Management Of Marine Resources Research Articles

Exploring Troubles, Attitudes, and Strategies Related to Integrated Aquaculture. A Case of the Andalusia Region (South of Spain)

With the adoption of the Maritime Spatial Planning, European countries have recognized the need to move towards multi-sectoral management of marine resources and space. The present study discusses the problems and opportunities associated with an integrated aquaculture development along the coast of Andalusia through an in-depth analysis of legislative documents and face-to-face interviews. The findings suggest that the management of the aquaculture sector has been characterized by a sectoral approach with little integration into the existing economic activities and socio-cultural context leading to conflicts among fisheries and lack of acceptance from local communities. During the last decade, the regional competent authority and the aquaculture sector implemented several strategies to improve the integration with the other coastal users and enhance the social acceptability of this activity in the area.

Arthropoda; Crustacea; Decapoda of deep-sea volcanic habitats of the Galapagos Marine Reserve, Tropical Eastern Pacific.

BackgroundThe deep-sea biome (> 200 m depth) is the world’s last great wilderness, covering more than 65% of the earth’s surface. Due to rapid technological advances, deep-sea environments are becoming more accessible to scientific research and ocean exploration around the world and, in recent years, this is also true for the Galapagos Islands. Deep-sea habitats cover the largest proportion of Galapagos Marine Reserve (GMR), yet to date, no comprehensive baseline exists on the biodiversity of the benthic fauna associated with volcanic seafloor formations within this region. Closing this knowledge gap is essential to provide information for decision-making for the management of marine resources within the GMR and assessing any potential changes in biodiversity resulting from climate-driven alterations that deep-sea environments are expected to experience. In 2015, the Charles Darwin Foundation’s Seamounts of the GMR Research Project, together with the Galapagos National Park Directorate (GNPD) and Ocean Exploration Trust (OET), conducted a joint expedition on board the EV Nautilus. Using Remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), the aim of the expedition was to characterise the geological formations and biological communities present on seamounts, lava flows and other deep-sea habitats (> 200 m) within the GMR.New informationWe provide the first comprehensive image inventory for the phylum Arthropoda from 260 to 3400 m of depth within the GMR. Past studies on deep-sea macroinvertebrates in the GMR have been limited to voucher samples collected from dredging (restricted to soft bottom environments) or by submersibles (only allowing limited biological sampling). The image inventory, presented here, is based on high-definition video transects conducted by the Hercules ROV on board the EV Nautilus. Images of macroinvertebrate morphospecies were captured, catalogued and identified, thus providing the first known image inventory of in-situ macroinvertebrate species from the deep-sea region of the GMR.We present 32 distinct morphospecies occurrences within the class Malacostraca and order Decapoda. We also report 17 different families, three species that are new records to the GMR, in-situ images of two new species to science recently described and one possible new squat lobster, as well as interesting behavioural observations.

Conceptualizing indicators as boundary objects in integrating Inuit knowledge and western science for marine resource management

