Fishers' perceptions as indicators of the performance of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)

How users perceive the performance of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) is fundamental for the social acceptance of these zones. Moreover, their perceptions may be relevant for monitoring the effects of MPAs on extractive activities. This study analyzes artisanal fishers' perceptions of the performance of a north-western Mediterranean coastal MPA, which encompasses two no-take zones (NTZs). Three viewpoints have been considered: the effect on the personal activity of fishers, the effect on the local fishery and the effect on the ecosystem. In order to test the hypothesis that biomass export (spillover) - which had previously been evidenced from the two NTZs - may influence fishers' perceptions of NTZ effects, fishers' perceptions were compared with both declared and observed fishing activity over an one-year period.The results show that negative perceptions of NTZs are either nil or are negligible. Most fishers are aware of the beneficial effects of NTZs on ecosystems and fisheries. However, they remain to be convinced of the beneficial effects of the NTZs on their own activity. For instance, the proximity of a NTZ appears never to be involved in the choice of a fishing spot. This partial lack of correspondence between scientific expectation and fishers' perceptions is discussed in the light of fishing habits in the zone adjacent to NTZs, and takes into account fishing grounds, targeted species and seniority (defined as the number of years the fisher has been fishing within the MPA). All three factors appear to influence fishers' perceptions. For example, having a positive perception about a NTZ and spending more time fishing in the adjacent zone are habits that can be associated with fishers with less seniority. Fishers' perceptions obviously indicate the social acceptance of the MPA and are an essential monitoring tool for MPA managers. However, perceptions cannot be seen as a substitute for scientific monitoring, as both approaches are clearly complementary.     

Fishers' perceptions,facilitating factors and challenges of community-based no-take zones in the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve,Quintana Roo,Mexico

In response to fisheries decline in the Mexican Caribbean and continuing deterioration of the Mesoamerican Reef, conservation NGOs have begun to negotiate and collaboratively design a network of no-take zones (NTZs) with three fishing cooperatives in the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve (SKBR), among other places along the coast of Quintana Roo. Spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) is the target of the main fishery within cooperative concessions. Fishers are uniquely positioned to enforce and monitor NTZs and evaluate their effectiveness. This study analyzes fishers' perceptions as indicators of social acceptance of NTZs, and identifies facilitating factors and challenges of the community-based process. Consistent with similar studies, responses of fishers (89 out of a population of 124) to a semi-structured interview showed that perceptions of NTZs largely reflect fishers' concerns and interests. A high proportion of fishers accurately identified main NTZ objectives of regulation, conservation and economic improvement, as well as NTZ locations. Further, fishers cared about ecosystem sustainability and, because NTZs would not significantly limit their main economic activity, endorsed the initiative while expecting additional benefits. Declining trends in lobster catch influenced a perceived need for NTZs. Major concerns were that illegal fishers would reap NTZ benefits and that economic impacts and benefits were uncertain. Most fishers found the decision-making process inclusive, were willing to take responsibility for enforcing NTZs and believed people leading the process were trustworthy. Differences in endorsement of NTZs among cooperatives points to the importance of understanding fishers’ incentives to collaborate, and the leadership and organizational dynamics which shape participatory processes. This analysis highlights challenges in advancing NTZs in complex ecological, socio-economic and regulatory contexts. It underscores the need for community-based processes that transcend understanding of conservation measures but also invests in sustainable, operative and trustful working relationships, as well as the urgency of interdisciplinary approaches in ensuring effective design and implementation of this relatively new fishery management tool.     

How robust is the environmental impact assessment process in South Australia? Behind the scenes of the Adelaide seawater desalination project

This work tests the robustness of policies and procedures designed to protect South Australia's marine environment through a case study of the Adelaide Desalination Plant—the most expensive (∼A$1.8 billion) infrastructure project in South Australia's history. Although this project has been subject to an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)—the highest level of assessment in Australia—on inspection it appears that the current operating licence for the desalination brine discharge breaches Government approval conditions and ignores the collective expert scientific advice of the project's Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Hence, the EIA process in South Australia for this project is flawed. Improvements could be made to the South Australian system by including the requirements for operating licences as an integral part of the EIA.     

