ABSTRACT
Natural protected areas are a keystone in global and national efforts to conserve biodiversity. Although historically, and in general, protected areas have mainly been utilized as a tool to protect and conserve representative samples of land or continental biodiversity, this has started to change considerably and over the past few decades seas, oceans and marine and coastal areas have also become subjects of conservation efforts, including through marine protected areas. Organizations such as the World Conservation Union and international instruments such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, have played a key role in streamlining the sea and its invaluable resources into international and national agendas. Chile, Mexico and Peru have made important, albeit different, progress in terms of protecting their marine and coastal zones and fisheries and resources thereof.
