Maritime Activities Research Articles

Models of Lobbying Practices in Maritime Affairs of USA and European Countries

The article is based on a comparative analysis of the most effective institutionally established models of modern lobbying practices for pursuing interests in the field of maritime activities in the developed countries of Europe and the United States. The study is carried out on several grounds: the Full Time Equivalent (FTE) of a lobbyist, the expected financial investments of organizations in lobbying activities, an assessment of the transparency of the activities of lobbying organizations. Based on the revealed correlation of FTE and expected investments, the analysis of the model’s efficiency is simplified to an estimate of the value of its total FTE of the described models. Particular emphasis is placed on the analysis of lobbying in cooperation with the European Commission. It has been determined that environmental organizations and groups of influence that are not directly related to maritime activities are particularly active in lobbying for maritime activities. When comparing the lobbying infrastructure of Western countries in the context of its effectiveness in defending national interests, there is a significant advantage of the United States over the European Union. Regarding the adoption of Western models of lobbying practices and the spread of institutionalization of lobbying on the territory of the Russian Federation, it is recognized that for Russia, its maritime policy, the most effective American model would be, based on a single legal basis, allowing taxed lobbying agents to act in concert on the domestic and global market in the interests of private companies and the nation state.

A synthetic model of Palaeolithic seafaring in the Ryukyu Islands, southwestern Japan

ABSTRACTThe rise of water transport technology enabled early modern humans to expand their habitable territory to insular environments. However, apart from intensive discussion for Wallacea, developmental process and regional variation of Palaeolithic seafaring remain unclear. To contribute this issue, the author presents a synthetic model for Palaeolithic seafaring in another region of the western Pacific, the Ryukyu Islands (Ryukyus). Here, some islands were more than 100 km away and invisible beyond the horizon, and one of the world’s strongest ocean currents intervened the seaways. Despite these challenging situations, Palaeolithic sites appeared throughout much of the 1,200 km chain of the islands ~35,000–30,000 years ago. By integrating currently available information from archaeology, skeletal morphology, genetics, palaeogeography, oceanography and our own experimental voyage project, the author discusses probable migration routes, possible watercrafts, preparation and strategy needed for successful maritime migrations, and other issues relevant to deeper understanding of the origins and development of human maritime activities.

Sharp decreases in survival probabilities in the long-finned pilot whales in Strait of Gibraltar

The Strait of Gibraltar has some of the highest maritime activity in the world. Its populations of cetaceans are threatened by noise, chemical pollution, and collisions by the many boats crossing the strait. One of the greatest threats identified in cetaceans in the Mediterranean are epizootics that severely affect the most sensitive vital rate in long-lived species: adult survival. By a multi-event analysis of a 16-year database of long-finned pilot whale photo identification capture–recapture data, we analysed adult survival in the Strait of Gibraltar’s resident population and evaluated the possible effects of epizootics on this vital rate. We identified the large effect of a morbillivirus epizootic that occurred in 2006–2007, but we also revealed a second collapse in survival in 2011, probably due to another morbillivirus epizootic. These episodes seem to affect sexes differently, with females being less affected than males. Interestingly, the morbillivirus epizootic not only sharply decreased survival after the episode, but the effect extended over time, probably showing post-epizootic sequelae. These disease outbreaks have increased during the last decades worldwide and could be linked to anthropogenic threats such as organochlorine contamination. This may explain the high frequency of epizootics in the Gibraltar area. We warn about the conservation status of this long-finned pilot whale population and recommend the application of measures to reduce contamination on this nutrient-rich area to improve conditions for many marine species inhabiting this area.

