Banning Fishing at Revillagigedo National Park Works

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Banning fishing in the 57,000-square-mile Revillagigedo national park in Mexico's Pacific Ocean did not reduce the nation's fishing catch, dispelling the "myth" spread by fishing companies that banning fishing would leave less fish available for people to eat. The park, a favorite of scuba divers, is loaded with manta, tuna, sharks, and other big fish.

Before fishing in the Marine Protected Area was banned in 2017, Mexico's $1 billion fishing sector had warned it could reduce their catch of tuna and other pelagic fish by 20 percent. But catch data comparisons from the four years before and after the ban showed the MPA "had no causal effect on catches or area use, and, therefore, did not cause harm [to the Mexican fishing fleet]," said Fabio Favoretto, lead author of a new study published in the journal Science Advances....

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