Northern Ports Research Articles

Marine megafauna interactions with the Peruvian artisanal purse-seine fleet

Bycatch is a global problem for marine megafauna. Peru is a major fishing nation known in particular for its industrial purse-seine fishery for the Peruvian anchovy (Engraulis ringens). However, Peru also has an artisanal purse-seine fishery for this same resource and other species such as Pacific bonito (Sarda chiliensis), Pacific chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus) and Chilean jack mackerel (Trachurus murphyi) used for human consumption. While there is limited documentation of bycatch of megafauna by the industrial purse-seine fishery, there is no similar information for the artisanal purse-seine fishery. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the marine megafauna (small-cetaceans, seabirds, sea turtles, and elasmobranchs) bycatch interactions of the Peruvian artisanal purse-seine fishery for consumption for the year 2019 (before the COVID-19 pandemic) through interviews with artisanal fishers in 5 landing ports (San Jose, Santa Rosa, Callao, Pucusana, and San Andres). We found that these fisheries had bycatch with all taxa groups, with dusky dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obscurus), guanay cormorants (Leucocarbo bougainvilliorum) and eagle rays (Myliobatis spp.) having the highest quantity and most frequently reported bycatch. Multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) indicated an association between the bycatch of 1–3 common dolphins (Delphinus spp.) per set from the northern ports (San Jose and Santa Rosa) and vessels of 20–36 MT. Likewise, a relationship was found between smooth hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna zygaena) and vessel storage capacity, with a similar result reported for the bycatch of humpback smoothhounds (Mustelus whitneyi). In addition, a relationship of eagle ray (Myliobatis spp.) bycatch with a landing port was identified, and several respondents mentioned catching more than 1 MT per set. Fifty-three percent of fishers considered bycatch to be a problem, mainly because it wastes their time during fishing operations. This preliminary study is the first research that demonstrates bycatch in artisanal purse-seine in Peru and can serve as a baseline for future research. We also highlight the need to quantify bycatch rates of marine megafauna using additional methodologies, such as monitoring with onboard observers.

Transport Accessibility of Rural Territories of the Siberian Federal District

The article provides a comparative analysis of the transport accessibility of the grain-producing territories of the European and Asian parts of Russia. It has been determined that on the territory of Russia the role of the main regional beneficiary in the port infrastructure of western directions has only increased, including for the reception of grain products. The development of northern ports in terms of the reorientation of grain flows is limited by the development of the northern sea route, in which, in turn, the main role is assigned to sustainable supplies of mineral raw materials. Eastern ports of the country are limited by natural and climatic conditions, as well as infrastructural restrictions, historical and economic factors in the development of port infrastructure. The main directions for solving these problems at the level of the Siberian Federal District include increasing export flows through river ports oriented to the Northern Sea Route (Sabetta port) for Novosibirsk and Tomsk and Irkutsk regions, Krasnoyarsk Territory; intensification of the river direction of the southern export flow through the checkpoint "Cherlak" for the Omsk region; formation in the southern municipalities of regional cargo-forming hubs for orientation to the east for the Irkutsk region and the Krasnoyarsk Territory.

Evolution of freight spatial pattern of China's coastal ports facing the Polar Silk Road

The Polar Silk Road (PSR) opens up China's maritime trade route through the Arctic to Northwest Europe and influences the cargo transport pattern of China's coastal ports, resulting in changes in the freight spatial pattern of port system. This study uses Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis to predict and analyse the evolution of freight spatial pattern of China's coastal ports facing the PSR. Oil, liquefied natural gas, iron ore, coal, timber and container are selected as important cargos to be studied. Results show that the northern ports have higher attraction potential than the southern ports. All cargos facing the PSR show significant spatial agglomeration characteristics. The local spatial patterns of northern ports tend to change towards high values, whereas the southern ports are the opposite. The Bohai Rim and Yangtze River Delta have a certain hierarchical structure for the PSR. The gravity centre of China's coastal port system is in the northern area facing the PSR, where the comprehensive cargo convergence capacity of large ports in the Bohai Rim is stronger than that in other regions. The role orientation and development prospects of different port freight spaces are classified.

