Maninita, the southernmost island of the Vava'u group is an important seabird nesting site and a proposed national protected area as originally identified by the Government of Tonga's Ministry of Lands, Survey and Natural Resources.
Principles for designing marine protected area (MPA) networks that address social, economic, and biological criteria are well established in the scientific literature.
The evaluation of management effectiveness is generally achieved by the assessment of series of criteria (represented by carefully selected indicators) against agreed objectives or standards.