A complex co-management system exists across Inuit Nunangat, whereby federal, provincial, territorial governments and Inuit organizations manage natural resources cooperatively. Under Inuit land claim agreements, Inuit knowledge, western science, and co-produced knowledge are to be used side by side to support decision-making. However, the mechanisms of effectively integrating these knowledge systems to inform decision-makers remain poorly understood. This limits Inuit self-determination, hinders knowledge production, impedes resource governance improvements, and exacerbates communication barriers leading to tensions in marine resource management. It is also a barrier for scientists to utilize Inuit knowledge that exists in a different capacity, and vice versa. We discuss marine resource management indicators, positioning them as potential “boundary objects” around which different knowledge systems converge. We explore their role for not only monitoring ecosystems, but also for integrating knowledge in co-management. We summarize efforts at developing indicators and explore the extent to which they can take on information from different knowledge systems in support of improved co-management decision-making. Finally, we identify how indicators can be used as a facilitation tool for integrating knowledge systems while also generating new research questions and bringing forward management challenges that would otherwise remain out of the scope of researchers and resource managers. Ilagijauninginnut piliriqatigiigunnarninginnullu pitaqarmat Inuit Nunangat, pijjutigillugu gavamatuqakkut, gavamaillu aviktursimajuni, nunalingnillu gavamagijaujut ammalu Inuit katujjiqatigiingit piliriqatigiittiarpangninginnut nunalirijaraangata. Inuit angirutinga, Inuit qaujimajatuqangi, qallunaalu qaujisartulirijjutigijangit, ammalu piliriqatigiigunnarninginnut qaujimajangitigut aturtauttiariaqarningani piliriqatigiittiarlutik ikajurtigiittiarlutik isumaliuriniaraangata. Taimanninganut, tukisijausimanirijanga saqititaunasuartillugu qaujimajatuqarijaujut isumaliurutauniartillugit tukisiajauttiangimmat. Ajurutigijaujuq Inuit pivaallirutigijunnartanga, piliriarijaungilluni qaujimajaugaluartillugu, ajurutiqartutitut pivaallirutigijunnataraluanginnit, kisianilu ajurutiqainnaujarllutik tusaumaqattautingiluartunut pijjutigijanga ajurutigingmagu imarmiutalirijikkunnu lu pilirijigivaktanginnut. Ajurutigijaugivuq qaujisartiuvaktuni tukisinasuattiariaksaq Inuit qaujimajatuqanginni pitaqattiaraluartillugu asingitigut, ammalu igluanunga tukisinasuarllugu. Uqausirivangmijavut imatmiutalirijaraangata pilirijigijauvaktut, piliriarijjutigijaujunnarniarninginnut “ajurutiujunut piqutiit” tamakkua ajjigiingittuni qaujimajaqartuni tukisiumaqattautilirunnarlutik. Qimirujavut qanuilingagaluarmangaata tamakkuatuinnaungittut nunamiutalimaalu imarmilu ammalu saqitinasuarllugu qaujimajaujut piliriqatingiigiaqarnirmit. Piliriarinasuartavut katirsurllugit saqittijumanirmut piliriqatigiittialirunnarnirmut ammalu qaujivallianirijavut angilirtigiarlugu tukisijauvalliajunut ajjigiingitillugi ikajurutaulirunnarninganut piliriqatigiitialirlutik isumaliurutauqattarniartillugit. Asuilaak, uqarunnalirpugut qaujisarutauniartut aturtaujunnalirput piliriarijjutigilugit qaujimaqattautivallialirnirmut pivallialirtillugit tukisiqattautivalliatilluta qaujisarutiksaniglu nutaanik apiqutiksanik ammalu pilirianguvallianiartillugu ajungijjutigijunnartanginnit katujjiqatingiingniartilluta pitaqarajalaungikkaluartillugi qaujisartinut ammalu nunalirivaktuni pilirijiit.

Almost never you get what you pay for: Widespread mislabeling of commercial “zamburiñas” in northern Spain

Food fraud involves both financial and health problems for consumers as well as conservation problems for target species worldwide. In Spain, the common name “zamburiña”, which officially only refers to the species Mimachlamys varia (the variegated scallop), is frequently mistakenly used to refer to other pectinid species, and this confuses consumers. In this study, we carried out the first assessment of the levels of fraud in samples from 12 supermarkets/small shops offering fresh, frozen, or canned pectinid products and in 20 restaurants offering “zamburiñas” in Asturias (northern Spain). Taxonomic and genetic identifications of the involved species (using 16S mitochondrial rRNA partial fragments) were conducted. Our results showed that 73 (49%) out of the 148 analyzed samples from the fifteen commercial products under study (4 fresh, 6 frozen and 5 canned products) were mislabeled (a global 60% of commercial products had substitutions). Moreover, the analysis of the dishes that were commercially labeled with the vernacular name “zamburiñas” from 20 restaurants sampled across the region revealed that in all of them (100%), the species detected was the Peruvian scallop (Argopecten purpuratus), known in Spanish as “vieira del Pacífico”. These results imply intentional deceit and therefore violations of consumer rights. Moreover, this might result in economic damage and serious problems for correct marine resource management and exploitation plans.

