Defining marine protected areas: A response to Horta e Costa et al

Horta e Costa et al. (Marine Policy 72 (2), 2016) suggest a new way of defining marine protected areas based around an analysis of uses (primarily fishing, but also aquaculture, boating and anchoring). Whilst the authors highlight some important, we believe there are strong arguments to stick with the existing IUCN classification system and outline these in the following response. They include: the importance of having a global protected area classification system that includes both marine and terrestrial (many protected areas contain both); the challenge of generating accurate data, which would be increased by the proposals, and the multiple objectives of protected areas beyond those considered in the classification system. Furthermore, the current system was determined after a lengthy consultation process, involving hundreds of professionals around the world, and should not therefore be casually abandoned.