Power and perspective: Fisheries and the ocean commons beset by demands of development

Marine renewable energy (MRE), though a relative newcomer to the ocean and coastal commons, has become a significant driver of marine spatial planning in the US, posing particular challenges to commercial fisheries and fishing communities. State and federal agencies with primary oversight for MRE development have focused on the identification of places where MRE might proceed unhindered by other uses, most notably coastal fisheries. These agencies and MRE developers have focused on potential space-use conflict and standard mitigation measures for loss of access to that space. However, discussions with fishery participants and other community members, as well as observations of processes on the US West and East Coasts, reveal a complex, multi-faceted social–ecological system not easily parsed out among users, nor amenable to classic mitigation formulas. Recent ethnographic research on potential space-use conflicts and mitigation for MRE demonstrates that marine space use is dynamic and multi-dimensional, with important linkages among fisheries, communities and other interests. Although experiences vary within and across regions and fishing communities, this research illustrates the weak position of fishing communities in marine spatial planning in the context of MRE development. This paper considers the implications of MRE for US East and West Coast fisheries and fishing communities situated within the larger context of neoliberalism and commodification of the ocean commons.     

Assessing the significance of the economic impact of Marine Conservation Zones in the Irish Sea upon the fisheries sector and regional economy in Northern Ireland

This paper highlights the tension between advocacy for ‘Blue growth’ in maritime policy and efforts to safeguard future economic growth via the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. In 2015, policy-makers withdrew three of four proposed Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) in the Irish Sea from consideration for designation, due to concerns that they could significantly impact on the fisheries sector in Northern Ireland because they overlap with prawn fishing grounds in the Irish Sea. Although research has quantified the potential impact upon fishing vessels, none has quantified the impact upon the fisheries sector nor assessed the significance of this impact. Arguably, MCZ designations (or lack thereof) based on the ‘significance’ of an impact require robust underpinning evidence. This paper reports the findings of an Economic Impact Assessment, which has quantified the impact of a decline in landings upon the Northern Ireland fisheries sector and regional economy (data which is currently absent from the evidence base for the MCZ designation process in England). It finds that this will incur job losses in three fishing ports in Northern Ireland, but is unlikely to have a significant impact upon Northern Ireland's fisheries sector and regional economy in terms of jobs and Gross Value Added (GVA). In the worst case, the resulting economic impact is a decrease of £1.05–1.12 m/year GVA in Northern Ireland, which is 1.1% of the contribution of fishing and fish processing to the regional economy. Economic significance assessments, using this methodology, may be useful in supporting the evidence base underpinning MCZ designation and other aspects of marine planning.     

The international legal framework for marine spatial planning

Increasing demand for ocean resources, both living and non-living, have already lead to loss of biodiversity, habitat depletion and irreversible damage to the marine environment. Furthermore, introduction of new kinds of sea uses, spatial extension of ongoing sea uses and the need to better protect and conserve the marine biological diversity will result in increasing conflicts among the various users, as well as between the users and the environment. Marine spatial planning as a process to allocate space for specific uses can help to avoid user conflicts, to improve the management of marine spatial claims, and to sustain an ecosystem-based management of ocean and seas. This article explores the rights and duties towards exploitation and protection of the marine environment under the jurisdiction of coastal states as reflected in two important global conventions, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Convention on Biological Diversity. Both Conventions provide the main legal framework for marine spatial planning that have to be taken into account in planning at the regional and national level.     

ScotMap: Participatory mapping of inshore fishing activity to inform marine spatial planning in Scotland

A detailed understanding of fishing activity in Scottish waters is required to inform marine spatial planning. Larger fishing vessels are fitted with Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) offering spatial information on fishing activity. VMS does not cover smaller vessels (under 15 m), which fish predominantly in inshore waters where the competition for space is often greatest. To improve knowledge of the distribution of fishing activity and value of fisheries in Scotland's inshore waters, Marine Scotland conducted a participatory fisheries mapping project, known as ScotMap. The data were collected during face-to-face interviews with 1090 fishermen of Scottish registered commercial fishing vessels under 15 m in overall length and relate to fishing activity for the period 2007–2011. Interviewees were asked to identify the areas in which they fish, estimate the contribution these areas make to vessel earnings, and to provide associated information. The majority of interviews relate to creel fishing. The data collected were aggregated to provide mapped outputs of the monetary value, relative importance to fishermen and the usage of the seas around Scotland (number of fishing vessels and number of crew). ScotMap outputs provide information on the locations of inshore fishing activities and the economic importance of different sea areas at a much higher spatial resolution than was previously possible. Outputs have informed marine policy development, provide a valuable resource for marine spatial planning in Scotland and illustrate how participatory mapping can generate useful resources on the location and importance of inshore fishing areas.     

