How marine protected areas benefit the welfare of fish and marine mammals by reducing fishing pressure and allowing behavioral normality in protected zones.
Marine protected areas improve the welfare of marine animals by creating spaces where fishing pressure is removed and animals can live without the chronic stress of repeated gear encounters and predator-like disturbance. Fish in well-established no-take zones show behavioral indicators of lower chronic stress: less flight distance from potential threats, more complex foraging behavior, and natural population age structures with older, larger individuals. Beyond individual welfare, MPAs also protect the habitat complexity that supports the behavioral richness of marine ecosystems. Supporting ambitious MPA targets is therefore both a conservation and an animal welfare priority.