REVIEWS of Marine Protected Areas for Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises

Marine Protected Areas for Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises is an especially timely book. The creation of MPAs is hot right now. The author, Erich Hoyt, relates that in the time it took to produce this book, the number of cetacean-relevant MPAs more than quadrupled. While reading about the hundreds of existing MPAs summarized in the book and appreciating the dynamic nature of marine conservation, I was left in awe of the impossibility of Hoyt's task. Nevertheless, he is successful in producing a volume that is authoritative, comprehensive, and up-to-date. The first part functions well as both a text for background reading and as a reference for specific information. (There are many tables and boxes, such as the list of treaties, to which you will want to refer repeatedly.) The second part and the bulk of the book…is a worldwide review of those MPAs that include cetaceans.…Hoyt discusses the challenges facing those involved with the creation and management of MPAs. An initial challenge is to identify critical habitat in need of protection. With cetaceans, critical habitat can be seasonal, spatially dynamic, and/or ephemeral. Because of user-group conflicts, particularly with commercial shipping and fisheries, conservationists must be judicious in their selection of critical habitat. Other challenges are the development of a management plan and enforcement…I recommend this book to everyone interested in marine mammals and/or marine conservation. In particular, those researchers actively involved with MPAs will find it indispensable.

- Robert Nawojchik, Aquatic Mammals 2005, 31(4): 481-2.

This is a rich, detailed resource… [a] well-referenced sourcebook… With recent concerns about whale survival, this book could enhance support for establishing appropriate reserves. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above.

- D. Bardack, University of Illinois at Chicago in Choice

A truly impressive piece of work….easy to browse, authoritative and up to date. It is the definitive reference of the current extent of cetacean ecosystems-based management and something I can see myself returning to on a regular basis over the next few years. It should also be of value to professionals and students with interests in wider marine management issues.

- Ben Wilson, Environmental Conservation 2005, 32(3): 283-4.

Protecting the world's whales and dolphins from exploitation by fishing fleets has become an emotive issue over the past quarter century, but how much idea do most of us have of the extent, or the success, of the many conservation efforts worldwide? Scotland-based cetacean expert Erich Hoyt has provided many answers - and raised many questions - in his latest publication, worldwide in coverage [which] reveals the inside story of existing MPAs, national parks and sanctuaries. Designed to be a key resource for scientists, research institutions, students, wildlife conservation agencies and MPA managers, it is also a valuable source of reference to anyone with an interest in cetaceans and the special places where they live.

- National Parks and Protected Areas International Bulletin (NPIB, Nov. 2005)

After many years of research, Erich Hoyt has yet again produced a unique and essential book for anybody interested in the conservation and protection of cetaceans...This will become the definitive source on MPAs for cetaceans for many years to come and will influence the design and management of this important and rapidly developing conservation tool. I strongly recommend it to everybody interested in whale and dolphin conservation.

- Simon Berrow, Fins 2(1) and Biology and Environment, Royal Society Ireland

Drawing on a vast knowledge of the world's whales, Hoyt cuts a clear path through the labyrinth of legislation involved in marine protected areas (MPAs) to create a comprehensive resource for all involved in marine conservation. For the first time, those involved in creating protected areas can gain a global perspective on their local work. It facilitates the sharing of ideas, reveals the glaring gaps and is a call to action. Hoyt transmits an urgency to get on with the task in hand. He sees all MPAs as works in progress with the capacity to improve and change. This book will go a long way towards its aims of promoting the creation of the best possible MPAs for cetaceans. Anyone sharing that aim will find it an invaluable contribution to marine conservation.

- Anna Levin, BBC Wildlife, in "Best new reads" (lead review)

One of the leading scientists on sea mammals Erich Hoyt has just published Marine Protected Areas for Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises. Worldwide in coverage, the 516-page book reveals the inside story on more than 500 existing and planned MPAs, national parks and sanctuaries....a key resource for scientists, research institutions, students, wildlife conservation agencies, MPA managers and anyone who cares about cetaceans and the special places where they live.

