Marine protected areas (MPAs) are used around the world, but the definition of an MPA in the U.S. is:
“Any area of the marine environment that has been reserved by federal, state, tribal, territorial, or local laws or regulations to provide lasting protection for part or all of the natural and cultural resources therein.” This definition is from Executive Order 13158 (May 2000), cited by the National Marine Protected Areas Center. In general, MPAs are used to protect natural and/or cultural areas from human impacts and to help sustain important habitats.
While a MPA can include a marine reserve, all MPAs are not marine reserves. Marine reserves are "no-take" zones. Although there are about 1,700 MPAs in the U.S., only 1% of them qualify as marine reserves.
There is no specific template for management and regulations for a MPA. In fact one MPA may be much different from another in terms of restrictions and management approaches. Federally-designated MPAs in the U.S. include Acadia National Park, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Assateague Island National Seashore, Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary and Channel Islands National Park.