Climate-Related Vulnerability and Risk Assessment of Main Ocean Uses: An Overview

Vulnerability and risk analyses have been increasingly used in a wide variety of contexts to support ocean management and planning processes. Depending on the context, such analyses may focus on different dimensions, spatial scales, and hazards. In the particular context of climate change, the variability inherent to the developed assessments has led to the emergence of numerous methodological frameworks, allowing for advances in the field while raising uncertainties on applied concepts, definitions, and approaches. In the present study, we developed a systematic literature review to analyze and discuss the key concepts, methodologies, and limitations of existing vulnerability and risk assessments of main ocean uses to global climate change. We analyzed over 314 scientific references regarding the elements considered in the analysis (e.g., exposure, sensitivity, adaptive capacity), dimensions (e.g., ecological, economic, social), type of indicators (e.g., quantitative, qualitative), maritime activities, climate-related drivers of change, and spatial scales. Results show that most vulnerability and risk assessments address fisheries and marine conservation, and that sea-level rise and extreme events are the most frequently considered climate-related drivers of change. The main identified limitations pertain to the level of subjectivity and the tremendous variety of concepts, areas of expertise, and systems addressed in such studies. We highlight that further research is needed particularly on the development of cross-sectoral studies and integrative approaches, using multiple indicators and frameworks. There is also a need for assessments explicitly designed to support ocean planning and integrated marine management processes. Review processes such as the present one provide a “big picture,” allowing for a global view on complex topics, and contributing to advances in the field.

Compressed Earth Blocks Using Sediments and Alkali-Activated Byproducts

Sediment dredging is necessary and vital to preserve maritime activities and prevent floods. The management of these sediments represent an environmental challenge for many countries all over the world. This study focuses on evaluating the feasibility of using dredged sediments for the manufacturing of compressed earth blocks (CEB). The alternative construction material has the potential of reducing the need for dredged sediment onshore storage or ocean dumping. Several experimental tests have been conducted on two geopolymer types, which were obtained by mixing sediments from the northern region of France, fly ash (FA), and grounded blast furnace slag (GBFS). The geopolymers, which were activated using an eight-molar concentrated sodium hydroxide solution (NH), were cured at a temperature of 50 °C. The results have shown that a geopolymer content of 36% of FA and 10% of GBFS along with (NH) alkaline solution has significantly improved the mechanical properties of CEBs, which have outperformed those of Portland Cement-stabilized traditional blocks. The use of NH has resulted in the formation of crystalline calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) amorphous gel. Adding GBFS to the mix has enhanced the geopolymer paste compressive strength and microstructure because of the formation of additional C-S-H. The valorization of dredged sediments in CEB based on geopolymer stabilization can contribute to the reduction of the CO2 footprint of the construction industry.

Probabilistic Maritime Trajectory Prediction in Complex Scenarios Using Deep Learning.

Maritime activity is expected to increase, and therefore also the need for maritime surveillance and safety. Most ships are obligated to identify themselves with a transponder system like the Automatic Identification System (AIS) and ships that do not, intentionally or unintentionally, are referred to as dark ships and must be observed by other means. Knowing the future location of ships can not only help with ship/ship collision avoidance, but also with determining the identity of these dark ships found in, e.g., satellite images. However, predicting the future location of ships is inherently probabilistic and the variety of possible routes is almost limitless. We therefore introduce a Bidirectional Long-Short-Term-Memory Mixture Density Network (BLSTM-MDN) deep learning model capable of characterising the underlying distribution of ship trajectories. It is consequently possible to predict a probabilistic future location as opposed to a deterministic location. AIS data from 3631 different cargo ships are acquired from a region west of Norway spanning 320,000 sqkm. Our implemented BLSTM-MDN model characterizes the conditional probability of the target, conditioned on an input trajectory using an 11-dimensional Gaussian distribution and by inferring a single target from the distribution, we can predict several probable trajectories from the same input trajectory with a test Negative Log Likelihood loss of corresponding to a mean distance error of km 50 min into the future. We compare our model to both a standard BLSTM and a state-of-the-art multi-headed self-attention BLSTM model and the BLSTM-MDN performs similarly to the two deterministic deep learning models on straight trajectories, but produced better results in complex scenarios.

