225
12 Marine Protected Areas in the Canary Islands – Improving Their Governability
outside the waters where the regional governments have competences.
4 In some cases,
the characteristics of the ecological systems involved must be considered for speci fi c
conservation goals, such as the Special Protection Areas (SPAs) for birds or the
Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), arising from the EU Habitats and Birds
Directives. There is no clear distribution of responsibilities between national and
regional governments; recently, the management of Spanish National Parks has
been transferred from the State to the regional governments even though the main
responsibility remains with the State (Law 5/2007 of 3 April, of the National Parks
Network, Of fi cial State Gazette, number 81, of Wednesday 4 April 2007, 14639–49).
In short, Spanish MPAs are the result of negotiations in different decision-making
environments and contexts. For the general purposes of this chapter, we will refer to
one type of MPA in particular, “Marine Reserve with fi shing interest”, whereby the
“main goal is the sustainability of artisanal fi sheries” (Revenga 2003 , 101) and
which allows some types of small scale fi shing activities.
The legalization of the Marine Reserves (MRs) in Spain appeared for the fi rst
time in a “Ministerial Order of Maritime Restocking”, published as a fi shing restoration tool in 1982 (Order 11, of May 1982, Of fi cial State Gazette, number 125,
13824–5). The State would be required to consult with the National Federation of
Cofradías and the Spanish Institute of Oceanography prior to the establishment of
the MRs. The fi rst MR created under this Ministerial Order was the Marine Reserve
of Tabarca
5 in Alicante, off the Spanish Mediterranean Coast in 1986. The fi shing
identity of the Spanish MRs was written into Spanish Marine Fisheries Law 3/2001,
which explicitly stated that “those areas[,] because of their particular characteristics[,] deemed appropriate for the regeneration of fi sh stocks ” , would be declared
marine reserves (Law 3/2001, Of fi cial State Gazette, BOE number 75, Wednesday
28 of March 2001, 11516) . Finally, the Marine Protected Area de fi nition was drawn
into Spanish Law 42/2007 on Natural Heritage and Biodiversity, of 13 December
(Of fi cial State Gazette, BOE , number 299, Friday 14 December 2007, 51275–327).
This was a legal de fi nition proposed by the Ministry of the Environment. The Marine
Reserve de fi nition, on the other hand, was proposed by the Ministry of Agriculture
and Fisheries, and had a clearer emphasis on the sustainability of fi shing activities
as one of the goals.
4 This is due to Spanish decentralization process that provides regional governments with some
competences over internal waters. As Suárez de Vivero et al. af fi rms: “This division of competences also affects territorial distribution: the Central Administration have exclusive competences
over the Territorial Seas (TS) and the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) – where most national
fi shing areas are located – whereas the regional governments restrict their action to Internal Waters
(IW)” ( 1997 , 199)
5 Two years earlier the Spanish Government had published a “Royal Decree for Fisheries
Management” (R.D. 681/1980, 28 May) whose main objective was to restock marine areas and
resources of commercial and ecological interest. Under this decree the fi rst no-take zones were
established in Spain: the Chafarinas Islands (Melilla, 1982) and Medes Islands (Catalonia, 1983).
Listing the fi rst Spanish Marine Reserves can give rise to some confusion between the fi rst no-take
zones and the MRs created according to the 1982 Order.
12 Marine Protected Areas in the Canary Islands – Improving Their Governability
outside the waters where the regional governments have competences.
4 In some cases,
the characteristics of the ecological systems involved must be considered for speci fi c
conservation goals, such as the Special Protection Areas (SPAs) for birds or the
Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), arising from the EU Habitats and Birds
Directives. There is no clear distribution of responsibilities between national and
regional governments; recently, the management of Spanish National Parks has
been transferred from the State to the regional governments even though the main
responsibility remains with the State (Law 5/2007 of 3 April, of the National Parks
Network, Of fi cial State Gazette, number 81, of Wednesday 4 April 2007, 14639–49).
In short, Spanish MPAs are the result of negotiations in different decision-making
environments and contexts. For the general purposes of this chapter, we will refer to
one type of MPA in particular, “Marine Reserve with fi shing interest”, whereby the
“main goal is the sustainability of artisanal fi sheries” (Revenga 2003 , 101) and
which allows some types of small scale fi shing activities.
The legalization of the Marine Reserves (MRs) in Spain appeared for the fi rst
time in a “Ministerial Order of Maritime Restocking”, published as a fi shing restoration tool in 1982 (Order 11, of May 1982, Of fi cial State Gazette, number 125,
13824–5). The State would be required to consult with the National Federation of
Cofradías and the Spanish Institute of Oceanography prior to the establishment of
the MRs. The fi rst MR created under this Ministerial Order was the Marine Reserve
of Tabarca
5 in Alicante, off the Spanish Mediterranean Coast in 1986. The fi shing
identity of the Spanish MRs was written into Spanish Marine Fisheries Law 3/2001,
which explicitly stated that “those areas[,] because of their particular characteristics[,] deemed appropriate for the regeneration of fi sh stocks ” , would be declared
marine reserves (Law 3/2001, Of fi cial State Gazette, BOE number 75, Wednesday
28 of March 2001, 11516) . Finally, the Marine Protected Area de fi nition was drawn
into Spanish Law 42/2007 on Natural Heritage and Biodiversity, of 13 December
(Of fi cial State Gazette, BOE , number 299, Friday 14 December 2007, 51275–327).
This was a legal de fi nition proposed by the Ministry of the Environment. The Marine
Reserve de fi nition, on the other hand, was proposed by the Ministry of Agriculture
and Fisheries, and had a clearer emphasis on the sustainability of fi shing activities
as one of the goals.
4 This is due to Spanish decentralization process that provides regional governments with some
competences over internal waters. As Suárez de Vivero et al. af fi rms: “This division of competences also affects territorial distribution: the Central Administration have exclusive competences
over the Territorial Seas (TS) and the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) – where most national
fi shing areas are located – whereas the regional governments restrict their action to Internal Waters
(IW)” ( 1997 , 199)
5 Two years earlier the Spanish Government had published a “Royal Decree for Fisheries
Management” (R.D. 681/1980, 28 May) whose main objective was to restock marine areas and
resources of commercial and ecological interest. Under this decree the fi rst no-take zones were
established in Spain: the Chafarinas Islands (Melilla, 1982) and Medes Islands (Catalonia, 1983).
Listing the fi rst Spanish Marine Reserves can give rise to some confusion between the fi rst no-take
zones and the MRs created according to the 1982 Order.