- Chemistry and Life XXI Century (Moscow)

Le premier tour du monde, détaillé et informé, des zones marines protégées, les meilleurs endroits où observer 84 espèces de baleines et dauphins.

- Sciences et Avenir (Paris)

Multiple strategies are needed to reverse the decline of whales and dolphins, and one of these is creating protected areas for them. Renowned writer and leading authority on whale watching Erich Hoyt takes us on a fascinating journey across the complex and uncharted world of protected areas for cetaceans. This highly informative book will become a source of inspiration and understanding for the decision-maker as well as for the layperson, and an exhaustive repository of information and references for the specialist.

- Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara, Deputy chairman, IUCN/SSC Cetacean Specialist Group and, founder, Tethys Research Institute, Italy

Marine Protected Areas for Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises is the definitive handbook on this pressing issue [of marine habitat protection] and the first to bridge the gap between the disciplines of marine-protected areas and cetacean conservation. Essential.

- Sustain Magazine (UK)

Hoyt makes clear that Marine Protected Areas offer a realistic and informed approach to immediate and future marine conservation. The science and logistics are complex, but the theory behind MPAs is simple. It's a holistic approach to conservation in which single factors are considered cumulatively, rather than individually. So for example, the effects of all human activities in one area (say, fishing, recreational boating and waste management) are considered all together, not just for one particular species but on the entire local ecosystem, from whale to coral reef to microorganism. The emphasis is strongly on the management of human activities.

- Orca Network

This authoritative handbook...is testimony to the substantial on-going efforts to implement the relatively new and bridging field of MPAs for cetacean species and habitats. For Indonesia, the handbook is also a timely reminder that more MPAs are clearly needed...to ensure protective management.

- Indonesian Nature Conservation Newsletter

In thirty years of cetacean advocacy I have never felt more empowered or inspired by any other cetacean book...Many books tell us all that we know about cetaceans; finally we have a book that tells us how to help them by protecting their habitats and perhaps more important, how to do more. This is the stuff the politicians need to know before they are moved to help... A book that anyone serious about wanting to conserve cetaceans and their habitats must have... A must-have book for every reference library in every country...Only Hoyt could have written it.

- William Rossiter, Cetacean Society International director, reviewing in Whales Alive!

Expertly written account of...a neglected and pressing issue. This first of its kind reference work, is of immense value to everyone who busies themselves with whale and dolphin conservation, and should be in the hands of every policy maker.

- American Cetacean Society newsletter, Puget Sound chapter

There is much to recommend in this book. It has a great deal of information about all manner of marine protected areas. In addition it offers masses of data about cetacean location, the range of conservation measures available and the laws that exist. Much of these data are in table form making it easy to compare options. It would add considerably to any conservation or marine study and should be seriously considered for such. Target Readership: Senior Secondary. Overall Rating: **** (4 stars)

- Dr Paul S Ganderton, Book Review Editor, British Ecological Society, Teaching Ecology Group,

In this excellent and definitive book, the author makes clear that Marine Protected Areas, even in the earliest stages of full evaluation, offer a realistic and informed approach to immediate and future marine conservation. Whilst the science and logistics are complex, the theory behind MPAs is simple. Its an holistic approach to conservation in which single factors are considered cumulatively, rather than individually. So for example, the effects of all human activities in one area (say, fishing, recreational boating and waste management) are considered all together, not just for one particular species but on the entire ecosystem in question, from whale to coral reef to microorganism. The emphasis is strongly on the management of human activities. Truly effective MPAs require difficult and unpopular decisions, such as the zoning of areas where human presence is limited and, in some cases, prohibited. We are accustomed to plundering the seas without thought, for economic and recreational benefit. For the world in general to embrace MPAs to their fullest extent will require a huge shift in thinking and greater cooperation between nations and understanding between cultures.
This book cuts through the multiplicity of labels attached to areas of protection for marine life and lays bare the precise meaning of each. Such labels generally make it easy for us to imagine that, in those protected sanctuaries at least, cetaceans are saved. But large whales being protected from commercial hunting in one area does not necessarily mean they will not be killed in the name of science or suffer a fatal strike from a ship, and goes absolutely nowhere towards protecting smaller cetaceans from dying in a fishing net.
Land-based conservation has the advantage of being relatively stable and focused on discreet areas. To paraphrase the author, one can't simply erect a fence at sea and put up a Keep Out sign. Marine protected areas need to be fluid to take into account the fact that critical habitats for cetaceans change with the season, their migratory movements and the dispersal of their prey. Further, our very definition of critical habitat must be questioned and expanded: what good a protected area for calving if there is no safe area for socialising and mating?
This is an exhaustively researched, fascinating, thought-provoking and hugely useful book. It is both reference and reading material in one. For those involved in the conservation of cetaceans it must already be a compulsory handbook and for the layreader it is a revealing and readable account of the considerable progress of our conservation experts and of the huge task still ahead. A massive achievement marking a milestone in marine protection. Overall Rating: ***** (5 stars)

