Abstract

Over twenty MPAs from Florida, Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Nicaragua were examined in terms of their development as fishery and habitat management tools using diverse indicators. Trends among MPAs were not identical within or among the countries but there are common patterns. Many MPAs are relatively new and associated biological and social databases don’t exist or are in their infancy, requiring long-term evaluation before robust assessments of performance are available. Even older MPAs have often not had enough monitoring to reach solid conclusions about management effectiveness. The common absence of enforcement and research remains a chronic problem. Analyses of fishery impacts are often confounded since the majority of MPAs have correlates with slow or absent long-term planning. Enforced timelines for implementing management plans can mature the effectiveness of essential research, education, enforcement, and funding activities

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