Effectiveness of marine protected areas in safeguarding important migratory megafauna habitat.

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are a commonly used management tool to safeguard marine life from anthropogenic impacts, yet their efficacy often remains untested. Evaluating how highly dynamic marine species use static MPAs is challenging but becoming more feasible with the advancement of telemetry data. Here, we focus on southern right whales (Eubalaena australis, SRWs) in the waters off Aotearoa/New Zealand, which declined from 30,000 whales to fewer than 40 mature females due to whaling. Now numbering in the low thousands, the key socializing and nursery areas for this population in the remote subantarctic islands are under the protection of different types of MPAs. However, the effectiveness of these MPAs in encompassing important whale habitat and protecting the whales from vessel traffic has not been investigated. To address this, we analyzed telemetry data from 29 SRWs tagged at the Auckland Islands between 2009 and 2022. We identified two previously unknown and currently unprotected areas that were used by the whales for important behaviors such as foraging, socializing, or resting. Additionally, by combining whale locations and vessel tracking data (2020-2022) during peak breeding period (June to October), we found high spatiotemporal overlap between whales and vessels within several MPAs, suggesting the whales could still be vulnerable to multiple anthropogenic stressors even when within areas designated for protection. Our results identify areas to be prioritized for future monitoring and investigation to support the ongoing recovery of this SRW population, as well as highlight the overarching importance of assessing MPA effectiveness post-implementation, especially in a changing climate.

Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests:Emma Carroll reports financial support was provided by Royal Society of New Zealand. Emma Carroll reports financial support was provided by Live Ocean. Emma Carroll reports financial support was provided by Lou and Iris Fisher Charitable Trust. Emma Carroll reports financial support was provided by Joyce Fisher Charitable Trust. Emma Carroll reports financial support was provided by Brian Sheth Sangreal Foundation. Emma Carroll reports financial support was provided by International Whaling Commission Southern Ocean Research Partnership. Emma Carroll reports financial support was provided by ASOC. Emma Carroll reports financial support was provided by New Zealand Department of Conservation. Simon Childerhouse reports financial support was provided by Cawthron Institute. Emma Carroll reports administrative support and equipment, drugs, or supplies were provided by Australian Antarctic Division. Emma Carroll reports administrative support and equipment, drugs, or supplies were provided by British Antarctic Survey. Emma Carroll reports administrative support and equipment, drugs, or supplies were provided by Antarctica New Zealand. Emma Carroll reports administrative support and equipment, drugs, or supplies were provided by Strannik Ocean Voyages. Emma Carroll reports administrative support and equipment, drugs, or supplies were provided by Spindrift Images. Emma Carroll reports administrative support and equipment, drugs, or supplies were provided by Bluff Yacht Club. Emma Carroll reports administrative support was provided by New Zealand Department of Conservation Southland. Emma Carroll reports administrative support was provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.