Marine rewilding

5 Legal protection of species

As with terrestrial animals, many marine wildlife species are protected under various local, regional, national, and global laws and treaties. Legislation has, in some cases, helped species to recover. Populations of humpback whales, for example, have grown since a whaling moratorium was imposed in the mid-1980s (International Whaling Commission).

Yet despite the protection of individual marine species through legislative processes, many populations continue to decline.

Click on the buttons below to view two examples.

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When it comes to efforts to conserve and enhance populations of a particular marine species it is not just their direct protection that is important. Adequate protection of their prey is also critical. For example, the lack of protection for sand eels in the North Sea may have negatively impacted populations of harbour porpoises and dolphins, for whom these small fish are an important dietary component (JNCC, 2015).

When it comes to the recovery of marine wildlife populations and natural processes it is not enough to simply rely on protective laws. Building public support and reducing consumer demand for marine products are also critical to ensuring that laws and policies are respected and enforced.