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Most marine protected areas (MPAs) examined in a global 2026 study did not reduce fishing activity. Fishing increased in 58% of the 861 protected zones analyzed, fell in 40%, and was unchanged in 2% between 2012 and 2024. The result does not mean every MPA is ineffective; it shows that a protected-area designation alone is a poor measure of how much fishing or biodiversity protection a site delivers.
What the study measured
Millenne Ohanna and colleagues published “Global conservation additionality hindered by persisting fishing pressure in marine protected areas” in Science Advances in 2026 (DOI 10.1126/sciadv.aed6878). The team compared Global Fishing Watch vessel-tracking data with maps of 861 MPAs worldwide, looking at fishing activity from 2012 through 2024.
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The analysis addresses a practical question that the label “protected” cannot answer: did fishing pressure actually change after an area received protection? The reported percentages are descriptive findings from the study coverage; they should not be read as proof that MPA designation itself caused fishing to increase.
The headline results
| Fishing trend, 2012–2024 | Share of MPAs studied | What it indicates |
|---|---|---|
| Increased | 58% | More tracked fishing activity inside the protected zone |
| Decreased | 40% | Less tracked fishing activity than in the comparison period |
| Unchanged | 2% | No reported meaningful change |
The findings matter at global scale. The Protected Planet database counted 17,227 MPAs covering nearly 10% of the world’s oceans in 2026. Separately, 196 countries agreed in 2022 to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030. Counting area alone can therefore make progress look stronger than the protection experienced by fish and ecosystems inside those boundaries.
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Why an MPA may still allow fishing
Protection categories differ
“Marine protected area” is an umbrella term. Some sites prohibit fishing completely, some permit selected gear or seasons, and others allow industrial fishing under regulations. A boundary on a map does not automatically create a no-take reserve.
Placement can limit conservation additionality
The study found that fully protected zones, where fishing is banned, were the category most associated with declines. However, those sites were often located where industrial fishing pressure was already low. By contrast, areas with substantial fishing activity frequently received weaker restrictions or continued to permit fishing.
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Rules require enforcement
Even a strict rule has limited effect if vessels can enter undetected or violations are not penalized. Vessel tracking can reveal patterns of activity, but it does not by itself establish whether a particular trip was legal, what gear was used, or whether catches changed.
What the result means for the 30% ocean target
The 30-by-30 commitment is a coverage goal, not a guarantee that 30% of the ocean will be fully protected from extraction. A credible assessment needs to separate at least three questions:
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- How much area is designated? This is the headline percentage.
- How strong are the restrictions? Sites may be open to fishing, regulated, or fully protected.
- What changed in practice? Fishing pressure, compliance, and ecological outcomes must be measured after designation.
Joachim Claudet, a CNRS marine socioecology researcher and study co-author, said the team “didn’t expect to see such striking results.” He said that, apart from a few fully protected zones, fishing pressure increased in most areas compared with conditions before protection. He also said protected areas that regulate fishing tend globally to avoid places where fishing is actually taking place, leaving uncertainty about their contribution to biodiversity conservation.
How to judge whether an MPA is working
For policymakers, researchers, and the public, a useful scorecard should report the following together rather than treating designation as success:
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- Restriction level: identify whether the site is open, regulated, or fully protected, and specify which gears, vessels, seasons, and species are covered.
- Baseline pressure: measure fishing activity before designation, including whether industrial vessels were already using the area.
- Post-designation activity: track vessel presence and effort over time, preferably with independent compliance checks.
- Enforcement capacity: disclose patrols, remote monitoring, penalties, and evidence that rules are being followed.
- Siting: show whether boundaries overlap spawning grounds, nursery habitat, biodiversity hotspots, or high-pressure fishing grounds.
- Ecological outcomes: evaluate changes in species abundance, habitat condition, and food-web effects—not only the size of the boundary.
What this study does—and does not—establish
The analysis provides a broad comparison of tracked fishing activity across hundreds of protected zones and highlights a gap between legal status and practical protection. The accessible reporting does not provide confidence intervals, regional breakdowns, category-specific sample sizes, or the paper’s complete causal-identification strategy. Consequently, the reported 58%, 40%, and 2% figures describe patterns in the studied MPAs; they do not establish a single global cause for rising activity or show that every type of MPA performs the same way.
The clearest conclusion is narrower and more useful: an MPA label is not evidence that fishing has stopped. Effective ocean conservation depends on where protection is placed, how restrictive it is, whether it is enforced, and whether measurable biodiversity benefits follow.
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