Annual Control: Protection of Marine Megafauna mediated by Exclusive Economic Zones

The United Nations has declared the 2020s the Decade of the Ocean. Since then, global efforts have focused on identifying, protecting, and restoring marine habitats. Oceans are the largest borderless ecosystem on Earth, linking polar regions, tropical zones, and inland seas. They play a central role in global processes such as the water and carbon cycles and absorb around one-third of annual CO₂ emissions. From a biological perspective, the ocean's biomass is dominated by microbes (70%). Marine megafauna are species at the top of the food chain. This group includes seabirds, mammals, sharks, seals, and polar bears, which often migrate long distances. These species face threats from hunting, pollution, acidification, warming, ship strikes, bycatch, and other human pressures. Many populations are declining, with some at extreme risk of extinction. Oceans also support global supply chains, with over 80% of world trade passing through them (WTO). The BBNJ treaty, which was approved in 2023 to regulate the high seas, requires 10 more signatures to take effect.

We propose strategies for marine protected areas within Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) as building units. Using tracking data from 12,000 individuals across 111 marine megafauna species, we modeled conservation scenarios and economic responses based on the income levels of EEZ nations.

Supervisors: Juan Fernández-Gracia and Víctor M. Eguíluz