Mapping human dimensions in marine spatial planning and management: An example from Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island

The Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island is a complex mosaic of human activities and environmental features and while spatial distributions of physical, chemical, and biological elements are well documented in the Bay, there are limited data on spatial distributions of human activities. In this study, human uses of coastal waters in the upper Narragansett Bay are examined using an approach for characterizing and analyzing fine scale spatial and temporal data on human activities. Shipboard transect surveys of active water activities were conducted in the upper Bay on 50 days during the summer months of 2006–2007. The composition and configuration of different vessel types (recreational motor, recreational sail, row boat, commercial fishing, industrial, service, and official) were analyzed, and the impacts of proposed changes in land use policies and wastewater treatment technologies were investigated. Results indicated that recreational boaters comprised almost two-thirds of the upper Bay's users and used over one-half of the study area. Industrial activity was concentrated near Providence where RI's main port is located, and there was an active commercial fishery in the southern portion of the study area. Conditions like increasing cloud cover, weekend days, and the July 4th holiday were related to increased recreational use, while the closure of an upper Bay beach to swimming was associated with fewer commercial fishing vessels and more official boats, recreational motor boats, and service vessels. Findings indicated that upper Bay waters near land converted from industrial zones to zones where residential housing or marinas are encouraged are likely to see a change in composition of vessels, with fewer industrial and official boats and more recreational motor boats, row boats, and service vessels. Enhanced wastewater treatment technologies and the resulting improvements in water quality are likely to make more waters in the upper Bay available to shellfish harvesting, spreading out existing fishing grounds and potential pressures on the ecosystem and on other users. By characterizing the spatial and temporal heterogeneity of human uses in the marine environment and analyzing how these uses relate to the complex human and natural systems in which they are embedded, this study and others like it can positively contribute to marine spatial planning and management efforts designed to achieve ecological, economic, and social objectives.     

Discrete choice modelling of fisheries with nuanced spatial information

Temporary marine area closures or more permanent Marine Protected Areas are being proposed as potential options in ecosystem-based marine spatial management. These policy options are known to displace fishing effort. In this paper, EU Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) data is combined with other site and vessel information and used to model the fishing site choice decision of Irish demersal otter trawlers. Uniquely, the fishing ground options used in the analysis reflect the actual seabed contours trawled by the fleet. The fishing site choice model, based on this natural site definition is compared to an alternative destination choice model where the fleet decision is specified using a grid based site definition as employed in previous work. It is argued that the natural site specification is a more realistic specification of the fisher site choice decision. Using the preferred natural fishing site choice model, a policy scenario involving the hypothetical closure of one of the fishing ground options is then simulated to examine the possible redistribution of fishing effort.     

Australia’s no-take marine protected areas: Appropriate conservation or inappropriate management of fishing?

The absence of properly identified mechanisms to adequately protect the marine environment remains a major shortcoming in Australia’s commitment to biodiversity conservation. The current commitment to a National Representative System of Marine Protected Areas (NRSMPA) falls far short of providing adequate protection against the suite of existing and potential threats even though areas are designated as being ‘protected’. In this paper it is argued that the actions taken under the NRSMPA are disproportionately concentrated on regulating fishing, including the closing of areas in so-called sanctuary zones to all types of fishing. In the absence of clearly identified threats from most forms of fishing and without assessment of how best to manage those few fishing threats that have been identified, such actions are inefficient and mostly inappropriate. Moreover, they do not provide adequate protection against the full suite of threats to marine environments. Adequate measures for the proper conservation of these areas and/or the protection of marine biodiversity more generally are not being provided and in most cases threats are not even adequately described and evaluated.     

Marine spatial planning from the perspective of a small seaside community in Ireland

Marine spatial planning (MSP) is advocated as a means of managing human uses of the sea in a manner that is consistent with the maintenance of the ecological goods and services of the marine environment. Support for the process is evident at international and national levels but the degree to which it is acceptable to local level stakeholders is not clear. An Daingean (formely Dingle) is a small sea-oriented town situated on the southwest coast of Ireland in which marine-based tourism and other relatively new uses of the sea are pursued along side traditional fishing activities. Stakeholders in An Daingean are found to be positively disposed to a local process of MSP that incorporates meaningful local involvement.     

