Fishing activities within Spanish marine protected areas in the Mediterranean Sea

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are used for biodiversity conservation and Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity agreed to use them together with other effective area-based conservation measures to protect 30 % of the ocean by 2030. Scientific evidence shows that most positive outcomes are dependent on full protection, where all extractive activities are banned. Yet, most of what is being protected is under partial protection, with often heterogeneous levels of protection. Here, we assess the protection level based on fishing regulations of 27 Spanish Mediterranean nationally and regionally designated MPAs and identify the fishing gears allowed within the partially protected areas. The level of protection from fishing is assigned based on the number of allowed fishing gears within MPA borders and their potential ecological impact. Approximately 0.8 % of the total area of the Spanish Mediterranean Sea is covered by the included MPAs, of which 63 % is incompatible with the conservation of nature and 7 % is fully or highly protected. Our results show that the composition of allowed gears varies across partially protected areas within the same level of protection (i.e. lightly protected areas) and regions. Including the reasoning behind specific gear restrictions on fishing regulations that apply to each MPA could help to understand the context of each MPA, and improve MPA effectiveness. Our study contributes to illustrate the suboptimal current situation of marine protection in the Spanish Mediterranean Sea and the need to increase effective protection efforts to achieve area-based conservation targets. • We assessed the level of protection and fishing gears of Spanish MPAs using MPA Guide. • 63 % of the protected surface is not strict enough to protect biodiversity. • Only 7 % of total protection falls within fully or highly protected areas. • Gear restrictions differ across equivalent levels of protection and regions.