Marine informational governance,a conceptual framework

Marine governance involves interaction between networks and actors from different types and levels of organizations. The concept of multi-level or network governance steps away from the assumptions that supra-national and national government at the macro level is the dominant policy making unit. At all levels information is crucial, among others to overcome social dilemmas of collective action in marine resource use and management. In this paper theories of multi-level governance, of collective action, of trust and of information economics will be linked to the idea of the increasing importance of information, information technologies and information processes in environmental governance, which is termed ‘informational governance’. This linking of theories and concepts results in a new and innovative framework to better understand the changing role of information in marine resource management, enterprises, institutions and actual practices of governance. The framework will help to investigate the effectiveness of informational governance in solving problems related to marine resources.     

要素市场扭曲对中国沿海地区海洋经济效率的影响

生产要素在各产业间的自由流动和资源的优化配置是实现经济效率提升的关键,因此,科学合理地配置海洋要素资源,提高海洋经济效率,促进海洋经济高质量发展,是中国从海洋大国走向海洋强国的必经之路。本文运用C-D生产函数法和Super-SBM模型分别测度中国沿海11个省区市2006—2016年海洋要素市场扭曲程度及海洋经济效率,并构建计量模型来探究海洋要素市场扭曲与海洋经济效率之间的关系,同时考察不同海洋经济圈内,海洋要素市场扭曲对海洋经济效率的影响并分析其产生原因。最后,利用反事实检验进一步估算要素市场扭曲造成的海洋经济效率的缺口。得出以下结论:(1)研究期间,中国海洋资本、劳动及总体要素市场指数均大于1,呈现负向扭曲状态。从省际层面来看,沿海11个省区市的资本要素市场均为负向扭曲;劳动要素市场除浙江、福建、广东、广西、海南为正向扭曲外,其余为负向扭曲;总体要素市场扭曲省际差距并不明显,其中上海、广东海洋要素市场扭曲程度较轻。(2)从全国层面看,要素市场扭曲明显抑制了中国海洋经济效率的提升,产业结构、海洋区位优势对海洋经济效率的提升有显著推动作用。从三大海洋经济圈来看,要素市场扭曲对海洋经济效率的影响存在显著的地区差异。北部海洋经济圈要素市场扭曲对海洋经济效率有显著提升作用;东部海洋经济圈要素市场扭曲对该地区海洋经济效率呈负向作用,但在考察期间并不显著;南部海洋经济圈要素市场扭曲抑制其海洋经济效率的提升。(3)海洋要素市场扭曲造成的海洋经济效率损失缺口呈波动下降趋势,若消除海洋要素市场扭曲,海洋经济效率损失将平均减少66%。     

How well is the EU protecting its seabirds? Progress in implementing the Birds Directive at sea

The European Commission has repeatedly requested its Member States to fully implement one of the world's oldest nature legislation laws, the Birds Directive, by designating Special Protection Areas (SPAs) in the marine environment. The current work analyses the spatial coverage offered by the SPA network to the 82 species of seabirds that occur in EU waters, and compare it to that of Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs), as defined by BirdLife International. Marine SPAs represent 3.9% of the EU's marine area, while the IBA network represents 4.4%. On average, only 0.05% of the EU marine area is protected, and there are enormous regional differences. On average, SPAs and IBAs both cover 16.0% of the breeding distribution range of seabird species, but only1.4% of their non-breeding distribution range. SPAs cover more than 50% of the breeding range of only one seabird family, Procellariidae, and both SPA and IBA networks offer greater coverage to threatened species than to non-threatened ones. The year when Member States were legally obliged (2008 onwards) to declare their marine SPA networks is not significantly related to their network size, and that those species subjected to tracking studies or have well known breeding colonies benefit from higher coverage. Methodological challenges that were once posed to implement the Birds Directive at sea are largely overcome, and political will is the main driver for identifying, designating and managing a complete network of marine SPAs in the EU.     