Putting sustainable fisheries on the map? Establishing no-take zones for North Sea plaice fisheries through MSC certification

Spatial approaches gain importance in the governance of marine practices and their environmental impacts. Harmful effects of fishing gear on marine habitats is seen as a considerable spatial conflict that needs to be resolved. One of the most severe measures is the instalment of ‘no take zones’. In the certification programme of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) this measure is considered to be a last resort. MSC provides a telling example of ‘informational governance’, that is, a mode of environmental governance wherein information plays a centripetal but often also contested role. Such governing through information is different from conventional state-led decision-making processes. This paper assesses the way informational processes in MSC have affected the settlement of the spatial conflict between plaice fisheries and sensitive habitats in the North Sea. It concludes that information is a formative force in bringing about sustainable fisheries but leads to different outcomes even if the target species and fishing methods are very much alike. This is due to the (nationally) specific informational interactions between non-state actors, especially fishermen and environmental Non-Governmental Organizations. Even though information in marine governance should be science-based, other information (brought in by these actors) is extremely relevant in designing spatial measures.     

Spatial conflicts in New Zealand fisheries: The rights of fishers and protection of the marine environment

New Zealand fisheries legislation provides commercial fishing rights to holders of individual transferable quota (ITQ). The settlement of fisheries claims against the Crown by Mäori, New Zealand's indigenous people, brought about the transfer of ITQ holdings to Mäori, and an obligation on the Crown to recognise and provide for indigenous (customary) fishing rights over fishing grounds and other areas that have been of special significance to Mäori. Some types of customary fishing areas exclude commercial fishing and could affect recreational fishing. Fisheries legislation requires that regulatory measures be put in place to avoid, remedy or mitigate the adverse effects of fishing. The Government also aims to protect marine biodiversity by having 10% of New Zealand waters in some form of protection by 2010. The legislative processes for protecting the marine environment and establishing customary fishing areas include assessment of effects on fishing rights. This paper explores the conflicts that arise from legislative obligations to uphold the rights of fishers, to sustain fishstocks and to protect the marine environment. The paper concludes that inconsistent legislative obligations and their disparate processes have led to spatial conflicts and a race for the allocation of space. Legislative obligations need to be integrated to maintain a balance between use of fisheries resources and protection of the marine environment.     

Collaborative planning and management of the San Andres Archipelago's coastal and marine resources: A short communication on the evolution of the Seaflower marine protected area

The Archipelago of San Andres, Old Providence, and Santa Catalina, Colombia, in the Western Caribbean—a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since November 2000—relies heavily on its coastal and marine resources, which are important for fisheries, tourism, as habitats, and for their traditional cultural value. However, as economic and subsistence importance has increased so have incidences of conflict over resource use and threats to ecosystem health. One of the main conflicts relates to traditional resource use as practiced by native islanders alongside new types of uses, methods, and exploitation, particularly with regards to industrial fishing. This conflict is exacerbated by historically centralized marine management processes linked primarily to economic development, which have excluded native islanders from planning and decision-making, failed to recognize their fishing rights, and lacked respect for the inherent sociocultural importance of traditional knowledge. In acknowledgment of the need to involve stakeholders in resource management planning, the local representative of Colombia's National Environment System (SINA), CORALINA, has embraced an alternative approach to historical top-down schemes. The approach is characterized by: (1) recovering traditional best management practices in coastal and marine management and integrating them with appropriate new methods; (2) involving stakeholders, especially native islanders, as equal partners in planning and implementation processes; (3) building local, national, and international coalitions and partnerships; (4) strengthening the capacity of local institutions; and (5) creating new capacity through formal and informal educational initiatives. At the heart of this approach is participation and equity for all, as exemplified in the planning process for the archipelago's Seaflower Marine Protected Area (MPA).     

Co-location of activities and designations: A means of solving or creating problems in marine spatial planning?