Impacts in ports on a tectonically active coast for climate-driven projections under the RCP 8.5 scenario: 7 Chilean ports under scrutiny

ABSTRACT Economic costs due to operational downtime and wave overtopping under the RCP 8.5 scenario are evaluated at 7 Chilean ports. Wave statistics for a historical period (1985–2004), mid-century (2026–2045), and end-of-century projections (2081–2100) are computed with a Pacific-wide model, forced by wind fields from six General Circulation Models. Offshore waves are then downscaled to each port, where a proxy of downtime is computed by comparing wave heights with vessel berthing criteria. The difference in downtime between the historical and future projections is attributed to climate change. Results show that some ports would reduce and others increase downtime for mid-century projections due to local effects. However, by the end-of-century, all ports would experience a reduction in downtime. Additionally, by mid-century, overtopping would increase in northern ports as a combination of extreme waves and sea-level rise (SLR), while in southern ports, it is expected to be slightly reduced. By the end-of century, overtopping would increase in the whole region, mainly driven by SLR. However, overtopping is significantly altered by coseismic uplift/subsidence that may occur during the design-life of coastal works. Finally, a few practical suggestions aimed atimproving infrastructure management and operational conditions at the analyzed ports are outlined.

The French refrigeration industry's protectionism propaganda against Norwegian ice imports, 1899–1920

Imports of Norwegian natural ice into France during the long nineteenth century were met with hostility from the emerging French artificial-ice industry. The phenomenon was more pronounced in the northern ports of France where large amounts of ice were essential for the smooth operation of the fisheries and tourist hubs. This article narrates how the French refrigeration industrialists, collectively in the form of a syndicate but also individually, conducted a fierce campaign against imported Norwegian ice, which they considered to be the main obstacle to the development of their business. Their rhetoric was largely based on protectionist grounds and their principal demand was for a compensatory duty to be imposed on Norwegian ice imports. As the article explains, this self-interested propaganda ultimately collapsed under the pressure of the increasing needs of local economies for imported ice.

Освоение северных территорий Дальнего Востока морским транспортом

Due to the current trends for changing the transport routes (shift of the world main transport arteries towards the countries in the East, increase in the trade flows distribution and in tariffs on main routes), the Far East transport is experiencing a heavy load. The shortage of railways and container terminals in the Eastern region have led to the accumulation of large loads intended for the northern territories of Magadan, Sakhalin, Kamchatka and Chukotka. This situation in the region makes us turn to the experience of the Soviet period – to study the conditions of functioning of transport links with peripheral areas, to research the theoretical approaches and practical experience of cargo delivery. The author considers the system of cargo flows distribution between the base and northern ports in that period and concludes that cargo delivery to the northern territories, based on a system of transport and economic balances, was effective in optimizing transport routes and making decisions to balance the transport infrastructure.

An Investigation to Quantify the Applicability of MARPOL Rules in the Northern Ports of Cyprus

The northern coasts of Cyprus island in the Eastern Mediterranean, are polluted by activities such as growing maritime transportation, recreational usage and tourism activities, conseutively deteriorating marine habitats and disturbing ecosystems. With the enforcement of MARPOL Convention in 1983, a reduction of marine pollution has been observed in all seas and ports of the countries that have accepted it. However, due to the increasing number of ships and growing maritime trade, number of negligences grew, so there was an increase in marine pollution again. Prevention of marine pollution is one of the most important goals of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) which is the enforcing body of MARPOL. The aim of this paper is to investigate and quantify the preventions and precautions practiced in the northern coasts of the Cyprus island. Rules and regulations on marine pollution related subjects, which the ships are held responsible are studied and a questionnaire which covers all relevant and correspondent MARPOL rules is applied to all ships using the northern ports. Results revealed that despite most of the ship practices are satisfactory; many improvements can still be made.