Ecosystem-Based Harvest Control Rules for Norwegian and US Ecosystems

Management strategy evaluation (MSE) provides a simulation framework to test the performance of living marine resource management. MSE has now been adopted broadly for use in single-species fishery management, often using a relatively simple ‘operating model’ that projects population dynamics of one species forward in time. However, many challenges in ecosystem-based management involve tradeoffs between multiple species and interactions of multiple stressors. Here we use complex operating models, multi-species ecosystem models of the California Current and Nordic and Barents Seas, to test threshold harvest control rules that explicitly address the linkage between predators and prey, and between the forage needs of predators and fisheries. Our investigation led to three main results. First, consistent with studies based on single-species operating models, we found that compared to constant F=FMSY policies, threshold rules led to higher target stock biomass for Pacific hake (Merluccius productus) in the California Current and mackerel (Scomber scombrus) in the Nordic and Barents Seas. Performance in terms of catch of these species varied depending partly on the biomass and recovery trajectory for the simulated stock. Secondly, the multi-species operating models and the harvest control rules that linked fishing mortality rates to prey biomass (zooplankton) led to increased catch variability; this stemmed directly from the harvest rule that frequently adjusted Pacific hake or mackerel fishing rates in response to zooplankton, which are highly variable in these two ecosystems. Thirdly, tests suggested that threshold rules that increased fishing when productivity (zooplankton) declined had the potential for strong ecosystem effects on other species. These effects were most apparent in the Nordic and Barents Seas simulations. Further developing and testing such ecosystem-level considerations can be achieved with the Atlantis end-to-end ecosystem models applied here, which have the added benefit of tracking the follow-on effects of the harvest control rule on the broader ecosystem.

Community Marine Monitoring Toolkit: A tool developed in the Pacific to inform community-based marine resource management

In the Pacific region, community engagement, participation and empowerment are key to effective and sustainable marine resource management at the local level. With the prevalence of a local marine tenure systems and the widespread decline of coastal resources, communities need to be part of the solution to facilitate recovery. A novel marine monitoring toolkit was developed in Vanuatu with the participation of community resource monitors to inform local management actions. The Toolkit includes simplified versions of established monitoring methods for marine habitats and resources to achieve a balance between robust science and methods appropriate for communities. Key to its success is that it was developed in response to community needs using a participatory approach and implemented through a series of training workshops with local environmental leaders. Of particular note, the Toolkit includes a standardised process for communities to use monitoring results instantly, without the need for complex data analyses or external support. Using the Toolkit, communities are able to adapt their traditional management to address immediate and medium-term issues in their local marine environment. The observed benefits of the Toolkit include increased local awareness through community-led environmental outreach, increased ownership of and motivation for local monitoring and management, implementation of local management actions, expansion of traditional marine managed areas, and new local ecotourism initiatives to generate revenue to support environmental stewardship.

Thermal displacement by marine heatwaves.

Marine heatwaves (MHWs)-discrete but prolonged periods of anomalously warm ocean temperatures-can drastically alter ocean ecosystems, with profound ecological and socioeconomic impacts1-8. Considerable effort has been directed at understanding the patterns, drivers and trends of MHWs globally9-11. Typically, MHWs are characterized on the basis of their intensity and persistence at a given location-an approach that is particularly relevant for corals and other sessile organisms that must endure increased temperatures. However, many ecologically and commercially important marine species respond to environmental disruptions by relocating to favourable habitats, and dramatic range shifts of mobile marine species are among the conspicuous impacts of MHWs1,4,12,13. Whereas spatial temperature shifts have been studied extensively in the context of long-term warming trends14-18, they are unaccounted for in existing global MHW analyses. Here we introduce thermal displacement as a metric that characterizes MHWs by the spatial shifts of surface temperature contours, instead of bylocal temperature anomalies, and use an observation-based global sea surface temperature dataset to calculate thermal displacements for all MHWs from 1982 to 2019. We show that thermal displacements during MHWs vary from tens to thousands of kilometres across the world's oceans and do not correlate spatially with MHW intensity. Furthermore, short-term thermal displacements during MHWs are of comparable magnitude to century-scale shifts inferred from warming trends18, although their global spatial patterns are very different. These results expand our understanding of MHWs and their potential impacts on marine species, revealing which regions are most susceptible to thermal displacement, and how such shifts may change under projected ocean warming. The findings also highlight the need for marine resource management to account for MHW-driven spatial shifts, which are of comparable scale to those associated with long-term climate change and are already happening.

