October 31, 2024
2:00 PM EDT (Bahamas) / 11:00 AM PDT (California) / 8:00 AM HST (Hawaii)
The Folkestone Marine Reserve patrol vessel in Barbados. Photo © Shane Gross
Marine protected areas (MPAs) are important tools for supporting the conservation and recovery of marine ecosystems. MPAs also provide critical co-benefits to nearby communities by improving fisheries management, enhancing tourism, and supporting resilient coastal communities. However, lack of compliance with rules and regulations and illegal activities in MPAs can limit their effectiveness and benefits. Monitoring, control, surveillance, and enforcement (also known as MCS&E) systems are critical tools to support MPA effectiveness and outcomes. To help managers and planners better understand MCS&E strategies for MPAs, the Reef Resilience Network is partnering with the Blue Nature Alliance to develop a new MPA Enforcement Toolkit, to be released in 2025.
During this webinar, speakers will provide an overview of the topic, share insights on practical MCS&E strategies, and discuss an application of these strategies in the Bahamas. Speakers will include:
- Sunny Tellwright, Ocean Technology and Innovation Program Manager at Conservation International and MCS advisor for the Blue Nature Alliance
- Gregg Casad, Senior Compliance Advisor to WildAid
- Marcia Musgrove, TNC Northern Caribbean Program Director
- Natalie Miaoulis, TNC Northern Caribbean Program Fisheries Specialist
The webinar will last for one hour and the presentations will be followed by an open question-and-answer session. A recording of the webinar will be available on the Reef Resilience Network website and YouTube channel. This webinar is brought to you by the Reef Resilience Network and the Blue Nature Alliance, in partnership with the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) as part of their #ForCoral webinar series.