The “Island Formation” within the Hinterland of a Port System: The Case of the Padan Plain in Italy

An “island formation” is a region within the hinterland of a port which is served by another port. Some regions of southern Europe, although located within the hinterland of some Mediterranean ports, are “island formations” of northern range ports (namely, northern European ports between Le Havre and Hamburg): an example is the Padan Plain, in northern Italy, which is currently, although only partially, an “island formation” of northern range ports. Actually, a relevant number of TEUs, which have origin or destination in the Padan Plain, and have been unloaded from ships operating deep-sea routes or will be loaded on them, cross northern range ports. Several sources report this number of TEUs, but there is disagreement among them. In this paper, firstly, this number of TEUs is estimated, according to scheduled rail connections between northern range ports and Italian intermodal centres/freight villages. Afterwards, an analysis of transport costs and travel times is carried out in order to determine the advantage of unloading containers (having origin in the Far East or North America and destination in the Padan Plain) through northern range ports instead of Italian ports.

Evolution of the hinterlands of eight Chinese ports exporting to europe under the Polar Silk Road: Three hypothetical scenarios

In July 2017, Russia formally offered an invitation to build the Polar Silk Road (PSR) to China. Then, the White Paper of China's Arctic Policy was officially published in January 2018. It proposes the joint construction of the PSR to promote sustainable economic and social development in the Arctic region. Notably, the PSR aims to open up China's maritime trade route through the Arctic to Northwest Europe and influence the container hinterland pattern of China's coastal ports. This study assumes three scenarios to analyse and predict the evolution of the hinterlands of Chinese ports exporting to Europe under the PSR. The discrete selection model based on random utility is constructed to divide the dominant hinterland, probabilistic hinterland and major competitive hinterland of ports. The research shows that the cost and time, container throughput and risk have negative effects on a shipper's choice of port, whereas the sailing frequency has a positive effect. In general, the hinterlands of northern ports continue to expand under the PSR. Meanwhile, the hinterlands of the middle ports decrease first and then increase, and those of the southern ports contract. Overall, the northern ports are the most vulnerable to the changes of PSR attributes.

The potential impact of a shifting Pacific sardine distribution on U.S. West Coast landings

AbstractMany fish species are shifting spatial distributions in response to climate change, but projecting these shifts and measuring their impact at fine scales are challenging. We present a simulation that projects change in fishery landings due to spatial distribution shifts, by combining regional ocean and biogeochemical models (forced by three earth system models, ESMs: GFDL‐ESM2M, HadGEM2‐ES, IPSL‐CM5A‐MR), correlative models for species distribution and port‐level landings, and a simulation framework which provides realistic values for species abundance and fishery conditions using an historical “reference period”. We demonstrate this approach for the northern subpopulation of Pacific sardine, an iconic commercial species for the U.S. West Coast. We found a northward shift in sardine landings (based on the northern subpopulation's habitat suitability), with projected declines at southern ports (20%–50% decline by 2080) and an increase (up to 50%) or no change at northern ports, and this was consistent across the three ESMs. Total sardine landings were more uncertain, with HadGEM2 indicating a 20% decline from 2000 to 15 levels by 2070 (a rate of 170 mt/y), IPSL a 10% increase (115 mt/y), and GFDL an 15% increase by the year ~2050 followed by a sharp decrease. The ESMs also differed in their projected change to the timing of the fishing season and frequency of fishery closures. Our simulation also identified key constraints on future landings that can be targeted by more tactical assessment; these included the seasonality of quota allocation and the abundance of other species in the catch portfolio.

Examining the potential conflict between sea otter recovery and Dungeness crab fisheries in California

Human exploitation of marine mammals led to precipitous declines in many wild populations within the last three centuries. Legal protections enacted throughout the 20th century have enabled the recovery of many of these species and some recoveries have resulted in conflict with humans for shared resources. With legal protections and reintroduction programs, the southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis) has returned to portions of its former range from which it had been extirpated for decades, causing concern that the Dungeness crab (Cancer magister) fishery could be negatively affected by increasing otter range and population size. The Dungeness crab fishery is one of the most valuable in California, and these crabs are a known prey item of sea otters. We examine sea otter population growth by port region in relation to Dungeness crab catch using landing receipts since the early 1980s. We find Dungeness crab landings and fishing success, as measured by landings per trip receipt, increased across all ports. In the most recent decade, we observed slower growth in fishing success in northern ports where otters were absent, relative to southern ports where sea otters exist and their populations have grown. In ports where otters were present, fishing success was positively correlated with otter population size over time. Further, an extensive dataset of 83,000 sea otter foraging dives identified Dungeness crab to be less than 2% of the total diet. Though we find no evidence that sea otter populations impact the Dungeness crab fishery in California, other potential conflicts could be considered before expanding reintroduction programs.

