The importance of protecting vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) through fisheries closures and the subsequent positive socio-economic value to society in terms of gains of biodiversity were discussed in the recent 73rd Plenary Report of the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STEFC, 2023). While these gains were not assessed, the STEFC committee acknowledged the assessment of longer-term gains from the protection of VMEs would benefit from including an ecosystem valuation, and that a literature review would aid in summarising previous studies on this topic (STEFC, 2023). This document provides a brief review of the literature and assesses the value of VMEs from an economic perspective that incorporates the value of ecosystem services.
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