by Peter Prokosch
For those of my VISION 52 News readers who are involved in marine protected areas (MPAs) or even manage them themselves, I would like to share a valuable resource today that I myself enjoy using:
OCTO’s MPA Help list is a global online community to support the planning and management of marine protected areas (MPAs). It provides a direct way for MPA managers, planners, researchers, and policymakers to access the community’s knowledge, with an emphasis on sharing practical “how-to” expertise. MPA Help grew out of OCTO’s long-running MPA News newsletter, which was published from 1999-2021.
MPA Help has over 14,000 members. Learn more and join the community at https://octogroup.org/programs/mpa-help.
OCTO’s EBM Help list is an interactive online forum for ocean professionals worldwide to share resources and insights on improving ocean management and protection, particularly through ecosystem-based management (EBM). We encourage participants to ask the community “how-to” questions about their sustainable ocean management work and to share their knowledge with others. EBM Help grew out of OCTO’s EBM Tools Network and The Skimmer newsletter, which ran from 2007-2021. EBM Help has over 16,000 members. Learn more and join the community at https://octogroup.org/programs/ebm-help.
As a member of MPA Help, you can benefit from the experience of this global community of MPA experts. At any time, you can simply ask the entire community any important questions you may have about managing MPAs or how to get MPAs off the ground, and you will receive answers and be able to make contacts.
Last year, for example, I asked the question, ‘Where can I find the best examples and experiences of the effects of MPAs with no-take zones?’ And further: ‘Where are there examples where the establishment of no-take zones initially met with great resistance from fishermen and the local population, but where the same people later recognised and welcomed the positive effects of such zones?’ I received a number of valuable examples described by members of the MPA Help community and was able to compare and verify them with examples I had obtained using ChatGPT.
I was then able to incorporate these examples into my presentation at the East Atlantic Flyway seminar 2025 in Langeneß. And for our seminar and book on the ‘East Atlantic Flyway of Coastal Birds – Perspectives and Visions’ planned for this year, I can continue to use this collection of good examples together with my marine biologist and conservationist friends.