Worldwide demand for energy is growing and predicted to increase by up to three times by 2050. Renewable energy will play a vital role in meeting this demand whilst maintaining global climate change targets. Around the British Isles, development of wind farms has entered Round three, with large, high capacity wind parks being planned to enhance energy security and achieve 2020 renewable energy targets. Such developments place additional pressure on existing sea space and may result in conflicts with other marine activities and users. Co-location of certain activities, marine protected areas, aquaculture and commercial fishing in particular, has therefore been proposed as an option to ease demands on space. Using the UK guided by EU and regional policy, as a case study, following the criteria-based planning system, co-location is legally feasible. Crucially, co-location options will depend on site specific characteristics and site management plans. The biology, ecology and hydrology of the site as well as consideration of important commercial and economic factors will be determining factors of success. For marine protected areas compatibility with conservation objectives for the site will be fundamental. Where possible, it is suggested that activities suitable for co-location will develop in tandem with renewable energy projects. The importance of developing joint projects in this manner is particularly true for aquaculture projects to ensure tenure security and commercial viability. Adaptive management will be a basis for evolution of the concept and practice of co-location. Pilot projects and continued monitoring will be essential in shaping the future of co-location of activities. As the Marine Management Organisation continues the development of marine plans for the English inshore and offshore waters, a study into potential solutions for resolving sea use conflicts is timely. This paper therefore provides a concise overview of the current regulation affecting co-location of key marine activities within wind farm zones and provides suggestions on how co-location projects can be adopted and taken forward, using the UK as a case study.     

Timing exclusion and communicating time: A spatial analysis of participation failure in an Indonesian MPA

Marine protected areas are promoted as a resource management tool for balancing ecological integrity with economic activity. However, MPAs frequently fail to achieve integrated, substantive outcomes. Participation failure is a common symptom of implementation failure. MPA experts often conclude that the remedy, in part, lies in better communication, with the implicit assumption that participation and communication are conjoined or synonymous. In this paper, the geography of communication in marine environments is analyzed as distinct from participation. It is argued that the logistical challenges of communicating in marine time and space must be taken into account beginning with the pre-implementation stage of an MPA; this requires recognition and analysis of the political nuances of whose space, whose time, and whose terms for communication. Research in Wakatobi National Park in Indonesia determined that marine managers and local communities have divergent experiences of participation, prompting three insights. First, the timing of public consultations must accommodate the variable rhythms of life in fishing communities in order to ensure broad representation. Second, co-presence in fishers’ space is critical for effective communication of marine knowledge and management strategies. Third, the deployment of ‘participation time’ by decision-makers communicates the value – or lack thereof – they place on fishing people and collaboration. The constructivist spatial analysis of communication presented here provides a model for MPA decision-makers and managers to identify, overcome and mobilize communication geographies that affect participation in sustainable development.     

Spatial substitution strategies of recreational fishers in response to zoning changes in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park

Understanding fishers’ responses to marine spatial closures is important for both resource users and managers. Fishing is a major recreational activity in Australia, and recreational fishers are key local resource users within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. In 2004, implementation of a new zoning plan in the park resulted in a reduction in the amount of area available to recreational fishing. A combination of phone, mail, and face-to-face surveys was used to investigate recreational fishers’ choices and spatial redistribution strategies in response to the reduction in fishing area. Approximately 56% of fishers reported losing at least one of their regular fishing locations under the new zoning plan. Fishers generally compensated by shifting their fishing effort to other areas they knew to be good fishing locations, and by finding new areas that they had not exploited previously. Potential implications of these spatial changes in recreational fishing effort for both the marine park and recreational fishers include changes in fishing frequency and satisfaction, reduced fishing quality, restricted access to areas considered to be of high quality for recreational fishing, increased crowding in areas that remain open to fishing, and increased likelihood of localized depletions in popular recreational fishing locations. Identification of the drivers of the spatial distribution of fishing effort, factors affecting fishers’ choices of locations, and adaptation strategies adopted by fishers provide a valuable tool to help understand the impact of spatial fishing closures on fishers and resources.     

Catch me if you can: Non-compliance of limpet protection in the Azores

Signs of changing marine ecosystems due to increasing human use of marine resources are recognised worldwide. Legislation and regulations are often at the core of fisheries management and harvesting control. However, these are ineffective without the respective compliance, often requiring an effective surveillance and enforcement in support of conservation success. Limpets are a popular seafood and traditionally collected and consumed in the Azores, Northeast Atlantic, leading to a fisheries collapse in the 1980s and the subsequent implementation of limpet protected zones (LPZs) and seasonal fishing closures. A roving creel survey was used in two islands of the Azores to assess the level of compliance with the existing regulations. Results indicate that shore-based limpet collection is mainly influenced by environmental conditions, including wave height and tide, and general temporal constraints, including time of day, day type, and season. A high level of non-compliance with spatial (i.e. about 40% of the harvesting events inside no-take zones) and temporal conservation measures was observed. Harvesting effort in the closed and open season was not significantly different. Recently new regulations for limpet harvesting were implemented in the Azores, extending recreational harvesting techniques to snorkelling but potential long-term effects are unknown. This study shows how on-site recreational fishing survey methods can assist managers to assess the level of illegal fishing and support the development of adaptive conservation strategies for vulnerable inshore species.     

Managing U.S. Atlantic large whale entanglements: Four guiding principles

Fatal entanglements in fishing gear threaten marine mammal populations worldwide. The management of entanglements of large whales, such as the North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis), with commercial fisheries, is a challenge given the species’ small population size, economic consequences of regulations, and the general lack of data on entanglements. The U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) requires development of programs to limit marine mammal entanglement in commercial fishing gear. Following a retrospective look at implementing aspects of the MMPA, a set of guiding principles were developed with associated best practices useful in reducing fatal large whale entanglement in fishing gear. Among these are: 1) involve stakeholders early in the decision making process; 2) establish a transparent management strategy that includes critical needs to guide research; 3) use a variety of tools such as an established process for receiving new information and ideas; and 4) incorporate adaptive management which considers the constraints of dynamic (rapid) changes to some fixed fishing gear. Efforts to reduce worldwide marine mammal bycatch will typically occur in a data-limited environment as experienced with U.S. Atlantic large whale entanglements. The guiding principles will remain as key tools for reducing large whale bycatch in fisheries as they build upon common practices. These insights developed over two decades of management can potentially help others to address similar bycatch problems.     

The bottom line: An investigation of the economic, cultural and social costs of industrial longline fishing in the Pacific and the benefits of sustainable use marine protected areas

Industrial longline fishing can be understood as a case study of the cultural, economic, environmental and social impacts of unsustainable fishing technology. While much attention has been attributed to the impact of industrial longlines on the marine ecosystem, little is known about the impact of longline fishing on local food security, employment, cultural belief systems and traditions, revenue generation from marine tourism and climate change. New data demonstrate that the contributions of Marine Protected Areas, marine tourism and recreational fishing to local coastal economies dwarf the contributions of longline fishing. When combined with the impact of overfishing on coastal fishing communities and fish consumers, policies promoting sustainable fisheries must be expanded to take these other factors into account along with issues of biodiversity.     

Understanding socio-ecological drivers of spatial allocation choice in a multi-species artisanal fishery: A Bayesian network modeling approach

Effective management of artisanal fisheries requires understanding fishers, their behaviors, and the drivers that underpin their choices. Behavioral drivers are critical links in understanding the interactions between social and ecological systems and can help inform effective management approaches. A Bayesian Belief Network modeling approach was used to investigate a diverse range of qualitative and quantitative social and ecological drivers of spatial location choice in a multi-species artisanal dive fishery in Costa Rica. Empirical and observer data used to populate the BBN showed the influence of economic factors, environmental conditions as well as social interactions on the decision-making process of spatial location choice. Good governance scenarios represented by Responsible Fisheries Marine Areas Management were analyzed for both hookah and free diving methods to assess the effects of responsible fishing on the fishers and the fishery. Model based-scenario analysis suggests that management interventions should consider the fisher's potential behavioral responses in the context of environmental variability, dependence on cultural assets, and food security. The results show that there is a need to understand fisher's decisions based on broad socio-ecological system understanding and consider the environmental outcomes alongside food security and the cultural significance of different marine species to fishing communities.     

Mapping fisheries in the German exclusive economic zone with special reference to offshore Natura 2000 sites

Large intensity and diversity of human activities result in an increase in complexity in the utilization of space. This paper describes the fisheries and a method to map fishing efforts and catches of different fleets by combining vessel monitoring system (VMS) data and logbook data. The method makes it possible to explore the spatial and temporal variability of fishing and the potential impacts of proposed management measures on the fisheries. The method is proposed to be used in the development of management plans for marine protected areas such as Natura 2000 sites, designated to protect vulnerable habitats and species.