Application of Marine Spatial Planning tools for tidal stream farm micro-siting

The operation of tidal stream energy farms may interfere with other uses of the marine space, especially in depth-limited areas (estuaries, rivers, etc.) which are typically subject to multiple demands of use. The Marine Spatial Planning Directive (MSP) was passed by the European Commission in 2014 to ensure a harmonic coexistence between different maritime activities and to protect the marine environment. In this context, the objective of this work is to present a methodology based on MSP tools for tidal-farm siting in depth-limited areas. The methodology is illustrated through a case study: Ria de Ribadeo, a shallow-water estuary in NW Spain. Having considered a number of uses (archaeological, biodiversity, fishing, aquaculture, recreational and navigation), two exploitable tidal farm sites (Areas A and C) with annual energy densities of 1 GWhm−2 were found. The estuary is periodically dredged to maintain navigation. Dredging-related risks were analysed using a novel indicator, the Dredging Associated Risk (DAR), based on which Area C was discarded and Area A had its exploitable surface area reduced by 25%. In sum, the methodology proposed was proven to be effective for tidal stream farm planning.

English trade with the East at a time of change: Captain Richard Etherington's voyages and networking in the maritime world in the late seventeenth century

At the end of the seventeenth century, the trade monopoly of the English East India Company was increasingly under threat, both in England and overseas. This article describes voyages to India and the East Indies between 1688 and 1699 by ships commanded by Richard Etherington. Firstly, he commanded a ship chartered by the East India Company for a voyage to India, the outcome of which was shipwreck. After events in England that significantly affected the East India Company's future, he commanded a ship chartered by private merchants, voyaging to Borneo and then, rather unusually, on to Timor. English and Dutch archival sources have been put together to illustrate Etherington's voyages in relation to the various issues that influenced English trade, and also the small world of maritime and mercantile activities in the region at the time.

Sustainability of the Portuguese North-Western Fishing Activity in the Face of the Recently Implemented Maritime Spatial Planning

The Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) for continental Portugal was approved in December 2019 and has established a novel framework for those players that carry out maritime activities. In light of this challenge, our work addresses the current status of the fishing activity in the north-western region of Portugal, where relevant small-scale fisheries (SSF) are still well established. Based on official statistical data and a stakeholder survey, structural, economic, and social issues that significantly influence the sustainability of this industry were studied. Throughout the 2012–2019 pre-COVID-19 period, the price revalorization of primary products in first-sale markets was the key aspect that allowed fisheries to partially counteract the loss of economic value associated with the decreased fishing production (a decline of 46% of the total nominal catches). Regarding the regional fishing trade network, the fact that a given species reaches a wide range of prices in closely located major landing ports (Matosinhos, Póvoa de Varzim, and Viana do Castelo) constitutes, nonetheless, an issue that deserves attention and optimization. A survey conducted among training professional fishers confirmed a deeply rooted family/regional tradition but revealed concerns about the future generational replacement. The trainees demanded stronger support from the government, a modernization process for fishing activity, as well as higher social salary standards. Moreover, they assigned a high relevance to the sustainability of aquatic resources. In conclusion, the results shown in the present study reveal a noticeable ability of the regional fishing industry to overcome the challenging economic circumstances that have occurred in the last few years. Against the new scenario decisively influenced by the MSP, a generation of future regional fishers that pursue high social and environmental standards is certainly a solid basis for an optimistic future performance of this activity. For that purpose, a firm commitment to the use of technology seems like a key strategy to adopt in order to further the sustainability of the fisheries in the north-western region of Portugal.

