Sea Around Us and ProtectedSeas Navigator Join Forces For Greater Ocean Data Transparency
January 21st, 2025
The Sea Around Us initiative at the University of British Columbia and ProtectedSeas Navigator, a free, interactive map of marine regulatory information worldwide, have partnered to expand users' access to marine protected area (MPA) information.
This new collaboration offers policymakers, researchers, non-profit organizations, students, journalists and others a new way to evaluate existing MPAs within a country's exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Users can do so by visiting the respective page on the Sea Around Us website and navigating to the 'Marine Protected Areas' section. Once there, users can get general MPA details for a specific EEZ or click on the ProtectedSeas tab to be taken to the Navigator website. From there, they can see marine regulatory information for over 22,000 marine areas worldwide, view MPA coverage and total managed areas by country, access standardized level of fishing protection (LFP) scores, and download detailed reports of marine protections by region.
"On the Sea Around Us website and database, we present catch time series by 282 exclusive economic zones and other geographies. These time series start in 1950 and can be 'filtered' by 10 dimensions such as gear employed and end-use. We also present relevant information and indicators, including each EEZ's 'marine protected areas.' All of these resources are indispensable for assessing the impact of fisheries on marine ecosystems," said Dr. Daniel Pauly, principal investigator of the Sea Around Us. "By deep-linking each EEZ page to the respective ProtectedSeas page, we are enhancing the existing information and highlighting research-backed data that can be useful for determining and assessing the boundaries and regulations of marine protected areas."
Similarly, ProtectedSeas Navigator provides links to catch data and other related indicators available on the Sea Around Us website on each of its country pages.
"By partnering with the Sea Around Us, we are increasing the availability and visibility of data on global ocean protections," said ProtectedSeas director Virgil Zetterlind. "This collaboration offers actionable insights about the state of our global ocean to help drive responsible stewardship of our marine resources."
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ABOUT PROTECTEDSEAS NAVIGATOR
ProtectedSeas Navigator is a free, interactive platform and map of regulatory information for over 22,000 managed saltwater and coastal areas in more than 220 countries and overseas territories, including the high seas. For each protected area, Navigator includes a synopsis of key regulations, the allowed status of specific fishing and other human activities, and a standardized level of fishing protection score. All information is available in English and in each country's official language. The open-access map is available at https://navigatormap.org.
ABOUT THE SEA AROUND US
The Sea Around Us is a research initiative established in 1999 at the University of British Columbia. By performing catch reconstructions, the program assesses the impact of fisheries on the marine ecosystems of the world and offers mitigating solutions. The Sea Around Us provides data and analyses emphasizing catch time series starting in 1950, and related series (e.g., landed value and catch by flag state, fishing sector and catch type), and fisheries-related information, such as government subsidies and marine biodiversity, on every maritime country. Global catch data available at https://www.seaaroundus.org/
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Provided by Sea Around Us