Prediction on freight function structure of China’s coastal ports under the Polar Silk Road: a cargo attraction potential perspective

ABSTRACT The Polar Silk Road (PSR) will open up China’s maritime trade route through the Arctic to Northwest Europe and affect the freight function structure of China’s coastal ports. This study evaluates ports’ freight capacity and predicts the freight function structure of China’s coastal ports under the PSR from four dimensions, namely, comprehensive/professional, function status, function scale and function hierarchy. The freight function structure is also compared with the current one. Results show that the ports in the Bohai Rim and Yangtze River Delta will have more diversified development and become the main force of the port system under the PSR. Coal will have an important position in most ports’ cargo transportation under the PSR. The PSR will bring great economic development opportunities to the northern ports because of the influence of the sea route distance. The port function hierarchy is more obvious under the PSR, and the medium-sized ports are most affected by the PSR. We classify coastal portsaccording to the freight scale and freight function. An adaptive proposal for the government’s port function planning is proposed in the conclusion.

Hannibal’s Elephants and the Liburnians

The second Punic war is a relatively well-known episode from Roman history. Reliable, detailed ancient sources such as Livy and Polybius, however, don’t say much on the topic of Hannibal’s provisions from his native Carthage. One of the questions related to the provisions is where Hannibal’s elephants came from after the battle of Cannae, as after traversing the Etrurian swamp Hannibal only had one elephant left (Livy XXII 2). Immediately after the victory at Cannae Hannibal sends a delegation requesting logistics and the Carthaginian senate decides to send him military aid, among which were 4000 Numidians and 40 elephants (Livy XXIII 11-13). In the meantime, Hannibal penetrates Campania already accompanied by elephants at the Siege of Casilinum (Livy XXIII 18). The authors of this paper believe that Hannibal’s path to Cannae was part of a premeditated military plan, according to which the Carthaginian army needed to pick up supplies near Cannae, with the Liburnians playing an important role in opening channels of communication and supplies. Several facts support this theory, most importantly the following: – one of the few suitable ports that Hannibal could count upon to be less guarded by the Romans than more northern ports, such as Ariminum, is found near Cannae; – an enormous amount of money from Africa is in circulation in Liburnia right at the time of the war with Hannibal; It is known that political entities on the eastern coast of the Adriatic had an anti-Roman political agenda during the time of the second Punic war, coordinating themselves with Macedonia among others, which became an ally of Hannibal and with which Rome went to war in 214 B.C, with which the two Illyrian wars right before and right after the war with Hannibal are related. The authors believe that the sources point to a sort of coalition for transport, trade and communication between Hannibal, the Liburnians and Carthage, which should be viewed in the context of the operations of the anti-Roman coalition of political entities on the eastern shores of the Adriatic