The Salient Dynamics of Cross-Border Ocean Governance in a Regional Setting: An Evaluation of Ocean Governance Systems and Institutional Frameworks in the Guinea Current Large Marine Ecosystem

This article contributes to a growing body of research on the Large Marine Ecosystems Concept. It particularly shines the light on the Guinea Current Large Marine Ecosystem (GCLME), a biodiverse maritime domain providing essential ecosystem services for the survival of a large population while at the same time under intense pressure from both anthropogenic and natural factors. With the need for coordination and cross-border ocean management and governance becoming imperative due to the magnitude of challenges and maritime domain, we examine the factors that underpin ocean governance and those key elements necessary for cross-border ocean governance cooperation in the region. The research draws on qualitative data collected from peer-reviewed literature and documents sourced from different official portals. Three countries in the region (Benin, Nigeria, and Cameroon) are selected as the descriptive and comparative case studies to examine: (i) the factors that drive ocean governance (including geographical features, maritime jurisdictions, political framework, maritime activities, and associated pressures), and (ii) key enabling factors for cross-border ocean governance and cooperation in the GCLME (including marine and coastal related policy and legal framework convergence from international to national including, and shared experiences, common issues and joint solutions). We show that the biophysical maritime features, the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), otherwise known as the Law of the Sea (LOS), inherent political characteristics and the relics of colonization, and increasing ocean use and pressure on the ecosystem make ocean governance challenging in the region. Our analysis also reveals a varying level of convergence on international, regional and national legal, policy and institutional frameworks between the case studies on ocean-related aspects. Significant convergence is observed in maritime security, ocean research, and energy aspects, mostly from countries adopting international, regional and sub-regional frameworks. National level convergence is not well established as administrative and political arrangement differs from country to country in the region. These different levels of convergence help reveal procedural and operational shortcomings, strengths, weaknesses, and functional capability of countries within a cooperative ocean governance system in the region. However, experience from joint-implementation of projects, pre- and post-colonial relations between countries and the availability of transboundary organizations that have mainly emerged due to sectoral ocean challenges would play a crucial role in fostering cross-border ocean governance cooperation in the region.

Coordination of Economic and Defense Activities in the Pacific Region

Europe — Eurasia — Asia. Each continent of the vast continent corresponds to a dominant continental power, respectively Germany — Russia — China; in one of them (China), in the zone of conjugation of the Eurasian and Asian continental civilizations, that is, in the Russian-Chinese borderland, a new regional entity is emerging and developing with the attributes of a maritime civilization.Aim. The aim of the study is to solve the scientific problem of matching the national interests of the two countries within this regional maritime space.Tasks. To achieve the goal of the study, the following tasks are being solved: to substantiate the structure of the allocated geopolitical entity and to identify the directions of interaction between the two countries on the basis of coordinating economic and defense activities in the Pacific region.Methods. In this work, the methodological tools of spatial economics and the theory of new economic geography are used, which make it possible to combine geopolitical and economic (geoeconomic) imperatives in a localized space when coordinating joint activities. The core of this formation is the three seas of the Pacific basin adjacent to the territory of China. However, China’s strategic interests extend further, to the north, into the water area of at least two Russian seas. Thus, Russia is also involved in joint maritime activities within the Pacific region.Results. As a result, this creates a space of common national interests, which covers the waters of the five seas and adjacent territories. The regional core of this formation tends to expand, north, east and south, and further west, into the Indian Ocean.Conclusion. The conclusions of the study are that the maritime (more precisely, naval) activities of the two continental powers are essentially becoming the basis of cooperation and cooperation between Russia and China, since Russia can contribute to the implementation of China’s vast national interests only in the defense sphere, providing, in addition, significant, political support for China. As for economic activity, first of all, while meeting the growing demand of the Chinese economy for energy resources (oil, gas and coal), the prospects in this direction lie outside the current planning horizons (until 2035) when implementing large Arctic gas projects. in the water area of the Gulf of Ob “Arctic LNG 1, 2, 3”.