Discovering Europe's seabed geology: the EMODnet concept of uniform collection and harmonization of marine data

Abstract Maritime spatial planning, management of marine resources, environmental assessments and forecasting all require good seabed maps. Similarly there is a need to support the objectives to achieve Good Environmental Status in Europe's seas by 2020, set up by the European Commission's Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Hence the European Commission established the European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet) programme in 2009, which is now in its fourth phase (2019–21). The programme is designed to assemble existing, but fragmented and partly inaccessible, marine data and to create contiguous and publicly available information layers which are interoperable and free of restrictions on use, and which encompass whole marine basins. The EMODnet Geology project is delivering integrated geological map products that include seabed substrates, sedimentation rates, seafloor geology, Quaternary geology, geomorphology, coastal behaviour, geological events such as submarine landslides and earthquakes, and marine mineral occurrences. Additionally, as a new product during the ongoing and preceding phase of the project, map products on submerged landscapes of the European continental shelf have been compiled at various time frames. All new map products have a resolution of 1:100 000, although finer resolution is presented where the underlying data permit. A multi-scale approach is adopted whenever possible. Numerous national seabed mapping programmes worldwide have demonstrated the necessity for proper knowledge of the seafloor. Acting on this, the European Commission established the European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet) programme in 2009. The national geological survey organizations of Europe have a strong network of marine geological teams through the Marine Geology Expert Group of the association of European geological surveys (Eurogeosurveys). This network was the foundation of the EMODnet Geology consortium which today consists of the national geological surveys of Finland, the UK, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, The Netherlands, Belgium, France, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Albania, Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Russia, Germany, Montenegro and Iceland, as well as marine teams of research organizations in Portugal (IPMA), Bulgaria (IO-BAS), Romania (GeoEcoMar), the UK (CEFAS), Greece (HCMR) and Ukraine (PSRGE, replaced in the fourth phase by Institute of Geological Sciences, NAS of Ukraine). The consortium is further strengthened with experts from six universities: Edge Hill University (UK), Sapienza University of Rome (Italy), University of Tartu (Estonia), University of Crete through FORTH-ICS, Institute of Marine Science and Technology of Dokuz Eylul University (Turkey), and EMCOL Research Centre of Istanbul Technical University – altogether, 30 partners and nine subcontractors. The EMODnet Geology programme is now in its fourth phase, which started in September 2019. In addition to geological information, the wider EMODnet programme aims to also bring together information from European seas on seabed habitats, physical properties, chemistry, biology, human activities and hydrography. This paper describes the EMODnet Geology project and the different end products which were delivered in the end of the third phase and will be further developed during the recent fourth phase of the project.

The Marine Plan Partnership for the North Pacific Coast – MaPP: A collaborative and co-led marine planning process in British Columbia