The science of European marine reserves: Status,efficacy, and future needs

The ecologically and socio-economically important marine ecosystems of Europe are facing severe threats from a variety of human impacts. To mitigate and potentially reverse some of these impacts, the European Union (EU) has mandated the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) in order to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES) in EU waters by 2020. The primary initiative for achieving GES is the implementation of coherent networks of marine protected areas (MPAs). Marine reserves are an important type of MPA in which no extraction is allowed, but their usefulness depends upon a number of ecological, management, and political factors. This paper provides a synthesis of the ecological effects of existing European marine reserves and the factors (social and ecological) underlying their effectiveness. Results show that existing European marine reserves foster significant positive increases in key biological variables (density, biomass, body size, and species richness) compared with areas receiving less protection, a pattern mirrored by marine reserves around the globe. For marine reserves to achieve their ecological and social goals, however, they must be designed, managed, and enforced properly. In addition, identifying whether protected areas are ecologically connected as a network, as well as where new MPAs should be established according to the MSFD, requires information on the connectivity of populations across large areas. The adoption of the MSFD demonstrates willingness to achieve the long-term protection of Europe's marine ecosystems, but whether the political will (local, regional, and continent wide) is strong enough to see its mandates through remains to be seen. Although the MSFD does not explicitly require marine reserves, an important step towards the protection of Europe's marine ecosystems is the establishment of marine reserves within wider-use MPAs as connected networks across large spatial scales.     

Regional disparities in China's marine economy

Understanding the performance of each coastal area as it develops is the primary task of policy-makers in a marine economy; however, quantitative regional differences in China's marine economy have not been empirically examined. This paper offers a methodological contribution by applying a series of techniques, including the variation coefficient, Gini coefficient, and Theil index decomposition, to illustrate the relative differences among coastal areas. Additionally, the coastal areas of China were divided into two categories to reveal the provincial differences and regional disparities in China's marine economy. The results show that although the numerical economic differences in Gross Ocean Product (GOP) among coastal areas have increased significantly during the 21st century, the gaps among coastal regions have gradually decreased. In addition, China's marine economy presents three levels of regional development (developed, medium-developed, and developing). The results of the Theil index decomposition show that the overall difference in China's marine economy is derived mainly from differences within the three macro marine economic regions; these differences account for more than 95% of the overall difference. Furthermore, the underlying reasons for and driving mechanism of regional differences in China's marine economy can be illuminated in terms of differences in natural resource endowments and geographic locations; industrial agglomeration and diffusion; changes in regional development policy; and foreign investment. These findings offer basic data support and policy recommendations for marine economy management at the national and regional levels.     

Participatory artisanal fisheries management in islands: Application to the Canary Islands (Spain)

Socio-economic development of small-island fishing communities is greatly dependent on local coastal and marine resources. However, illegal fishing and aggressive practices in insular ecosystems lead to over-exploitation and environmental deterioration. Moreover, a lack of scientific data increases uncertainty and prevents the adequate monitoring of marine resources. This paper focuses on the integration of local fishing communities into decision-making processes with the aim of promoting artisanal fishing on the Island of Tenerife (the Canary Islands), as a way to preserve the marine ecosystem and socio-economic development of traditional cofradias (fishers' organisations). A qualitative methodological framework, based on participatory problem-solution trees and focus groups, was used to identify the main factors impeding the sustainable development of the artisanal fishing sector on the island and to elaborate collective proposals with policy implications. The fishing community involved identified four main issues that are maintaining an unsustainable island fishery: 1) Over-exploitation; 2) Poor self-management of cofradias and commercialisation problems; 3) Fisher individualism and low co-management strategies, and 4) Illegal fishing increase vs. artisanal fishing decline. Results show the required policy enhancements to tackle them and the need to adapt regulations to the local situation.     