Blue economy: Concept research and review of the European Union

The concept of the blue economy is a part of a new wave of economic thought that emphasizes the sustainable use of natural resources in the world?s oceans, seas and coastal areas. The blue economy, which is dominated by the principle of sustainability, is directly contrasted with the development of another cycle of linear exploitation of limited planetary resources. In contrast, a sustainable blue economy envisages economic activities such as greening shipping, coastal renewable energy, carbon sequestration, eco-tourism, genetic marine resources, sustainable aquaculture and the development of new seafood as new trends in the decades ahead. The paper analyzes the key postulates of the blue economy concept, as well as European experiences and challenges in this field, using the methods of theoretical analysis. Based on the empirical findings of the paper, the general conclusion is that the oceans, coastal areas and marine activities will play a crucial role for the economic and environmental future of the European Union and its citizens. The European blue economy can and must be a central and solid pillar that contributes to the general resilience of society itself. Overall, the European Union has recognized the importance of the blue economy in generating new jobs and achieving prosperity and security, but its potential has yet to be unlocked. What is important is that the affirmation of the concept of the blue economy takes place in the spirit of the fundamental principles of the 2020 strategy, according to which growth must be smart (with respect to integration of cutting edge science-based, innovative solutions and industrial leadership), sustainable (in economic, social and ecological terms tackling societal challenges) and inclusive (considering the multitude of coastal, marine and maritime activities and trade-offs between them). The general lesson is that the European institutions responsible for ocean health and safety must seriously consider an appropriate framework that allows the blue economy to thrive while maintaining high standards of sustainable development in line with the EU?s vision for a carbon-free society. When it comes to the European Union (and its members), the development of the sustainable and fair blue economy in the coming period should take place in accordance with the principles of the European Green Agreement, as a long-term strategy for sustainable growth, which will require: transformation of value chains of the blue economy in terms of moving away from linear business models to circular ones, with less resource consumption and waste; introduction of stricter measures against marine pollution, coastal waste and plastics; fossil fuel replacement; investing in biodiversity conservation; restoration and protection of ecosystems; promoting nature-based solutions and options and incubating marine renewable energy and innovative blue biotechnology. At the same time, all blue economy sectors have to reduce their climate and environmental impact and contribute to the recovery of marine ecosystems. In achieving overarching goals such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing resource efficiency and reducing overall environmental impact, the EU should focus on five promising and innovative sectors, namely: blue energy, aquaculture, coastal and maritime 256 tourism, blue biotechnology and seabed mining. To address the previous challenges, special emphasis should be placed on the need for multisectoral, inclusive, transparent and holistic governance (public-private dialogue) to integrate the sustainable use of human resources with environmental protection and social justice. Improving governance processes should primarily be based on: 1. Citizen engagement and ocean literacy, namely, the involvement and empowerment of local communities and 2. ?ffirmation of maritime spatial planning, with the following advantages: protect the environment through early identification of impact and opportunities for multiple use of space; encourage investment by creating predictability, transparency and clearer rules; increase cross-border cooperation between EU countries to develop energy grids, shipping lanes, pipelines, submarine cables and other activities, but also to develop coherent networks of protected areas; and reduce conflicts between sectors and create synergies between different activities.

The sea factor in the federal regulation of Russia’s spatial development: post-Soviet experience and current priorities

Current geoeconomic and geopolitical transformations project on Russian society and its spatial organisation, highlighting the problems of spatial socioeconomic development and its governmental regulation. This article examines the theoretical and applied aspects of the incorporation into the national regional policy of the sea factor, understood as a combination of location and resources, which is determined by a country’s jurisdiction over coasts and waters, its maritime activities and coastalisation potential, including the economic, settlement-­related and psychological elements of the latter. The article describes the key influences of the sea factor on the spatial development of post-­Soviet Russia. The steadily growing impact of maritime activities on the spatial-­economic and settlement dynamics has been given a new impetus by the rising geostrategic, resource and transport-­logistic significance of the World Ocean, as well as its water and water-land substructures, amid increasing military-­strategic confrontation and geoeconomic regionalisation. The article presents a retrospective analysis of the role of the sea factor in Russia’s regional policy and identifies its stages. The authors emphasise the need for a synergy between maritime and spatial policies and proposes ways of achieving it.