For more than a decade, marine spatial planning has been used around the world to advance objectives for conservation, economic development, and ecosystem-based management. Ecosystem-based management (EBM) in British Columbia began with the development of land use plans in the 1990s to address coastal and land use issues related to terrestrial land management. Managing marine resources is challenging on Canada’s Pacific coast because of multiple, overlapping jurisdictions, unceded indigenous territories, and lack of coordination amongst governments in the region and their agencies. The Marine Plan Partnership for the North Pacific Coast (MaPP) was formed in 2011 and was a co-led partnership between 18 First Nations’ and the Province of British Columbia governments. The purpose of the MaPP Initiative was to develop and implement marine plans for 102,000 square kilometers of coastal and offshore water in northern British Columbia. A co-led governance framework included the member First Nations and the Provincial government structured into multiple levels of decisions making, conflict resolution, and technical support. Integral to the planning process was broad and continual stakeholder engagement through multiple advisory committees as well as public engagement. The planning process made use of multiple information sources including traditional, scientific, and local knowledge and was completed in 3.5 years. The result was the development and signing into policy of four sub-regional marine plans (one for each of the four MaPP sub-regions: Haida Gwaii, North Coast, Central Coast, and North Vancouver Island) and a Regional Action Framework. The sub-regional plans delineate protection, special, and general management zones for multiple objectives and will inform future policy decisions for marine protected areas, tenures, resource management and coastal development through an EBM approach. The plans will inform permits for marine tenures including aquaculture, offshore renewable energy siting, contribute to Canada’s marine protected areas network, and improve coastal infrastructure. The Regional Action Framework highlights activities to occur across the entire region through five main activity areas (Regional Governance, Ecological Integrity and Human Well-being, Compliance and Enforcement, Cumulative Effects Assessment, and Zoning Recommendations). Funding for planning was through a public-private model that also supported the development of the plans and decision support tools (e.g. planning and mapping portal). Discussions regarding implementation began during the planning phase to ensure long-term commitment from the Partners and continuity to improve decision making and management within the MaPP area. The process design and methodology created by MaPP can be a model for planning in areas that involve multiple authorities, complex geographies and jurisdictional arrangements that can be scaled up for regional, cross border, and transboundary marine spatial planning.

Setting the stage for the machine intelligence era in marine science

Abstract Machine learning, a subfield of artificial intelligence, offers various methods that can be applied in marine science. It supports data-driven learning, which can result in automated decision making of de novo data. It has significant advantages compared with manual analyses that are labour intensive and require considerable time. Machine learning approaches have great potential to improve the quality and extent of marine research by identifying latent patterns and hidden trends, particularly in large datasets that are intractable using other approaches. New sensor technology supports collection of large amounts of data from the marine environment. The rapidly developing machine learning subfield known as deep learning—which applies algorithms (artificial neural networks) inspired by the structure and function of the brain—is able to solve very complex problems by processing big datasets in a short time, sometimes achieving better performance than human experts. Given the opportunities that machine learning can provide, its integration into marine science and marine resource management is inevitable. The purpose of this themed set of articles is to provide as wide a selection as possible of case studies that demonstrate the applications, utility, and promise of machine learning in marine science. We also provide a forward-look by envisioning a marine science of the future into which machine learning has been fully incorporated.

Coastal resource management and tourism development in Fiji Islands: a conservation challenge

The tourism sector has been a key driver of socioeconomic progress in Fiji Islands since the 1980s, in comparison with other industries such as agriculture, fisheries, and forestry. Fiji currently plans to further expand its tourism industry into a 2 billion FJD sector, which places great pressure on the coastal environment and resources that attract more than 500,000 tourists per year. Unplanned tourism development has adverse impacts on the environment and dependent communities, which is often attributed to weak governance and poorly enforced regulations. In Fiji, the industry has been recognized as responsible for mangrove clearance and coastal degradation, both of which aggravate problems such as coastline erosion, vulnerability to natural disasters, fish stock declines, poor water quality, pollution, and biodiversity loss. Though the country has national legislations in place, as well as regional and international collaborations to manage its ocean resources, it lacks the capacity and resources to implement environment policy, planning, and regulation. There is a need to strengthen governance and community capacity to address problems of effective enforcement of legislation and ensure the conservation, management, and sustainable utilization of marine and coastal resources.

Application of the DPSIR Framework to Coastal and Marine Fisheries Management in Kenya

