Coastal Services Center

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USE PATTERNS

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Addresses how stakeholders access and use resources in existing and proposed marine protected areas.

Analysis of use patterns may provide managers with a better understanding of human, political, economic, and historical dynamics of an area to help make informed decisions. Use patterns include things such as recreational and commercial use, public rights and responsibilities of use, historical use of resources, and subsistence use.

Common Questions

• Who uses the marine environment in and near MPAs? How?
• How many stakeholder and user groups are there? Approximately how many individuals are in each group?
• In what ways do various users affect the MPA?
• How do use patterns affect resource quality and user experience in an MPA? How will changing use patterns of one group affect other users?
• How might resource users, groups, and communities choose to, or be required to, adapt or change their use patterns once an MPA has been designated?

What Are Some Tools I Can Use?

Observation	Historical Research	Case Study Research
Focus Groups	Interviewing	Content Analysis
Cost-Benefit Analysis	Social Impact Assessment	Predictive Modeling
Surveys	Secondary Data Analysis	Rapid Assessment