marine only.<br> Area Source [T]: Name of the source of
 information for area (km2).<br> Details + Links [U]: Page number,
 weblink etc. for source of area data.<br> Conservation Objectives
 [V]: Conservation objectives for each MPA and AGR.<br> Objective
 Source [W]: Source where conservation objectives were determined (e.g.
 page number, weblink). Note: Cells containing
 "NA" indicate data that were not available, and blank cells
 indicate information that was not available or applicable.