- Rachel Saward, Whale and Dolphin Magazine (also Amazon.com review)

A new book examines how MPAs can help protect cetaceans - whales, dolphins, and porpoises - and, to an extent, how the presence of cetaceans can be used to aid MPA planning and management. Detailing the status, process, and potential for cetacean habitat conservation, the book cites steps for creating better protected areas for cetaceans. It also describes habitat needs for 84 species and lists more than 500 MPAs that have been designated or proposed to protect cetaceans worldwide.
The biggest threats to cetaceans are degradation of critical habitats, overfishing and bycatch, and marine pollution," says author Erich Hoyt, senior research fellow at the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, a UK-based NGO. "The threat best addressed by MPAs is degradation of critical habitat for feeding, breeding, and other social activities." Hoyt writes that critical habitat for cetaceans is a fairly new idea and is yet to be fully explored, much less implemented. Identifying the critical habitat of cetaceans will be the first step toward good marine management of MPAs for cetaceans, he says. Because marine habitat boundaries (such as hunting and feeding areas) may be relatively fluid due to changing oceanographic conditions, he argues for MPA networks and flexible MPAs, with regular adjustments of boundaries as needed.
To achieve this level of adaptive habitat management, says Hoyt, it will be necessary to incorporate ecosystem-based management in the MPAs. To that end, the presence of cetaceans can serve as an ecological monitor for the overall health of the marine environment. Disturbances in the food chain caused by overfishing or environmental changes, for example, can affect cetacean distribution markedly. Hoyt adds that the popularity of cetaceans can help increase community support for an MPA and educate locals to the impacts of their activities on the animals and their habitat.
The 516-page Marine Protected Areas for Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises: A World Handbook for Cetacean Habitat Conservation is listed at £24.95 (US$39.95) but may be purchased at discount through the publisher Earthscan at www.earthscan.co.uk, or through online booksellers including www.phinz.com (which offers a free poster of cetacean MPAs with book purchase).

- MPA News, University of Washington, Seattle, USA

10/01/2005: Erich Hoyt's new book mentions the Doubtful Sound Marine Sanctuary proposal originating from the work we did in Doubtful Sound...The book, Marine Protected Areas for Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises, reviews the existing and proposed marine protected areas available to cetaceans in the world, it comes with a great map... The optimists will see many proposed protected areas on the map, the pessismists (or realists?) will see TOO FEW existing such areas. Great book, a must have.

- David Lusseau, Ecologist, Dalhousie University

For many years, Erich Hoyt has been a leader amongst the conservation community....His award-winning books, which cover topics from ants to whales, act as sign-posts showing the way for the environmentalists of our age. His marine conservation work has focused mainly on whales, including evaluations of whale watching. Here, however, as the title tells us, he takes an in-depth look at marine protected areas. These MPAs have become a central theme of modern marine conservation efforts and a critical look at them is more than timely. He examines the guiding concepts in details and also provides details of the relevant MPAs in each region of the world. It is clear that considerable research has gone into what is presented making this a reference book of significant merit. It is a book for everyone with a serious interest in marine conservation and/or whales and dolphins and, once again, Hoyt has put in place a seminal work that will be widely cited and quoted for many years to come. Overall rating: ***** (5 stars)

- Mark Simmonds, Director of Science, WDCS (Amazon.co.uk)