Use of Small Cetaceans as Bait in Small-Scale Fisheries in Peru

The use of small cetaceans as bait is a practice that has been reported worldwide, affecting the conservation status of vulnerable species. In Peru specifically, it has been documented since at least the late 1990s. Here we document the various contemporary uses of small cetaceans, including targeted capture for subsequent use as fishing bait. We designed a survey addressing fishery characteristics, bycatch and the use as bait of small cetaceans, and the history of these practice. We surveyed 147 fishers based in the four Peruvian ports of Paita, Salaverry, Pucusana and Ilo and held in-depth interviews with 12 fishers from Salaverry and Pucusana. Results from our surveys show that the majority of fishers have had small cetacean bycatch while fishing and that bycaught individuals in gillnets are commonly found dead (Salaverry: 100% of fishers, Pucusana: 58%) whereas in longlines small cetaceans are found alive (Paita: 74%, Ilo: 53%). We found that the use of dolphins as bait is still common in both gillnet and longline shark fisheries along the coast of Peru and that it is more frequent in northern ports. Gillnet fishers reported using one to four dolphins as bait per trip (10-15 sets) from bycatch events and discarding the rest if they have excessive bycatch, while longline fishers reported using 10 to 20 dolphins per fishing trip from either direct take by harpooning or the exchange of carcasses from gillnet vessels. Bycatch and use as bait mainly affects four species, the dusky, bottlenose and common dolphins and the Burmeister's porpoise. We identified three drivers of the use of dolphins as bait: effectiveness, availability and cost. These factors will have to be addressed in parallel if this practice is to be reduced. We recommend combining legislative and community-led strategies to reduce bait use and thus further the conservation of small cetacean populations in the southeastern Pacific Ocean.

Study of Current- and Wave-Induced Sediment Transport in the Nowshahr Port Entrance Channel by Using Numerical Modeling and Field Measurements

The Nowshahr port in the southern coastlines of the Caspian Sea is among the oldest northern ports of Iran, first commissioned in the year 1939. In recent years, this port has been faced with severe sedimentation issues in and around its entrance that has had negative impacts on the operability of the port. The present study aims at identifying major reasons for severe sedimentation in the port entrance. First, field measurements were evaluated to gain an in-depth view of the hydrodynamics of the study area. Numerical models then were calibrated and validated against existing field measurements. Results of numerical modeling indicated that wind-induced current is dominant in the Caspian Sea. The numerical results also indicated that in the case of an eastward current direction, the interaction between current and the western breakwater arm would lead to the formation of a separation zone and a recirculation zone to the east of the port entrance region. This eddying circulation could transport suspend settled sediments from eastern shoreline towards the port entrance and its access channel. The results of this paper are mostly based on the study of current patterns around the port in the storm conditions incorporate with the identification of sediment sources.

Determination of Weight Coefficients for Stochastic and Fuzzy Risks for Multimodal Transportation

Research shows that the risks of multimodal transportation in the Northern ports of the Azov and Black seas, in real time, can vary by large quantities. This can cause significant problems for dynamic management of transportation, providing that transportation costs and time are minimized. Therefore, it is essential to formulate a mathematical model to determine the integral risk of freight traffic involved as it could help minimize the need for additional computer resources for the operation of logistics machinery. Determining the value of the integral risk is further complicated by the fact that the mathematical apparatus used for calculating stochastic and fuzzy risks tend to differ from one another. Therefore, an additional tool developed for the unification of various mathematical apparatus was done. The main task was conversion of local risks weight factors to components of integral risks, determined in actual time. The mathematical model has been tested for the dynamic management of freight traffic on the Black Sea ports - Mariupol, Odesa, Chornomorsk, Mikolaev, and Kherson. The route optimization was carried out for container and bulk cargoes, in particular, for grain cargoes. This allowed coverage for the whole range of risks that are inherent to multimodal transportation within the Azov-Black Sea region. The results confirmed that such an approach grants the possibility to choose routes with minimal transportation costs and time, as well as minimization of the use of computer resources.

Shifting baselines in a Mediterranean small-scale fishery

The overexploitation of marine resources has led to a decrease in species abundance over time in many marine ecosystems worldwide. But as new fishers arise throughout the years, the perception of local abundance changes which might result in a “shifting baselines syndrome”. We investigated how the perception of fishers about species abundance changed through time (from 1970 to 2016) and space (five ports), through questionnaires in the small-scale/artisanal fisheries of Murcia, Spain. Two major results emerged, firstly species catches significantly decreased between the decades 1970–1990 and 2000–2016, possibly due to overfishing and habitat degradation. Catches of species with some particular functional traits decreased (96%) possibly due to lower plasticity or to a “fishing down the food web” effect. Secondly, some functional trait categories (very large size, deep water depth, large yearly displacements and very vagile) were the highest in the northern ports of San Pedro del Pinatar and Cartagena while Cabo de Palos had the highest values in species with solitary and territorial behaviour and vagile or sedentary mobility. Fishers’ perception of catch trends of commercial species seemed aligned with other sources of information for this area and might be key information in the absence of more quantitative information.