Dual-Branch Neural Network for Sea Fog Detection in Geostationary Ocean Color Imager

Sea fog significantly threatens the safety of maritime activities. This paper develops a sea fog dataset (SFDD) and a dual branch sea fog detection network (DB-SFNet). We investigate all the observed sea fog events in the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Sea (118.1{\deg}E-128.1{\deg}E, 29.5{\deg}N-43.8{\deg}N) from 2010 to 2020, and collect the sea fog images for each event from the Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) to comprise the dataset SFDD. The location of the sea fog in each image in SFDD is accurately marked. The proposed dataset is characterized by a long-time span, large number of samples, and accurate labeling, that can substantially improve the robustness of various sea fog detection models. Furthermore, this paper proposes a dual branch sea fog detection network to achieve accurate and holistic sea fog detection. The poporsed DB-SFNet is composed of a knowledge extraction module and a dual branch optional encoding decoding module. The two modules jointly extracts discriminative features from both visual and statistical domain. Experiments show promising sea fog detection results with an F1-score of 0.77 and a critical success index of 0.63. Compared with existing advanced deep learning networks, DB-SFNet is superior in detection performance and stability, particularly in the mixed cloud and fog areas.

Russia’s Maritime Doctrine as a Prerequisite for the Spread of Aggression in the World Ocean

On July 31, 2022, the first Russian strategic planning document after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine was published – the new Maritime Doctrine of the Russian Federation. The purpose of this article is to analyze the Maritime Doctrine in the context of the priorities of the national maritime policy and the possible spread of the Russian aggression in various areas of the World Ocean, as well as a study of expert opinions regarding the new Doctrine. The author used the following scientific methods: analysis, synthesis, problematization, systematization, and specification. As a result of the conducted research the author of the article made a conclusion that the actual purpose of the Doctrine is the militarization of the World Ocean and the Caspian Sea in Russian interests. Russia plans to significantly strengthen its Navy and other military units related to maritime activities, in particular by increasing the number of warships and establishing a new system of the logistic bases in foreign countries of various regions of the world. The Russian Federation intends to control the naval activities of foreign states in the Northern Sea Route, and declares its readiness to use military force in international straits and international sea routes. In the Doctrine Russia recognized the primacy of national law over international law and removed the provision on the international status of the Kerch Strait from national legislation. Considering the above, the new Maritime Doctrine of the Russian Federation is undoubtedly a prerequisite for the spread of the Russian aggression in the World Ocean and a threat to global security.

Long-Term Impact of Continental and Maritime Airflow on Aerosol Environment and Rain Microstructure Near Land–Sea Boundary

The present study deals with the interplay of multiple atmospheric processes in changing the microphysical properties of precipitation during the pre-monsoon season (March–May) using the long-term experimental data of raindrop size distributions (DSDs) spanning over 15 years (2005–2019) obtained at an urban tropical location, Kolkata (22.57°N, 88.37°E), near the land–sea boundary. The changing pattern of air mass flows from the maritime and continental region, which contribute to the formation of precipitation processes, has been responsible for the varying characteristics of rain. Changes in raindrop sizes are related to aerosol properties, cloud features, temperature, and relative humidity that change mass-weighted mean drop diameter ( <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$D_{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> ) differently in low and high rain rate regimes. <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$D_{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> has shown an increasing trend over time for low rain rates (< 15 mm/h), but a decreasing trend for high rain rate regimes (≥15 mm/h). An increase (decrease) in mean temperature (relative humidity) below the atmospheric boundary layer (< 1.6 km) has enhanced the evaporation of small raindrops and altered rain microphysical features. Based on satellite observations, it has been found that the increasing aerosol optical depth (AOD) has been accompanied by an increase in cloud effective radius (CER), resulting in the anti-Twomey effect, which is due to the dominance of maritime influence over continental activities. Because of the predominant maritime activities, sea salt aerosols have a greater presence, causing an increase in CER, which consequently prevents raindrops from becoming large enough before they fall, thereby reducing <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$D_{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> at high rainfall rates.