Natural resource management frameworks are important in generating information that promotes the development of appropriate policies and regulation for effective management and utilization of different aspects of ecosystems. The Drivers-Pressure-State-Impact and Response (DPSIR) framework is one of such frameworks which has been widely applied globally in assessing, addressing and communicating with regard to environmental problems. This framework provides a nexus between the causes of environmental problems and the resultant pressures, associated impacts and responses needed to resolve and manage specific environmental issues and challenges. Based on improved management evidence for natural resources enabled by the application of the DPSIR framework globally, this paper is a review of the application of the framework in the management of coastal and marine fisheries resources in Kenya. Findings indicate that there exists a limited number of studies which have adopted the DPSIR framework approach in Kenya, and these are mainly focused on terrestrial ecosystems. However, coastal and marine resources have been well studied in Kenya using different methodological approaches that have given insights into the conditions of resources. This review, therefore, analyzed these studies to understand drivers, pressures, states, impacts and responses in relation to coastal and marine fisheries resources in Kenya. The main drivers observed were a high population growth rate of 3.7% as well as a high dependency rate on natural resources of 74% and 58% in Ngomeni and Kipini fishing areas of north coast Kenya, respectively. There is also a lack of understanding regarding the potential of the DPSIR framework to effectively manage coastal and marine fisheries resources, particularly in the context of sub-Saharan Africa, taking Kenya as a case study. This may result in the development of fisheries regulations that are not holistic in their approach, and therefore, ineffective from a management perspective. Within this context, this paper provides a discourse on how the DPSIR framework may enhance coastal and marine fisheries resources management in Kenya.

Status of coral reefs in Antigua & Barbuda: using data to inform management.

The nation of Antigua and Barbuda has experienced major degradation of its coral reef ecosystems over the past 40+ years. The primary drivers of this degradation are multiple and are highly linked to anthropogenic influences, including over-exploitation and poor management of marine resources. The effectiveness of management actions in marine protected areas (MPAs) has often been hampered by a lack of data to inform management recommendations. This was emphasized by The Nature Conservancy’s (TNC) Coral Reef Report Card which highlighted not only the lack of data collection in Antigua and Barbuda and other Caribbean nations, but also illustrated how spatially dispersed available datasets are. The government of Antigua and Barbuda recognized the need for a marine data collection program to better inform the designation and management of MPAs as a tool to improve the health of the marine ecosystems. The Atlantic Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment (AGRRA) protocol has been identified as a means to address planning and management for marine areas. Three AGRRA surveys have been conducted in the years following the TNC 2016 report, in previously established managed areas: North East Marine Management Area (NEMMA) in 2017 and Nelson Dockyard National Park (NDNP) in 2019 as well as areas outlined for future management (Redonda in 2018). Our surveys were conducted to provide updated datasets to inform management for the aforementioned areas. While the results of these surveys mirror the underlying poor coral reef-health conditions, which have been shown to exist within the Caribbean region, they also highlight intra-site variation that exists within each survey location. This knowledge can be crucial in guiding management decisions in these marine areas, through zoning and other management prescriptions. Additionally, the marine surveys conducted around Redonda established useful marine baselines to aid in monitoring the island’s recovery following removal of terrestrial invasive species. This article provides an overview of data collected using the AGRRA methodology in marine zones across Antigua and Barbuda which have current or future management prescriptions and provides recommendations to demonstrate the data’s future utilization for marine conservation and management.

Detecting and counting harvested fish and identifying fish types in electronic monitoring system videos using deep convolutional neural networks

Abstract The statistics of harvested fish are key indicators for marine resource management and sustainability. Electronic monitoring systems (EMSs) are used to record the fishing practices of vessels in recent years. The statistics of the harvested fish in the EMS videos are manually read and recorded later by operators in data centres. However, this manual recording is time consuming and labour intensive. This study proposed an automatic approach for prescreening harvested fish in the EMS videos using convolutional neural networks (CNNs). In this study, harvested fish in the frames of the EMS videos were detected and segmented from the background at the pixel level using mask regional-based CNN (mask R-CNN). The number of the fish was determined using time thresholding and distance thresholding methods. Subsequently, the types and body lengths of the fish were determined using the confidence scores and the masks predicted by the mask R-CNN model, respectively. The trained mask R-CNN model attained a recall of 97.58% and a mean average precision of 93.51% in terms of fish detection. The proposed method for fish counting attained a recall of 93.84% and a precision of 77.31%. An overall accuracy of 98.06% was obtained for fish type identification.

