Wildlife

Marine Protected Areas and Animal Welfare

Marine protected areas reduce human-caused welfare harms to sea life by limiting destructive fishing, noise, and habitat damage. Their expansion benefits billions of marine animals.

Key Facts

Only about 8% of the global ocean is currently under some form of protection
Fully protected no-take marine reserves have significantly higher fish biomass and biodiversity than fished areas
MPAs reduce bycatch mortality, entanglement risk, and physical habitat damage within their boundaries
The 30x30 global initiative aims to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030

Welfare Considerations

Marine protected areas benefit animal welfare by reducing direct human-caused suffering including bycatch, entanglement, and habitat destruction. Within well-enforced MPAs, individual animals live with significantly lower risk of painful human-caused injury and death. Expanding marine protection is one of the highest-leverage welfare interventions available for the vast number of animals living in ocean ecosystems.

What You Can Do

Support campaigns advocating for the 30x30 ocean protection target
Advocate for your government to establish and adequately enforce new marine protected areas
Choose seafood from fisheries that operate sustainably near or around marine protected areas
Donate to organizations monitoring and defending existing marine protected areas from illegal fishing