Opportunities for improving global marine conservation through multilateral treaties

The speed and scale of human impacts on marine species, such as climate change and exploitation for international markets, coupled with a poor regulatory regime and lack of enforcement, make it especially difficult to protect marine species beyond areas of national jurisdiction. Yet as the number of multilateral treaties continues to grow, the declining state of the world's oceans suggest that these treaties are largely failing to fulfill their missions and achieve meaningful protection. Here, an analysis of all multilateral treaties governing activities related to oceans is provided. A range of issues is examined including efficacy, geographic and taxonomic distribution, and other factors that facilitate or inhibit conservation. Since 1882, 103 countries have signed 265 multilateral treaties related to the management of marine resources. The majority of treaties (51%) deal with fisheries, 30% deal with pollution, 4% marine mammals and 15% deal with other topics. In terms of factors that may predict efficacy, 65% of marine treaties have secretariats, 50% have scientific mandates, and 13% have enforcement mechanisms; only 9% have all three. Given the context of the United Nations General Assembly's new commitment to manage human activity and its impact on common resources on the high seas, it is important to understand the strengths and weaknesses – individually and cumulatively - of existing binding marine agreements.     

Norwegian aquaculture expansion and Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM): Simmering conflicts and competing claims

ICZM (Integrated Coastal Zone Management) is a decision-making process for sustainable use, development and protection of coastal marine areas and their resources, in continuous realization. Norway is currently dependent upon the commitment and motivations of the municipalities to fulfill its ICZM initiatives. These communities are lacking epistemic communities that can help prevent the simmering conflicts surrounding aquaculture expansion, as demonstrated by media data from 1984–2010. With the forthcoming harvest of the zooplankton redfeed in Norwegian and surrounding waters, the Aquaculture industry could be in a situation of expanded feed resources, which would ensure its expansion if localities are made available. This would also be in line with the Norwegian government's commitment to the expansion of this industry. A government-endorsed growth of the Aquaculture industry will add fuel to these simmering conflicts concerning the use of the eco-system of collective goods and services available along national coastline in Norway for Aquaculture purposes. The suggestions from the recently released report from the Select Committee appointed by the Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs in Norway on Effective and Sustainable Area Use in the Aquaculture Industry cab be an aid to supporting the growth of epistemic communities and a subsequent successful national ICZM implementation, thereby paving the way for a conflict-less coastal area management.     

胶州湾沉积物中有机质的来源与组成及其对百年尺度环境变化的指示

The Jiaozhou Bay is characterized by heavy eutrophication that is associated with intensive anthropogenic activities. Four core sediments from the Jiaozhou Bay are analyzed using bulk technologies, including sedimentary total organic carbon(TOC), total nitrogen(TN), the stable carbon(δ~(13)C) and nitrogen(δ~(15) N) isotopic composition to obtain the comprehensive understanding of the source and composition of sedimentary organic matter and further shed light on the environmental changes of the Jiaozhou Bay on a centennial time scale.Results suggest that the TOC and TN concentrations increase in the upper core, having indicated a probable eutrophication process since the 1920 s in the inner bay and the 2000 s in the bay mouth. The TOC and TN concentrations outside the bay have also changed since 1916 owing to the variation of terrigenous input.Considering TOC/TN ratio, δ~(13) C and δ~(15) N, it can be concluded there is a mixture of terrigenous and marine organic matter sources in the study area. A simple two end-member(terrigenous and marine) mixing model usingδ~(13) C indicats that 45%–79% of TOC in the Jiaozhou Bay is from the marine source. The environmental changes of the Jiaozhou Bay are recorded by geochemical proxies, which are influenced by the intensive anthropogenic activities(e.g., extensive use of fertilizers, and discharge of sewage) and climate changes(e.g., rainfall).     

微塑料在海洋中的分布、生态效应及载体作用

微塑料通常被定义为最大尺寸小于5 mm的塑料碎片.受人类活动的影响,微塑料在海洋环境中广泛存在,引起了人们对其潜在影响的关注.由于粒径较小,微塑料可以通过多种途径进入水生生物体内,沿着食物链迁移、传递,影响海洋生态系统的健康与稳定.在海洋中长期停留的微塑料会吸附环境中的重金属、有机污染物和微生物等,加剧微塑料对海洋生物的毒性作用.本文综述了海洋环境中微塑料的污染特征,微塑料对海洋生物行为、生理等的影响,以及微塑料与微生物、其他污染物的相互作用和复合效应,并对微塑料对海洋环境及生物影响的研究进行了展望.     

Early-stage transformation of coastal marine governance in Vietnam?

