Identifying new areas adding larval connectivity to existing networks of MPAs: The case of Kattegat and Skagerrak.

Report, 2015

This study has been prepared by the Swedish Institute for the Marine Environment on request of the Swedish Agency for Water and Marine Management to provide managers of marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Kattegat-Skagerrak area with scientific information about larval dispersal and connectivity to improve the ecological coherence of the MPA-network in the region. The aim of the study was to use empirical data on larval traits and model tools to identify new areas that could be added to the existing MPA-network in the Skagerrak-Kattegat-Danish Strait area that would best enhance larval connectivity in the network. A specific aim was to identify the best locations to place 1000 km2 of new MPAs within Swedish waters in the Kattegat-Skagerrak area.