Marine spatial planning: scale mismatches in a complex (regional) seascape

The marine environment is globally important with approximately 40% of people living within 100 kilometres of the world’s coasts, and an estimated $1.5 trillion (Golden et al., 2017) of economic benefit arising from the oceans and coasts. As coastal nations seek to further develop their ‘blue economies’ (their use of the sea and its resources for sustainable economic development), improved management will be required.