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The establishment of marine protected areas (MPAs) is widely advocated as a key strategy for conserving ocean biodiversity. Proponents argue that MPAs deliver three major benefits. First, by restricting fishing and other extractive activities, MPAs allow fish populations to recover and increase in abundance, which can spill over into adjacent fishing grounds, thus supporting sustainable fisheries. Second, MPAs protect critical habitats such as coral reefs and seagrass beds from physical damage caused by trawling or anchoring, preserving the structural complexity that shelters many species. Third, MPAs enhance the resilience of marine ecosystems against climate change by maintaining healthy, genetically diverse populations that are better able to adapt to warming waters and ocean acidification. These arguments form the basis for global targets to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030.

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While marine protected areas are popular, their promised benefits are often overstated. First, the idea that fish populations rebound and spill over is misleading. Many MPAs are poorly enforced, allowing illegal fishing to continue. Even in well-managed MPAs, the spillover effect is limited because fish tend to stay within the protected zone, and the surrounding areas may suffer from increased fishing pressure as fishers concentrate their efforts just outside the boundaries. Second, habitat protection is not guaranteed. Many MPAs are established in areas already degraded by pollution or climate change, and they do not address land-based sources of damage like agricultural runoff or coastal development. Moreover, some MPAs are 'paper parks' that exist only on maps, lacking any real management or surveillance. Third, the claim that MPAs boost climate resilience is speculative. Small, isolated reserves may not contain enough genetic diversity to adapt to rapid environmental shifts, and warmer waters may cause species to migrate beyond the protected boundaries. Thus, while MPAs can help in some contexts, they are not the panacea that reading suggests.