Complex approach to transport infrastructure of Arctic region calculations

At present experts of «Base and Foundation» department of St. Petersburg Transport University do research work and design projects for transport infrastructure objects. Numerical calculation of subsoil in northern ports of Sabbeta and Tanalau settlements in Russian Arctic region is one of these successfully fulfilled projects. Specific features of these ports are the following: to construct building foundations and road embankments on permafrost soils, to predict functioning of compound sea berths and river piers when super heavy arctic vessels transport liquefied gas along the Northern sea route. Numerical calculation allowed defining soil thawing zone under the northern ports’ structures. Experience of experts permitted to choose the best solutions to preserve natural soil structure and exclude uneven deformations, which destroy objects and complicate roads functioning in permafrost zone.

Darwin Harbour – a partnership approach to understanding and evaluating environmental challenges

Darwin Port plays a critical role in the Northern Territory’s export-oriented economy and in supporting the economy of northern Australia more generally. Darwin Port is the only true multi-modal port in northern Australia, with direct connectivity to southern Australia and beyond via the southern rail link. The port has developed rapidly over the past decades, with redevelopment of the Waterfront Precinct, development of numerous residential marinas, construction of the East Arm Wharf and marine supply base, and construction and operation of liquefied gas processing and export facilities. Future development plans include Middle Arm Industrial Precinct and Marine Industry Park. These developments have resulted in an order of magnitude increase in dredging requirements, an increase in vessel traffic and an increase in public focus on environmental quality within the harbour. A coordinated, multi-agency approach to understand the complex marine environment of Darwin Harbour has underpinned much of the development activity and provided a sound scientific basis to evaluate potential environmental impacts associate with past and future developments. Through a hierarchical process of environmental assessment and identification and mitigation potential risks, the Australian Institute of Marine Science has partnered with industry, government and other research providers to deliver projects to map and assess habitats, monitor environmental attributes and evaluate potential impacts, and provide environmental information in novel and accessible ways to support harbour operations and inform strategic planning. The partnership approach adopted for Darwin Harbour serves as a model for leveraging resources to understand and manage environmental and operational risks in northern ports.

Interaction between bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and artisanal fisheries in the Valencia region (Spanish Mediterranean Sea)

Coastal waters of the Valencia region are important habitats for bottlenose dolphins, but also important fishing grounds for artisanal fisheries. No studies have been carried out here to investigate the overlap and interactions between the fishing grounds and dolphin habitat. The present study aims to assess the potential occurrence of interactions between artisanal fisheries and bottlenose dolphins in these waters. Face to face interviews were conducted to investigate for the first time artisanal fishermen's perceptions of their interactions with bottlenose dolphins.A total of 131 fishermen (40.1% of the artisanal fleet for the Valencia region) participated of research. Among the interviewed fishermen, 86.1% perceived that dolphins damaged fishing gear as they attempted to feed, and they also detected significant direct damage to fish. Of all fishermen reporting a negative interaction with bottlenose dolphins, 76.3% also reported financial loss (2907.1 ± 2512.7 €/year (100–12,000). Despite the high level of interaction with dolphins reported, fishermen do not consider bycatch to be an important threat for bottlenose dolphins. Our results show geographical differences in fishermen's perceptions of damage caused by dolphins: while dolphins were considered to be the second cause of economic loss in the southernmost ports, fishermen from the northern ports considered interaction with bottom trawl boats to be more harmful than interaction with dolphins. The more intense interaction reported by fishermen in fishing ports in the southern study area may be associated with higher presence of bottlenose dolphin in these zones. Our study provides a useful insight into fishermen's perceptions of interaction between bottlenose dolphins and artisanal fisheries in this key area for the species in the western Mediterranean Sea. It also highlights the need for future work including direct observations of interactions and damage to gather reliable data to assess the need for conservation measures.