Marine reserves: 

The Mediterranean Sea is exposed to multiple, cumulative, human threats that severely compromise the integrity of its marine ecological communities and biodiversity – a tough challenge for conservation management. The state-of-the-art tool of marine conservation management that has proven effective in restoring benthic marine ecosystems worldwide is the use of science-based marine protected areas (MPAs). Effective MPAs can boost not only biodiversity and act as an ecosystem “insurance policy”, but can potentially also serve as a source of renewal for depleted fisheries outside the protected area.