A Multi Criteria Assessment Method for Identifying Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems in the North-East Atlantic

Telmo Morato,Carlos Pinto,Jeff A Ardron,Francis Neat,Neil Golding,Christopher K Pham,Pablo Durán Muñoz

doi:10.3389/fmars.2018.00460

Abstract

In international fisheries management, scientific advice on the presence of ‘Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems’ (VMEs) per United Nations resolutions, has generally used qualitative assessments based on expert judgement of the occurrence of indicator taxa such as cold-water corals and sponges. Use of expert judgement alone can be criticised for inconsistency and sometimes a lack of transparency; therefore, development of robust and repeatable numeric methods to detect the presence of VMEs would be advantageous. Here, we present a multi-criteria assessment (MCA) method to evaluate how likely a given area of seafloor represents a VME. The MCA is a taxa-dependent spatial method that accounts for both the quantity and data quality available. This was applied to a database of records of VMEs built, held and compiled by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). A VME index was generated which ranged from 1.51 to 4.52, with 5.0 being reserved for confirmed VME habitats. An index of confidence was also computed that ranged from 0.0 to 0.75, with 1 being reserved for those confirmed VME habitats. Overall the MCA captured the important elements of the ICES VME database and provided a simplified, spatially aggregated and weighted estimate of how likely a given area is to contain VMEs. The associated estimate of confidence gave an indication of how uncertain that assessment was for the same given area. This methodology provides a more systematic and standardised approach for assessing the likelihood of presence of VMEs in the North-East Atlantic.

Highlights

Recognizing the vulnerability of deep-sea biodiversity, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) called upon States and Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs) to identify areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) where vulnerable marine ecosystems (VME) occur, or are likely to occur, and to prevent significant adverse impacts (UNGA, 2006)
This methodology allows the classification of individual cells into four main categories, which can help in optimizing management efforts toward spatial management: Low VME index-Low fishing; Low VME index-High fishing; High VME index-Low fishing; High VME index-High fishing
The methodology is transparent and the aggregate cells can be explored in greater detail to reveal the individual data points that have contributed to the assessment. It integrates far more of the information in the ICES VME database than previous methods and as such, better captures the underlying reasoning behind much of WGDEC’s past advice (e.g., ICES, 2013a)

Summary

Introduction

Recognizing the vulnerability of deep-sea biodiversity, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) called upon States and Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs) to identify areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) where vulnerable marine ecosystems (VME) occur, or are likely to occur, and to prevent significant adverse impacts (UNGA, 2006). Identifying VMEs in the North-East Atlantic and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations subsequently developed guidelines for the management of deepsea fisheries in the high seas (FAO, 2009). This included criteria for defining what constitutes a VME: (1) uniqueness or rarity; (2) functional significance of the habitat; (3) fragility; (4) life history traits of component species that make recovery difficult; and (5) structural complexity. These criteria may apply to a wide variety of habitats and ecosystems of the deep-sea (e.g., hydrothermal vents, seamounts, or cold seeps). These taxa can occur in varying spatial densities, and the FAO guidelines do not provide threshold values for defining what constitutes “significant concentrations” of VME indicator records that would constitute an actual VME (Auster et al, 2011)

Methods

Results

Conclusion