The EBSAs are special areas in the ocean that serve important purposes, in one way or another, to support the healthy functioning of oceans and the many services that it provides. The ocean is under increasing threat from various human activities. The most pressing threats come from overfishing, destructive fishing practices, and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities.
Heino M, Kummu M, Makkonen M, Mulligan M, Verburg PH, Jalava M, et al. (2015) Forest Loss in Protected Areas and Intact Forest Landscapes: A Global Analysis. PLoS ONE 10(10): e0138918. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0138918
In June, 2015 the United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution calling for the development of an international legally-binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction
The Pacific Islands Marine Portal provides various information on the status of marine protected areas and much more.
What are we actually protecting in the ocean?
The authors contend in this National Geographic Ocean Views blog that most marine species are not well represented within MPAs and several hundred species are not covered at all. The blog summarizes their article in Natures's Scientific Reports:
Lubchenco, Jane, and Kirsten Grorud-Colvert. 2015. Making waves: The science and politics of ocean protection. Science Vol. 350 No. 6259: 382-383.
Oonzaier, L. B. and D. Pauly. 2016. Marine protection targets: an updated assessment of global progress. Oryx 50(1), 27–35.
The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) is the most comprehensive global spatial dataset on marine and terrestrial protected areas available.
Community Based Management resources