This paper examines an apparent ‘early stage’ governance transformation in the Tam Giang Lagoon, Vietnam. In this context, the role of key policy windows for innovative governance practice is assessed (e.g., changes to Land and Fisheries Laws). Also examined is the emergence of recent initiatives to catalyze a wider shift in governance practice in the region, including the formation of co-management institutional networks that contribute to trust building and learning, and the allocation of collective territorial use rights for fisheries. While these changes are consistent with experiences in other coastal marine contexts, the paper shows that place-based and longitudinal research is necessary to explain and predict the conditions and incentives that catalyze governance shifts. Differences between a governance change and more fundamental transformation are difficult to discern using point-in-time analysis. Moreover, the results show that current declines in ecological conditions in the lagoon may not be reversed by changes to access rights or the emergence of co-management. Rather, these governance changes may simply help to stabilize the situation and buy time until other livelihood opportunities arise. Assessments of governance transformation thus need to be linked to ecological outcomes (i.e., reversing degradation of coastal marine systems, avoiding biophysical tipping points) which may not be easily identified in the short-term. Despite uncertainty, the emergence of policy windows, evidence of institutional innovation, and small-scale rights allocation experiments, all suggest important shifts in the trajectory of governance are underway in the Tam Giang Lagoon.     

Valuing the Guinea current large marine ecosystem: Estimates of direct output impact of relevant marine activities

This study is a first step towards valuing the Guinea Current Large Marine Ecosystem (GCLME), one of the five world's most productive marine areas that are rich in fishery resources, petroleum production, and an important global region of marine biological diversity. The area is highly degraded and thus demands urgent attention to recover and sustain depleted fisheries; restore degraded habitats; and reduce land and ship-based pollutions. Achieving this goal would be a mirage if the actual value of the ecosystem's contribution to the society is not known. Valuation can help identify the main beneficiaries of conservation and the magnitude of benefits they receive, and help design measures to capture some of these benefits and contribute to financing of conservation. Hence this study used the direct output approach to estimate the value of relevant marine activities in the area. The result shows that the total value of output in GCLME when some outputs namely, marine fishery, offshore oil production, NTFP (periwinkle) and mining, are considered as $49,941.4 million. Among these uses, offshore oil production has the highest value accounting for 59.79% of the total estimate. These estimates provides sufficient evidence to show that GCLME provide enormous value and should be managed appropriately to sustain the gains if the economic development would be guaranteed especially considering that most countries in the GCLM depend on natural resources for their survival. Evolving a well defined property rights regime and an efficient governance system for management is recommended.     

Nine nations,one ocean: A benchmark appraisal of the South Western Indian Ocean Fisheries Project (2008–2012)

Coastal and island states of the Western Indian Ocean lack scientific and management capacity to draw sustainable benefits from their Exclusive Economic Zones. Declining ecosystem services and unregulated fishing has prompted nine riparian countries to develop a regional framework for capacity building and scientific development towards collective management of shared resources. Supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Agulhas and Somali Currents large marine ecosystems programme consists of three inter-related modules, supported by different agencies: land-based impacts on the marine environment (UNEP); productivity, ecosystem health and nearshore fisheries (UNDP) and transboundary shared and migrating fisheries resources (World Bank). The latter is the South Western Indian Ocean Fisheries Project (SWIOFP), a 5-year joint data gathering and fisheries assessment initiative. SWIOFP is a prelude to long-term cooperative fisheries management in partnership with the newly established FAO–South Western Indian Ocean Fisheries Commission (SWIOFC). We describe the development of SWIOFP as a model of participatory regional scientific cooperation and collective ocean management.     

Experimental activities that intentionally perturb the marine environment: Implications for the marine environmental protection and marine scientific research provisions of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

The global community's ability to assess the environmental effects of marine scientific research (MSR) as required by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea's (UNCLOS) marine environment provisions (MEP) is limited, as shown by experimental activities that intentionally manipulate the marine environment. Such work enhances knowledge of the ocean, but it may also have significant environmental effects. This growing use of the ocean as a laboratory has global scientific, environmental, legal and policy implications. Examined here is the relationship between the MSR and the MEP provisions of UNCLOS. International, science-driven guidelines are proposed.     

