'Wave reserves' may help ensure conservation of ecologically valuable coastal areas - Marine Conservation News

Photo courtesy of Kanenori

Terminology once usually not heard outside of the surfing community, "wave reserve", is now getting much more attention in the general conservation community.

What is a wave reserve?
A wave reserve is an marine reserve created to protect surf spots (surfing ecosystems) from such issues as ocean acidification, dredging, pollution, and other factors that can cause damage to a surf spot.

Photo courtesy of Ridoe.

Recently published research from the University of Portsmouth points out what many of us in the conservation community already knew, that techniques used in wave reserve efforts could be used in the broader marine conservation efforts and that wave reserves could be a larger part of the movement in general. It also examines how such efforts "could help low- and middle-income countries achieve global sustainability goals".

Wave reserve building isn't just a way to protect local surf spots and ocean ecosystems, it can also be a way to boost "ecological and economic value" and "local development".

Wave reserves, initially aimed at protecting surf ‘spots’, are becoming a way to ensure the conservation of coastal areas that are of great ecological and economic value. They foster local development and contribute to countries’ achievements toward international objectives. Several projects to implement large wave reserves are on their way.
https://www.cell.com/trends/ecology-evolution/fulltext/S0169-5347(22)00029-5#relatedArticles *

Photo courtesy of ollivves.

Read the article from Phys Org and learn more about the impact wave reserves have on our marine ecosystems : https://phys.org/news/2022-03-reserves-ecologically-valuable-coastal-areas.html

Learn more about what you can do to and what's being done to help protect surf ecosystems, visit Save the Waves:
https://www.savethewaves.org/

The Ocean Defense League is an online conservation project to educate people about the different problems that affect our ocean ecosystems.

If you are interested in marine conservation and/or environmental science, please follow @oceandefense

*You need a login to access the entire paper from Trends in Ecology & Evolution, but it does have a great list of references at the bottom and the article from Phys Org offers some essential info.