Abstract
Abstract This paper explores management challenges in relation to human impacts on cold water corals (CWC) in Norway. CWC are a slow growing organism about which there is uncertainty regarding distribution and values. We discuss area closures to protect this environmental public good against destructive fishing practices. Focus groups were combined with questionnaires to inform precautionary management measures that can be used to protect known CWC as well as areas where CWC are thought to exist. The research finds that respondents believe CWC are valuable and should be protected, but that this requires information on their presence and importance. Furthermore, priorities for protecting CWC differed between group discussions and the questionnaire responses. Use-values, particularly habitat supporting fish production, dominated the focus group discussions, while non-use and intrinsic values were emphasised in the questionnaire responses. Respondents rejected the use of the precautionary measure of temporary closures to gain information on CWC presence. Reasons were costs to fishers, and the rejection of the premise that precautionary closures would prevent further damage. This study shows that both use- and non-use values are effective arguments motivating people to support policies for nature protection. However, they are not sufficient to motivate support for precautionary measures that would provide significant but uncertain benefits for known costs. To motivate support for precautionary policies, there is a need to communicate better the types of organisms, services and values that may be lost without protection.
Highlights
The many dismal experiences from fisheries management (Myers and Worm 2003, Jackson et al 2001) have led to the realization that in order to secure sustainable utilization of marine resources, a broader ecosystem management approach is needed
The fishers stated that they had become so efficient that the fish needed some protection, and that they already tried to avoid cold water corals (CWC) areas, in part due to loss or damage to fishing gear when fishing on coral
The remaining members of the choir felt, for them, it was enough to know of the existence of CWC to warrant protection, but they thought that the general public would need to be able to see the corals to justify protection
Summary
The many dismal experiences from fisheries management (Myers and Worm 2003, Jackson et al 2001) have led to the realization that in order to secure sustainable utilization of marine resources, a broader ecosystem management approach is needed This involves widening the focus from single stocks to ecosystems, including human activities and values (Garcia et al 2003, Aanesen et al 2012). The damage caused to CWC by fishing pressure is reflected in the substantial estimated declines in CWC coverage, including in Norwegian waters, where damage has been estimated at 30–50 % (Fosså et al 2002) Their slow growth implies that they do not completely recover from damage, which, at least in the context of reefs, is largely irreversible on human-relevant timescales (Foley et al 2010). Norwegian legislation demands that special care should be taken when fishing, in order to avoid damage to corals (Anonymous 2004)
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