Applying empirical estimates of marine protected area effectiveness to assess conservation plans in British Columbia, Canada Natalie C. Ban a,⇑ , Chris McDougall b,c , Martina Beck a , Anne K. Salomon d , Ken Cripps c a School of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria, PO Box 1700 STN CSC, Victoria, BC V8W 2Y2, Canada b Haida Fisheries Program, Council of the Haida Nation, PO Box 87 Massett, Haida Gwaii V0T 1M0, Canada c Central Coast Indigenous Resource Alliance, 2790 Vargo Rd, Campbell River, BC V9W 4X1, Canada d School of Resource and Environmental Management, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada article info Article history: Received 24 March 2014 Received in revised form 23 September 2014 Accepted 25 September 2014 Keywords: Marine protected areas Effectiveness Marine conservation Indigenous management IUCN Categories Marine spatial planning Partially protected areas abstract While efforts to meet international commitments to counter biodiversity declines by establishing networks of marine protected areas (MPAs) continue, assessments of MPAs rarely take into account measures of effectiveness of different categories of protection, or other design principles (size, spacing, governance considerations). We carried out a meta-analysis of ecological effectiveness of IUCN Categories I–II (no-take), IV and VI (MPAs) compared to unprotected areas. We then applied our ecological effective- ness estimates – the added benefit of marine protection over and above conventional fisheries manage- ment – to a gap analysis of existing MPAs, and MPAs proposed by four indigenous groups on the Central Coast of British Columbia, Canada. Additionally, we assessed representation, size, spacing, and governance considerations against MPA design criteria outlined in the literature. We found significant differences in response ratios for IUCN Categories IV and VI MPAs compared to no-take reserves and areas open to fishing, although variability in responses was high. By rescaling the predicted ecological effective- ness ratios (including confidence estimates), we found that, compared to no-take reserves (biodiversity conservation effectiveness 100%) and open fishing areas (0% additional biodiversity contribution over and above conventional fisheries management), IUCN Category IV had a predicted effectiveness score of 60%, ranging between 34% and 89% (95% lower and upper confidence intervals, respectively), and IUCN Category VI had a predicted effectiveness score of 24% (ranging between 12% and 72% for the 95% lower and upper confidence intervals, respectively). We found that the existing MPAs did poorly when com- pared against most MPA design criteria, whereas the proposed MPA network achieved many of the best practices identified in the literature, and could achieve all if some additional sites were added. By using the Central Coast of British Columbia as a case study, we demonstrated a method for applying empiri- cally-based ecological effectiveness estimates to an assessment of MPA design principles for an existing and proposed network of MPAs. Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Networks of marine protected areas (MPAs) are increasingly being designed and implemented throughout the world to meet a diversity of conservation, food security and fisheries manage- ment objectives (Grorud-Colvert et al., 2014). MPAs range from strict no-take areas where all extractive activities are prohibited and people are restricted from visiting, to areas with sustainable use of natural resources. As a collection of individual MPAs operat- ing cooperatively and synergistically, at various spatial scales, MPA networks typically encompass a range of protection levels (Dudley, 2008; Kelleher and Kenchington, 1992). While individual MPAs and MPA networks are often established to meet biodiversity con- servation and sustainable use objectives, other goals also exist (Jupiter et al., 2014). In particular, in some regions, indigenous and local people are using marine spatial planning, including MPAs, as a way to secure access to marine resources and assert their management and constitutional rights (e.g., territorial user rights for fisheries, TURFs, Castilla and Defeo, 2004; Gelcich et al., 2012; locally managed marine areas, Johannes, 2002). When biodiversity conservation is an overarching objective, designing effective MPA networks requires information about region-specific ecological MPA network design principles and governance good practices to ensure effective planning processes, subsequent management, and compliance (Burt et al. 2014). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2014.09.037 0006-3207/Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. ⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 250 853 3569. E-mail address: nban@uvic.ca (N.C. Ban). Biological Conservation 180 (2014) 134–148 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Biological Conservation journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/biocon