RCEP区域内中国海洋高科技产业出口效率及前景——基于随机前沿引力模型的实证研究

海洋经济发展是海洋强国战略目标实现的关键内容,为海洋强国建设提供基础动力。文章运用时变随机前沿引力模型和贸易指数分析法,计算出口贸易拓展空间（TS）和海洋高科技产品进口依赖度（IRCA）两项指标,结合波士顿矩阵分析法研究中国在RCEP自贸区内海洋高科技产业出口贸易前景。研究结果表明,中国与RCEP成员国的海洋高科技产品贸易前景光明,有较大贸易拓展空间,但是在不同海洋高科技产品细分市场上的具体情况存在较大差异。此外随机前沿引力模型结果表明,整体而言中国经济规模以及RCEP自贸区其他成员国经济规模对中国海洋高科技产品出口贸易存在显著促进作用。RCEP正式生效后将为中国海洋高科技产品贸易带来战略机遇,中国应采取相应措施,提升国内海洋产品产业和企业竞争力,扩大中国海洋产业尤其是海洋高科技产业贸易,大力提升我国海洋经济强国能力,积极寻求我国海洋经济强国道路。     

Using chemometrics to evaluate anthropogenic effects in Daya Bay, China

In this work, we have monitored 12 stations to study the effects caused by natural, marine and anthropogenic activities on water quality in Daya Bay, China. Results show that the N:P ratios are 71.54, 41.29, 81.50 and 98.27 in winter, spring, summer and autumn, respectively. Compared with the data of the past 20 years, the atomic N:P ratios have increased, indicating increased potential for P limitation; the atomic Si:N ratios have decreased; the nutrient structure has substantially changed over a period of 20 years. These findings show that the nutrient structure may be related to anthropogenic influence. The data matrix has been built according to the results, which were analyzed by principal component analysis (PCA). This analysis extracted the first four principal components (PC), explaining 73.58% of the total variance of the raw data. PC1 (25.53% of the variance) is associated with temperature, salinity and nitrate. PC2 (21.64% of the variance) is characterized by dissolved oxygen and silicate. PC3 (15.91% of the variance) participates mainly by nitrite (NO₂-N) and ammonia (NH₄-N). PC4 explaining 10.50% of the variance is mainly contributed by parameters of organic pollution (dissolved oxygen, 5-day biochemical oxygen demand and chemical oxygen demand).PCA has found the important factors that can describe the natural, marine and anthropogenic influences. Temperature and salinity are important indicators of natural and marine characters in this bay. The northeast monsoons from October to April and southwest monsoons from May to September have important effects on the waters in Daya Bay. It has been demonstrated that anthropogenic activities have significant influence on nitrogen form character. In spatial pattern, a marine aquaculture area and a non-aquaculture area are widely identified by the scores of stations. In seasonal pattern, dry and wet season characters have been demonstrated.     

Marine aquarium trade in India: Challenges and opportunities for conservation and policy

The collection of marine taxa for the aquarium trade continues to demand live animals be extracted from reefs, but in doing so, offers economic benefits for local communities. To improve our understanding of the status of marine aquariumtrade in India, information on harvested species and their volume was gathered at the major collection hubs (Tuticorin, Kilakarai and Mandapam) in the Gulf of Mannar region, and compared to the export data. During one year, 87 species of fish (51% belonging to the family Pomacentridae) and 21 species of invertebrates were harvested for the trade. The conservation status of exploited species revealed that nearly 50% (n=43) have not been assessed for their extinction risk by the IUCN, while of the 44 species assessed, 41 were Least Concern (LC), and one each was in the Data Deficient (DD), Near Threatened (NT) and Endangered (EN) categories. While many fish were collected, only a few were exported from India. The sea anemones were the major export as they were of a higher value in the international markets, largely attributed to their color patterns. Price discrepancies within the trade value of marine fishes and invertebrates used for the aquarium trade indicated that price increased approximately 200% at each transition in the value chain (collectors to wholesalers, wholesalers to retailers). Management strategies and conservation plans for India's marine ornamental taxa subjected to exploitation are provided so as to ensure long-term sustainability of the coral reef ecosystems, as well as the livelihood that are dependent on them.