Engaging with Industry to Spur Blue Growth

Boschen-Rose, R.E.; Ferreira, M.A.; Johnson, D.E., and Gianni, M., 2020. Engaging with industry to spur Blue Growth. In: Malvárez, G. and Navas, F. (eds.), Global Coastal Issues of 2020. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 95, pp. 835 – 839. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.Improving marine resource management and governance requires marrying science and socio-economics, which is key to the development of the Blue Economy. For sustainable growth of the Blue Economy (Blue Growth) to occur, there needs to be robust scientific information on the marine environment, detailed knowledge of activities occurring within ocean space, and comprehensive understanding of environmental impacts. To ensure Blue Growth is sustainable into the future, information is also needed on how the marine environment, activities and impacts may change with time, and at relevant spatial scales. ATLAS, a transAtlantic assessment and deep-water ecosystem-based EU H2020 Project, has undertaken pioneering research to understand the environmental status of the North Atlantic deep sea, and the interaction between Blue Growth scenarios and the marine environment. ATLAS research into North Atlantic Ocean circulation, species and habitat connectivity shows that the North Atlantic is changing, which will impact Blue Growth. As marine industries move progressively offshore, ATLAS work on defining elements of Good Environmental Status for deep-water ecosystems will improve the understanding of Blue Growth interactions with the deep-sea. Potential trade-offs to maintain ecosystem services at a sea-basin scale have also been explored through a selection of 12 ATLAS case studies. ATLAS interactions with industry have highlighted opportunities and challenges for Blue Economy sectors, particularly in the context of marine spatial planning. Through interviews, questionnaires and workshops, ATLAS has discussed key scientific findings and Blue Growth scenarios with 10 major Blue Economy sectors and many supporting sectors. This work illustrates the complexities of Blue Growth in the North Atlantic, including spatial needs, synergies and conflicts, and data sharing opportunities. ATLAS-industry dialogue also highlights differences in Blue Economy sectoral expectations, and levels of understanding relating to new policy instruments.

Nudging statutory law to make space for customary processes and community-based fisheries management in Solomon Islands

Like many Pacific countries, Solomon Islands has more than one legal system operating concurrently: customary law, statutory law and the common law of England. Governance also occurs at national, provincial and local scales. Local people managing coastal and marine resources under customary marine tenure (CMT) have increasing difficulties in enforcement as external threats exceed their scope of governance. Before 2015, CMT breaches were not a fisheries violation as recognised by the western legal system. Drawing on our involvement in developing a new Fisheries Management Bill in 2007–2015 and consultations within the Solomon Islands Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, we examine how, and to what effect, the resultant Act—specifically Section 18 on Community Fisheries Management Plans (CFMPs)—has accommodated or shifted the relationship between customary governance systems and the state’s contemporary fisheries legislation. We examine if, and how, employing Section 18 can contribute to regional and global fisheries governance policy implementation. The Fisheries Management Act 2015 recognises the rights of customary rights holders to institute CFMPs, provides a mechanism to codify and enforce access and use rights through CMT and empowers these efforts as a legitimate management tool under statutory law. We conclude that statutory law has been ‘nudged’ to make space for the dynamic process of customary law. We contend that use of Section 18 has the potential to elevate community voices in discussions of coastal and marine resource management at different scales, if practitioners do not lose sight of the intent behind the statute’s development.

Applying a Social–Ecological Systems Approach to Understanding Local Marine Management Trajectories in Northern Mozambique

This study applied the social–ecological systems framework (SESF) to six fishing communities in northern Mozambique where marine resource management is being implemented through the Our Sea Our Life project. Data on 11 variables and 27 indicators were organised using the SESF to represent the key system dimensions (Governance system, Actors, Resource units and Resource system). Variables within each dimension were weighed to a cumulative score of one. High scores (> 0.50) for Governance system occurred where communities had fisheries management rules and good knowledge of fishing gear regulations. High scores for Actors were evident in communities with few migrant fishers and high participation in village savings and loans associations. Elevated scores of the Resource units occurred where fishers targeted a variety of fish taxa. A healthy Resource system was found in communities neighbouring highly productive and resilient reefs, characterised by high fish biomass and diversity. The status of social and ecological conditions coupled with initial levels of project support and quality of technical support were linked with project achievements. Application of the SESF is therefore valuable in understanding interdependent linkages between social and environmental conditions to inform the design of localised management interventions for social–ecological sustainability.

