Thousands of marine species, and many vital habitats, have little to no coverage in America’s marine protected areas, according to a new study co-led by the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. With biodiversity loss accelerating, many governments have been leaning on protected areas to preserve important species and ecosystems. But surprisingly, much of this effort is missing a key ingredient–information on the species they are aiming to protect. This means a large fraction of those protected areas may be falling short of their mission, if not designed with biodiversity specifically in mind.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/smithsonian-environmental-research-center/2024/01/23/fixing-holes-in-americas-ocean-protection/