China's little-known efforts to protect its marine ecosystems safeguard some habitats but omit others.

ABSTRACT: China’s stature as the world’s major producer and consumer of seafood is legendary, but its long-standing tradition of protecting marine life domestically is virtually unknown. We present the most comprehensive database on area-based marine conservation in China including 326 sites that conserve 12.98% of China’s seas and address 142 conservation objectives. Twenty-two percent of shallow habitats (<10 meters) were fully or highly protected and 20% of waters 10 to 50 meters deep were conserved to some degree. Ecosystems in deeper waters (>50 meters) are critical to protect, yet <5% of these waters in China were conserved, primarily in areas with the highest chlorophyll-α concentrations. Habitats such as underwater canyons and seamounts beyond the continental shelf had no area-based protecti

SUBMITTER: Bohorquez JJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8589307 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature