The definition of marine recreational fishing in Europe

To describe marine recreational fisheries, their socio-economic importance and interactions with other fisheries and the environment, it is necessary to define what is meant by recreational fishing. A review of European Member States’ national legislation revealed considerable variation in ownership and access to coastal waters/fisheries, and in the legal distinction between sport fishing and other recreational uses of marine fisheries and their commercial (catching for sale and profit) counterparts. Together with a re-examination of existing definitions, this has enabled us to suggest definitions that may be used to develop a common approach to evaluate participation and socio-economic value of marine recreational fishing, and guide attempts to legislate for the benefit and development of marine recreational fishing across Europe.     

Governance strengths and weaknesses to implement the marine strategy framework directive in European waters

The ambitious Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) has been the focus of much marine research across Europe in the pursuit of achieving Good Environmental Status in the four European Union marine regions; Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and North-east Atlantic. This research addresses the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) of the current European marine governance structures and its relationship to implement the MSFD. Results of the SWOT analysis were acquired through a combination of approaches with MSFD experts and stakeholders including: 30 face-to-face interviews, an online survey with 264 stakeholder respondents and focus groups within each European marine region. The SWOT analysis concurrently identifies common strengths and weakness and key governance issues for implementing the MSFD for European marine regions. This paper forms one assessment within the governance component of the Options for Delivering Ecosystem Based Marine Management (ODEMM) project and presents timely issues that can be of benefit to national and European Union policy makers.     

SEAS-ERA: An overarching effort to coordinate marine research policies across Europe

The aim of the SEAS-ERA initiative (2010–2014), developed within the European Union Framework Programme (EU FPVII) (contract 249552), was to coordinate the structure of national and regional marine and maritime research programs to empower and strengthen marine research all across Europe. A major goal was the development and implementation of common research strategies and programs related to European seas basins. To achieve this goal, SEAS-ERA was applied at two different levels, regional and pan European, to identify common priorities and needs in five areas, namely strategic planning (marine research agendas), joint research activities (common programs and joint calls), marine research infrastructures and human capacity building to reduce imbalances among regions. SEAS-ERA was also strongly committed to enhancing public awareness of marine and maritime scientific and policy issues in Europe.     

Promoting cross-cultural exchanges in ICM and fisheries: The Consortium for Transatlantic Cooperation in Marine Policy and Coastal Management Education

Since 1997, institutions on both sides of the Atlantic have been building linkages under a joint US/European effort aimed at the next generation of marine policy and ocean management professionals. The Consortium for Transatlantic Cooperation in Marine Policy and Coastal Management Education is facilitating the exchange of knowledge between the United States and Europe regarding integrated coastal management (ICM) and regional fisheries management by creating course modules and case studies, conducting short intensive cross-cultural courses, offering transatlantic internship and academic exchange opportunities, and implementing distance learning technologies. The Consortium includes three European and three US universities, plus five partners from government, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector. The Consortium's ultimate goal is to foster cross-cultural understanding of ICM as it is implemented in response to international mandates such as Agenda 21, the Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Global Programme of Action on the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-Based Activities. This article describes the workings of the Consortium over the past two years.     

Scalar reorganisation of marine governance in Europe? The implementation of the marine strategy framework directive in Spain,Portugal and Germany

European marine policies have recently been consolidated, and the scalar organisation of marine governance has been questioned. This paper examines this phenomenon in Europe as a result of implementation of the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) and examines changes in the role of the national state vis à vis other levels of jurisdiction in marine policy. The relevance of use pressures differs across European member states, as do national policy styles and institutional configurations. Therefore, a nuanced picture is needed regarding the ways European marine policy is being implemented. To this end, the paper employs a co-evolutionary perspective studying the cases of Germany, Spain and Portugal. European marine policy has become anchored in the most relevant policy fields except agriculture and fisheries, and competency regarding its environmental dimension has been strengthened, formalized and clarified as a result of the MSFD. Its implementation, tied to international marine protection, comes following initiatives to develop maritime economies. In Portugal, implementation of the MSFD did not change the scalar organisation of natural resource governance. In Spain and Germany, the MSFD led to disputes regarding clarification of competencies. In the course of implementing the MSFD in Germany, challenges are tied to the political dimensions of formalizing practices and producing integrated policies. In Spain and Portugal, comprehensive stock-taking is itself a challenging task.     

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.     

Challenges in cross-sectoral marine protection in Europe

Marine environment protection in Europe faces a number of challenges. One is the coordination of relevant sectoral policies — such as agricultural and fisheries policies — with regard to marine protection objectives. The question in the following is on how marine protection issues can be more closely integrated in sectoral policies under the conditions prevailing at present. In particular the strength and weaknesses of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) as the key instrument for marine environment protection in Europe are analyzed in this context. In particular, the MSFD does not adequately address all sectors and policies which are relevant to marine environment protection. One possible means of giving the MSFD greater influences on other policies of relevance to marine waters is to integrate the objectives established under the MSFD in the European maritime policy. The aim should be to require the further development of sectoral policies to take unrestricted account of the objectives of the MSFD implementation process. But also other instruments of marine policy such as maritime spatial planning and marine protected areas are crucial to advance the protection of European seas.     

欧洲海洋生物技术发展战略分析及对我国的启示

海洋是生物资源的宝库,海洋生物技术是开发和保护海洋生物资源的重要基础。欧、美、日等发达国家十分重视发展海洋生物技术,纷纷制定各自的海洋生物技术发展战略。其中,欧洲2010年发布的"欧洲海洋生物技术发展新的远景与战略"行动报告是迄今为止国际上最新、最全和最详细的区域海洋生物技术发展战略之一。本研究结合这一行动报告,对欧洲海洋生物技术发展现状、优先方向、政策建议等进行了梳理,分析了我国海洋生物技术发展的优势与挑战,提出了我国今后发展海洋生物技术的若干建议。     

Marine conservation science and governance in North–West Europe: Conservation planning and international law and policy

Member States of the European Union are increasingly designating marine protected areas (MPAs) to meet globally agreed marine protection targets and regional commitments. A number of studies have examined the impact of the associated European policy on the representation of species and habitats but there is no comprehensive review of their combined impact on marine conservation in Europe. Here a systematic conservation planning framework is used to conduct such a review and compare the existing legislation to three elements of best practice, which are designed to identify MPA networks that achieve conservation goals whilst increasing the likelihood of implementation. In particular, this review investigates the extent to which legislation: (i) translates broad policy goals into explicit targets; (ii) incorporates socio-economic data into the planning process; and (iii) requires a social assessment. Whilst this legislation has widespread political support and has underpinned the rapid expansion of MPA networks, this review shows it largely fails to incorporate these key components from systematic conservation planning. Therefore, if European approaches to marine conservation are to fulfil their goal of halting marine biodiversity loss, it is essential they link existing policy frameworks with transparent strategies that account for local conditions and support implementation.     

Is there a need for a new governance model for regionalised Fisheries Management? Implications for science and advice

Over the years, the breadth and depth of EU marine policy has increased with revisions of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and new legislation like the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), Integrated Maritime Policy (IMP) and the Framework for Marine Spatial Planning Directive in Europe (FMSP). Not only do these different policies have different remits and hence scope, they also present a multitude of modes of implementation. Although the CFP and MSFD have many common goals when it comes to conservation and sustainable use of living marine resources, they differ substantially in governance set up and implementation modalities, including the underlying scientific advisory processes and structures. Regional cooperation and coordination is foreseen, but there is no governance model in place to coordinate requests for scientific advice, nor institutions coordinating the activities of advice providers, either across policies or across regions. This results in an increase in uncoordinated requests for scientific advice yet the pool of experts fuelling the advisory system is limited. As a result the European marine scientific advisory system is increasingly under pressure. In this paper the consequences of this problem are analysed and a redesign of the institutional governance setting to accommodate these challenges and make the science and advice system ready for the future is explored.     

Climate, fishery and society interactions: Observations from the North Atlantic

Interdisciplinary studies comparing fisheries-dependent regions across the North Atlantic find a number of broad patterns. Large ecological shifts, disastrous to historical fisheries, have resulted when unfavorable climatic events occur atop overfishing. The “teleconnections” linking fisheries crises across long distances include human technology and markets, as well as climate or migratory fish species. Overfishing and climate-driven changes have led to a shift downwards in trophic levels of fisheries takes in some ecosystems, from dominance by bony fish to crustaceans. Fishing societies adapt to new ecological conditions through social reorganization that have benefited some people and places, while leaving others behind. Characteristic patterns of demographic change are among the symptoms of such reorganization. These general observations emerge from a review of recent case studies of individual fishing communities, such as those conducted for the North Atlantic Arc research project.     

Reflections on international cooperation in oceanography

These reflections on past and present trends in international cooperation in marine sciences are dedicated to Gerold Siedler, the former President of the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR). Over the years Gerold Siedler promoted international cooperation on various scales. Inter alia he was in charge of the bilateral Brazilian–German Programme in Marine Science in the 1970s, and he was deeply involved in the planning of the World Ocean Circulation Experiment WOCE and in its execution, particularly in the South-western Atlantic (Siedler et al., 1996) as well as in the formation of the marine science sector of the Framework Programmes of the European Union. Apart from his leading role in international committees he has countless personal links over the oceans and across political borders. There are always foreign students around him in Kiel, and more than once he has made good-will tours to coastal states bordering the South Atlantic in order to pave the way for Meteor cruises in their EEZs and to encourage their local scientists to join those cruises.Gerold Siedler is one of the leading oceanographers devoted to the idea of the global community of oceanographers. He puts much effort in establishing new and maintaining old contacts between scientists in various parts of the World and he pushes for joining forces in cooperative programmes wherever individual research vessels and institutes cannot solve problems of the understanding, prediction and sustainable exploitation of the oceans and their coastal seas.My contribution to this Festschrift is heavily biassed towards biological oceanography in the Atlantic and to the European and German part in international cooperation. The biological inclination originates from my personal background, the geographical bias pays tribute to the fact that Gerold Siedler is a global minded German European who has mainly worked in the Atlantic. I will concentrate on some historical reflections, on the growing collaboration in Europe and on North–South partnerships.     

Jellyfish blooms perception in Mediterranean finfish aquaculture

In recent years, negative impacts of jellyfish blooms (JB) on marine human activities have been increasingly reported. Aquaculture has been affected by jellyfish outbreaks, mostly documented through repeated episodes of farmed salmon mortalities in Northern Europe; however, the valuation of JB consequences on the aquaculture sector still remains poorly quantified. This study aims to provide the first quantitative evaluation effects of JB on finfish aquaculture in the Mediterranean Sea and to investigate the general awareness of JB impacts among Mediterranean aquaculture professional workers. The aquaculture workers' perception about JB was assessed through a structured interview-based survey administered across 21 aquaculture facilities in central and western Mediterranean. The workers' awareness about JB impacts on aquaculture differed among countries. Italian and Spanish fish farmers were better informed about jellyfish proliferations and, together with Tunisian farmers, they all recognized the wide potential consequences of JB on sea bream and sea bass aquaculture. On the contrary, the majority of Maltese respondents considered JB as a non-significant threat to their activity, mostly based on off-shore tuna farming. This study for the first time shows that JB may negatively affect different Mediterranean aquaculture facilities from Tunisia (Sicily Channel) and Spain (Alboran Sea), by increasing farmed fish gill disorders and mortality, clogging net cages, or inflicting painful stings to field operators, with severe economic consequences. Available knowledge calls for the development of coordinated preventive plans, adaptation policies, and mitigation countermeasures across European countries in order to address the JB phenomenon and its impacts on coastal water activities.     

世界海洋捕捞业发展概况、趋势及对我国的启示

由于海洋渔业资源的衰退,目前世界海洋捕捞业进入"零增长"的徘徊期。当前世界海洋捕捞业呈现以下发展趋势:海洋渔业资源争夺日益激烈,海洋捕捞业管理制度日益严格,世界海洋捕捞业产业转移趋势日趋明显,海洋捕捞业技术装备要求越来越高,国际社会越来越重视海洋捕捞业可持续发展。面对世界海洋捕捞业的发展趋势,我国应当继续发展资源养护型海洋渔业,从生态系统角度考虑海洋捕捞业管理措施,积极稳妥发展远洋渔业,参与国际渔业资源的开发,重视海洋捕捞业装备技术水平的提高。     

国际背景下的海洋调查技术标准化发展路径研究

通过对比分析我国与美国、欧盟的标准战略、标准化组织机构、标准体系和海洋调查技术标准具体的制订现状,综合比较了我国与发达国家之间的差异,建议借鉴以民间自由竞争为特点的美国标准模式和以高度国际化的标准体系为特点的欧洲标准模式,同时充分发挥国际标准化组织海洋技术分委会(ISO/TC8/SC13)主席和秘书处落户中国这一平台优势的桥梁作用,探索我国海洋调查技术标准国际化的有效路径。     

Rapid warming of Large Marine Ecosystems

The need to understand local effects of global climate change is most urgent in the Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs) since marine ecosystem-based management requires information on the LME scale. Reported here is a study of sea surface temperature (SST) change in the World Ocean LMEs in 1957–2006 that revealed strong regional variations in the rate of SST change. The rapid warming in 1982–2006 was confined to the Subarctic Gyre, European Seas, and East Asian Seas. These LMEs warmed at rates 2–4 times the global mean rate. The most rapid warming was observed in the land-locked or semi-enclosed European and East Asian Seas (Baltic Sea, North Sea, Black Sea, Japan Sea/East Sea, and East China Sea) and also over the Newfoundland–Labrador Shelf. The Indian Ocean LMEs’ warming was slow, while two major upwelling areas – California and Humboldt Currents – experienced a slight cooling. The Subarctic Gyre warming was likely caused by natural variability related to the North Atlantic Oscillation. The extremely rapid surface warming in the enclosed and semi-enclosed European and East Asian Seas surrounded by major industrial/population agglomerations may have resulted from the observed terrestrial warming directly affecting the adjacent coastal seas. Regions of freshwater influence in the European and East Asian Seas seem to play a special role in modulating and exacerbating global warming effects on the regional scale.     

Anomalous Cenozoic subsidence along the ‘passive’ continental margin from Ireland to mid-Norway

Two-dimensional flexural backstripping and thermal modelling (assuming uniform stretching and cooling) is applied to four interpreted, depth-converted seismic profiles across the Rockall, Faroe–Shetland and Vøring basins, along 1600 km of the Atlantic continental margin of NW Europe. The results reveal a significant discrepancy between the modelled palaeo-depths for the base of the Cenozoic succession and those proven by geological evidence at control points (subaerial conditions or depositional depth ranges in wells). The discrepancy is of Rm-scale, much larger than the possible range of parameter error determined by sensitivity tests (up to 0.5 km). Assuming a Cretaceous rift episode (100 Ma), the discrepancy is at least 1.7 km in the Rockall Basin, up to 2.1 km in the Faroe–Shetland Basin and at least 1 km in the Vøring Basin (which also contains evidence of kilometre-scale uplift of the inner margin). Assuming (unproven) a second rift in the early Cenozoic (60 Ma), the discrepancy remains of kilometre-scale in the Rockall and Faroe–Shetland basins. The restorations also provide evidence of uplift, both above compressive structures and across the modelled profiles as seaward rotations of palaeo-bathymetric records. The palaeo-bathymetric discrepancy corresponds to an anomaly in subsidence that is the cumulative product of all the tectonic episodes that have affected the NW European margin, and may incorporate both permanent effects of the last episode of lithospheric extension and transient responses to the interaction of the margin with mantle convective flow. Any explanation must accommodate both the large magnitude of anomalous subsidence along the margin and evidence of its episodic character.     

物理海洋传感器现状及未来发展趋势

文中对目前我国物理海洋要素观测传感器技术发展现状进行了分析。在国家科技计划支持下,我国的物理海洋观测传感器技术取得了快速发展,但与国际上先进的传感器技术水平相比,国内具有自主知识产权的传感器仍有较大差距。随着未来海洋观测需求的不断发展,小型、轻重量、低功耗、高精度、高灵敏、智能化新型传感器必将是今后5~10年研究与开发的重点。     

The nematodes of the Thames estuary: Assemblage structure and biodiversity, with a test of Attrill's linear model

Although many studies of Nematoda have been undertaken in estuarine systems, there are relatively few studies which have analysed the distribution of fauna across the entire salinity range from marine to freshwater conditions. The Thames estuary has a long history of anthropogenic impact and recovery, since it was described as “azoic” in the 1950s, which has been monitored primarily through studies of water quality and fish stocks, with less emphasis on macroinfauna and very little information on meiofaunal organisms. This study aimed to describe the nematode fauna at eight stations along the estuary from marine to freshwater conditions in order to assess patterns of density, diversity and species assemblage structure. Nematode density and diversity were generally lower in the middle reaches of the estuary, associated with the region of greatest salinity range, a pattern which was found to be in agreement with Attrill's [2002. A testable linear model for diversity trends in estuaries. Journal of Animal Ecology 71, 262–269] linear model. Multivariate analysis confirmed that each station supported a distinct nematode fauna, which could be used to identify five zones along the estuary related to salinity regime. Although alpha diversity at each station was relatively low, species turnover along the estuary resulted in relatively high gamma diversity (153 spp.) similar to that found in a number of European estuaries. The results of this study did not suggest that the nematode fauna was under significant stress from the lower levels of pollution currently found in the system. The potential routes for the recovery and re-colonization of the estuary since it most polluted days are discussed.     

Biodiversity offsets for offshore wind farm projects: The current situation in Europe

The European Union׳s energy policy aims to increase the proportion of energy derived from renewable sources in Europe. Marine renewable energy, offshore wind energy especially, contributes to the renewable energy mix. Offshore wind farms appear to be clean, and are supported by governments and NGOs as a way to reduce the use of conventional energy resources and thus decrease greenhouse gas emissions. However, developing infrastructure in marine areas can impact marine ecosystems. European directives ask offshore wind farm developers to carry out an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) including a mitigation hierarchy, i.e. envisaging measures that would avoid, reduce, and if possible offset significant adverse effects on ecosystems and human activities. This paper reviews EIA reports from seven European countries and is focused on impacts on the open water marine environment. According to the reports, measures have been taken for avoiding and reducing impacts, so there should be no significant negative residual impacts and hence no need of offsets. But the mitigation hierarchy for ecological impacts seems to have been incompletely implemented, because it is unlikely that there are no significant residual impacts. The paper proposes some technical and ecological explanations, followed by some governance and social explanations, for the absence of biodiversity offsets.