However, relatively few of these protections take the form of strict prohibitions on fishing to achieve fishery conservation and management objectives. This is particularly true in the United States. National Ocean Service, the U.S. National Park Service, and state and territorial marine resource agencies. These protected areas differ in management goals, as well as the type and degree of protection they afford. Prohibitions on fishing within these areas have not generally been prescribed or well received where applied.
Marine reserves are few in number and small in scale.
But this trend appears to be changing. The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, the National Park Service, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council are currently negotiating the establishment of a 186-nautical square mile marine reserve in the Dry Tortugas. Each of these agencies has some authority in the area, and each was involved in designing the reserve, along with scientists, commercial and recreational fishermen, divers and environmental representatives. When implemented, the Tortugas Ecological Reserve will be the second largest marine reserve in the world. Several other reserve systems are also under consideration.