Detection of invalid AIS messages using machine learning techniques

Coastal nations monitor maritime activities in the interest of defence, security, and safety. This form of monitoring typically occurs at operations centers that visualize the maritime environment by creating a Recognized Maritime Picture (RMP) covering a particular area of interest. The creation of this picture changed drastically with the introduction of the Automatic Identification System (AIS). AIS messages are known to contain numerous types of errors and in April 2020 a unique error was found in the data stream. This error consisted of messages indicating the appearance of over 200 vessels in the North Atlantic taking part in a yacht race when in fact no race or physical ships existed. The following work explores the application of various machine learning (ML) techniques to help identify these types of fabricated AIS messages. Specific ML techniques were explored including: K-means clustering, Decision Tree (DT), Random Forest (RF), Feed-Forward Neural Networks (FNN), Support Vector Machines (SVM), and One-Class Support Vector Machines (One-SVM). The results showed that DT, RF, and FNN best identified the fabricated AIS messages with F1 scores greater than 93 percent on the test data.

Crusading in Livonia and Byzantine Romania Considered in a Comparative Review. Key Issues and Historiographical Notes

The article focuses on a topic that so far has not been studied in a comparative approach. The author addresses some basic problems of the comparative research, focusing on the general and the specific causes, the course, and the consequences of the crusading actions in the lands of Livonia and Estonia – in the northeast, and Romania – in the southeast. Reconsidering the already established models and theses in historical research on the Baltic campaigns, on the one hand, and the Third, the Fourth, and the Fifth Crusades, on the other, the author formulates some guidelines and approaches for a comparative study on crusading ‘on the edges’ in the late 12th – the early 13th centuries. The article analyzes several factors including the role of geographical and climatic conditions, the demographic expansion, the papal policy, the commercial maritime activity, and the role of the Knightly orders in the crusading campaigns under review. Furthermore, the author explores the political and social background of the crusading campaigns under question and the different models of interaction between the colonization stratum and the local population in Livonia and the Latin Empire in Constantinople.

Mexican paradise under threat: The impact of antifouling biocides along the Yucatán Peninsula

Levels of booster biocides (Irgarol, diuron, chlorothalonil, dichlofluanid and DCOIT), organotins (TBT, DBT, MBT, TPhT, DPhT and MPhT) and antifouling paint particles (APPs) were assessed in sediments of sites under the influence of maritime activities along the coastal zone of the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico. Imposex incidence and organotin levels were also evaluated in seven caenogastropod species. The incidence of imposex was detected in five species from sites nearby fishing harbors and marinas, including the first reports to Gemophos tinctus and Melongena bispinosa. Butyltins levels were higher than phenyltins in gastropod tissues, sediments, and APPs. Regarding booster biocides, chlorothalonil was the most frequently detected compound and DCOIT was the most abundant biocide in sediments. DCOIT levels were registered in APPs from fishing harbors and marina areas. In addition, the highest levels of TBT, Irgarol, diuron and DCOIT exceeded the threshold limits set by international sediment quality guidelines, indicating that toxic effects could be expected in some of the studied areas, thus being a potential threat to marine life. Based on such outputs, Mexico urgently needs to adopt restrictive actions aiming at conserving the rich biological heritage of the Yucatán Peninsula.

Assessing the perception of stakeholders regarding the impact of coastal tourism on the environment in the Romanian Black Sea coastal area

The coastal and marine area is one of an endlessly increasing number of human activities and provisions, the most significant of which are those associated with tourism. With the start of the MARSPLAN BS-II project in 2019, the planning of public participation actions of stakeholders to identify areas and important features for each maritime activity to develop and implement MSP has started. This study, using an appropriate exploratory approach, namely Grounded Theory, aims to assess stakeholders' perceptions of the environmental impact of tourism in the Romanian Black Sea coastal area to identify potential barriers that may arise from the perspective of implementing the Black Sea MSP. Even if the impact of tourism on the environment cannot be studied in-depth and fully proven, it is obvious, through our results, that tourism should fully enjoy the management and planning efforts.