Hawaiian Marine Life Conservation Districts Studied for
Effectiveness The National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science
published the first comprehensive evaluation of Hawaii’s system
of state marine protected areas (MPAs).The report, Fish Habitat
Utilization Patterns and Evaluation of the Efficacy of Marine
Protected Areas in Hawaii, examined the eleven Marine Life
Conservation Districts (MLCDs) established by the state of
Hawaii over the last four decades in support of conservation and
education objectives and surrounding areas for biodiversity and
fisheries conservation effectiveness. The report also made
recommendations for effective design of MPAs. Three key study
findings were that 1) areas fully protected from fishing had
higher fish biomass, larger overall fish size, and higher
biodiversity than adjacent areas of similar habitat quality; 2)
habitat complexity, protected area size, and habitat diversity
were the major factors in determining effectiveness among MPAs;
and 3) all of the MLCDs were too small