Global Effects of Marine Protected Areas on Food Security Are Unknown

Sala et al.1 present a framework for designing and assessing the benefits of a global network of marine protected areas (MPAs) for biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and food security. However, the model used to project these benefits makes a series of insufficiently tested or justified assumptions. We show that a more defensible model greatly alters the map of priority MPA areas and reduces food benefits by 62%.

1.

Sala, E. et al. Protecting the global ocean for biodiversity, food and climate. Nature 1–6 (2021) doi:10.1038/s41586-021-03371-z.