The management performance of marine protected areas in the North-east Atlantic Ocean

In the North-east Atlantic Ocean there are 550 inshore and offshore MPAs established to accomplish a high diversity of objectives, which can be classified into 24 different types of MPA designations. Only 153 of these MPAs have a management plan (MgP) --the basic tool required for an effective management. Amongst these, only 66 are actually managed, i.e. they have the staff and resources required to operate the plan. A common characteristic of these MPAs is the lack of standardized indicators of their performance. In order to address this issue, an alternative approach was developed based on the assessment of management performance using the expert knowledge and perceptions of managers operating MPAs, a universal source of information that could allow overcoming the usual gaps due to the restrictions in coverage of scientific monitoring and assessments. MgPs showed differences among countries but were homogeneous within each country, reflecting the usual top-down approach in the establishment of MPAs. Compliance with the qualitative objectives present in MgPs was higher than compliance with quantitative ones (87% versus 50%), and the MPAs that most successfully achieved their objectives were those with regular monitoring. This analysis also shows that beyond these objectives, the establishment of an MPA and the activities developed as a consequence of its creation have a positive socio-economic impact on the local human community. •Marine protected area (MPA) management plans (MgP) reflect a top-down approach.•MgPs show differences between countries but are homogeneous within countries.•After MgP implementation, MPA performance is similar regardless of original MgP.•Compliance with objectives in the MgP improves with regular monitoring.•All MPAs have a positive socio-economic impact on local community.