Locally managed marine areas: Implications for socio-economic impacts in Kadavu, Fiji

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are a widely used marine conservation tool designed to preserve marine biodiversity and improve fisheries management. Although the environmental benefits of MPAs are well established, evaluating the social and economic impacts of MPAs is challenging. In this paper we quantitatively identify the economic and social differences between communities based on whether or not the community has a tabu area in their local fishing ground. This is an area permanently closed to fishing within a locally managed marine area (LMMA), a form of MPA in the Pacific region. To do this we analyse survey data at both the household and village level in Kadavu, an administrative province of Fiji. We find there are differences in economic activity and diet between the communities but little difference in overall income and wealth. Our study shows that villages with an active tabu area have more positive social outcomes in terms of perceptions of LMMAs. However, there are some notable negative social outcomes as well. In particular, we find that households not engaged in commercial fishing perceive conflict around the management of marine resources. We also find that households engaged in commercial fishing believe penalties for violating LMMA rules are high. Together, these results could potentially impede the adoption of LMMAs and tabu areas. Overall, our survey results do not indicate that tabu areas are detrimental or beneficial on the whole, either economically and socially.

The Use of Recreational Fishers’ Ecological Knowledge to Assess the Conservation Status of Marine Ecosystems

Fisheries scientists and marine resource managers are reluctant to incorporate Fishers’ Ecological Knowledge (FEK) into technical advice procedures to guide management decisions on marine ecosystems and fisheries. However, in data-poor scenarios FEK has proved to be useful to provide alternative references of biological changes. Moreover, despite recreational fishers are the main potential source of FEK, they have been scarcely incorporated in scientific investigations. In this study it has been evaluated for the first time the use of recreational FEK to assess the conservation status of marine ecosystems in Galicia (NW Spain), a region characterized by a highly complex marine socioecological system integrated by a worldwide commercial fleet and a powerful recreational sector, among other relevant stakeholders. Active spear fishers and anglers were recruited to provide their perceptions on the conservation status of fish stocks and on the impacts on marine ecosystems. The audio of face to face interviews were transcribed into text and analyzed by using text mining tools. Acknowledged key concepts were used to quantify fishers’ perceptions on changes in the conservation status of their target fish stocks and to identify and quantify the main impacts on marine ecosystems. Overfishing and habitat loss, followed by biodiversity impoverishment, pollution and ocean warming were blamed by the fishers as the main responsible of poor status of conservation of cephalopods and finfish stocks targeted by both commercial and recreational fisheries. Perceived temporal declines in fish stocks were consistent with available biological data, validating the use of recreational FEK to assess long-term ecological changes in the absence of ordinary scientific data. FEK researchers are encouraged to include inputs of different resource users, including fishers following familiar traditions in commercial and/or recreational fisheries because they were more sensible to detect impacts on natural and cultural community heritage. Conservation status of ballan wrasse Labrus bergylta and kelp beds are especially worrying due to their role as key species in coastal ecosystems. The creation of monitoring programs to assess the status of this fish and other commercially and/or recreationally relevant species, including kelps, are urgently needed to ensure the future conservation of marine ecosystems.

Dampak Pencemaran Mikroplastik di Ekosistem Laut terhadap Zooplankton : Review

Microplastics pollution is one of the global problems. Plastic garbage entry in the ocean either intentionally or unintentionally and willbe degraded into microplastics. Microplastics size is small and float in water coloumn so make it easy to ingested by marine organisms,one of which is zooplankton. Zooplankton ingested microplastics and may impact upon zooplankton also the ecosystem. Microplastics can influence the fucundity, the feeding capacity, impact on digestion system, faecal pellet properties,and also provide accute and chronic effects on zooplankton. Impact on marine ecosystems allow microplastics transfers through food chain (trophic transfer) because of zooplankton have an important role in ecosystems. This review summarized the current knowledge about distribution and degradation of microplastics, ingestion of microplastics by zooplankton, the impact on zooplankton and also to the marine ecosystems. This study is important to provide basic information to researchers in marine resources management.