Naval heritage and the revitalisation challenge: lessons from the Venetian Arsenale

In the context of the Venetian Arsenale, the paper explores the difficulties which naval heritage may impose on waterfront revitalisation processes and planning. The rise and decline of this outstanding naval waterfront are outlined and the nature of the heritage legacy is reviewed. State-locality relations are shown to be central to slow regeneration progress to date, but it is demonstrated that revitalisation must overcome additional impediments: neglect and dereliction of the built environment, restoration resource constraints and the severity of the regulatory regime for conservation. Isolation from the city, the adoption of a flexible approach to heritage definition, and the need to assess competing futures are also shown to be relevant challenges. While the Arsenale is considered unique, the conclusion employs the implications of the analysis to propose a research agenda for historic naval waterfronts in general.     

Towards the evaluation of naval waterfront revitalisation: comparative experiences in Chatham,Plymouth and Portsmouth,UK

Waterfront revitalisation in naval ports involves economic restructuring, socio-political reorientation and the re-use of highly specialised facilities made redundant by far-reaching changes in national and international defence strategies. Not least because of the opportunities and challenges presented by naval heritage resources, these changes are comparable to, but significantly different from, those associated with commercial ports. This paper explores methodological approaches to the problem of evaluating strategies based on the waterfront in three major British naval ports. Critical analysis of outcomes and issues is employed to propose an evaluative framework for heritage-based revitalisation in naval cityports in a wider context.     

Towards sustainable fisheries subsidies: Entering a new round of reform under the Common Fisheries Policy

On 22 April 2009 the European Commission published its ‘Green Paper on the Reform of the Common Fisheries Policy’. The Green Paper points out a contradiction in policy, noting on one hand that public financial support to the Community's fisheries sector is substantial, but on the other hand such support is often incompatible with other Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) objectives, particularly the need to reduce overcapacities. Providing an analytical framework to better understand the effects of subsidies as well as an overview of existing funding schemes under the CFP, this article aims at answering some of the questions posed by the European Commission within its Green Paper. Answers are based on two ideas: the exploitation of marine capture resources ultimately depends on the level of available fish stocks and that a large share of subsidies fuels the race to fish by inducing investment incentives for the fisheries sector. Policies that have ignored this tend to encourage inefficient and unsustainable fishing as well as the misallocation of public funds. Although support schemes under the CFP have changed in recent years, some problematic support schemes persist. A future reform will have to continue the course taken towards sustainable and efficient approaches to supporting the fisheries industry.     

Fisheries and failing states: The case of Sierra Leone

Marine fisheries play an important role in the economy of Sierra Leone, supporting livelihoods and contributing significantly to food security. This paper looks in detail at how the performance of fisheries was impacted by the ten year civil war, an event which contributed to the country's reputation for being a “failed state”. The paper focuses mainly on the artisanal fisheries sector, which employs the majority of the country's coastal population, and demonstrates how the conflict caused major social dislocation to fishing communities as well as reducing the productive capacity of the fleet. The paper concludes with a discussion of the policy challenges now facing Sierra Leone, particularly the prevention of resource looting through illegal fishing of the offshore stocks and the development of strategies to enable the potential wealth of these fisheries to be captured.     

A model-based approach to unravelling naval defence heritage: supply- and demand-side issues in Portsmouth's coastal zone

The paper explores the nebulous concept of heritage in order to highlight issues relevant to the revitalisation and management of historic naval waterfronts. A model separating supply and demand sides, and further subdividing each side into political, social and economic structures, is used as a framework for analysis. The whole is set within a perceptual filter, and interpretation is subsumed within social structure. The model is applied to heritage concepts at Portsmouth Dockyard and to the legacy of naval defence in the neighbouring coastal zone. From the review of all three structures it is shown that economic considerations are increasingly powerful on both the supply and demand sides, as sovereignity passes to customers who are less interested in authenticity and architectural quality than in securing value for money. Issues and implications arising from this trend, and relevant to naval heritage planning and management, are identified.     

Fisheries biodiversity conservation and sustainable tourism in Mauritius

This paper addresses the sustainability of the tourism sector from the perspective of a Small Island Developing State (SIDS), Mauritius. In this respect, the relationship between tourist earnings and fisheries biodiversity is examined. We begin, in the first place, by tracking and analyzing the evolution of fisheries biodiversity, a catalyst of the island's tourism, through the computation of Shannon's entropy index applied to 20 categories of fish experimented over a period of 25 years. In the second stage, this index is introduced, along with other control variables, in a regression equation to ascertain its potential impact on the value added of the tourism sector. Our empirical findings based on 25 years of observations undeniably reveal that fisheries biodiversity does play a major role in enhancing the revenue generated by the tourism sector. Hence, it is vital to promote biodiversity conservation, at least within the fisheries sector, to sustain economic progress; more so, given that tourism constitutes a major pillar of the economy of Mauritius and which is expected to grow even further.     

Public-aided crises in the French fishing sector

According to the media the French fishing industry has been in permanent state of crisis for the last 40 years. This paper recounts the events surrounding three major episodes of crises (late 1970s, mid-1990s, and early 2000s), and the measures taken by governments to resolve them. Invariably, these involved the distribution of sizeable amounts of public aids, in different forms, to the fishing sector. The efficacy of the subsidy programmes is discussed with reference to the goals stated by their proponents, regarding trade balance, competitiveness, profitability, employment and safety. Overall, the massive aids granted to the sector (comparable with the gross value of landings, annually) have not achieved the stated objectives and, paradoxically, have been a key factor in the eruption of subsequent crises, notably because they were granted without conditions of genuine changes in the industry's practices. The supreme paradox is that the succession of turbulent demonstrations over the years was the result of aid programmes devised with the overriding objective of preserving social peace.     

The relationship between EU's public procurement policies and energy efficiency of ferries in the EU

The European ferry sector is the largest ferry sector globally and one of the key environmental issues facing the sector is the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions. This paper provides an analysis of how the EU ferry procurement policies lead to lack of implementation of energy efficiency measures, contrary to the EU's key objective of reducing CO₂ emissions in ferries within the EU region. This paper is the first analysis to examine the public–private sector interaction in transport and how this leads to a lack of implementation of energy efficiency measures. Analysing the sector using agency theory suggests that split incentives are pervasive and can stymie attempts to improve the energy efficiency of ferry services in the procurement of ferries. The findings suggest that there is a need to review current ferry procurement policies with a view to devising procurement policies that can address the split incentives, as well as other policies, that are outside the scope of procurement policies, which can be used to minimise the split incentives.     

Defining and quantifying China's ocean economy

In recent years, the Chinese government has been increasingly supportive of the development of the ocean economy, implementing several national ocean-related strategies. For the first time, China's 12th five-year Plan for National and Social Development (2011—2015) includes “developing the ocean economy” as a key national development strategy for the country. Because of this, the demand for ocean economic statistics and indicators is growing rapidly. The aim of this paper is to define and quantify the value of the major ocean industries in China and to examine the growth in the major Chinese ocean industries in the period 2001 to 2010. The paper also outlines a methodology that provides a robust quantification of the marine sector over time. It finds that in 2010 the major ocean industries in China contributed $239.09 billion to the national economy and employed over 9 million individuals.     

Harnessing the wind: A case study of applying Flettner rotor technology to achieve fuel and cost savings for Fiji's domestic shipping industry

For over 5000 years, humans have successfully harnessed the power of wind to transport people and goods across the world's oceans. This research expands on previous studies of the unique Flettner rotor propulsion system and the demonstrable success in reducing fuel consumption and carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. Recent examples such as Enercon's E-ship 1 have proven seaworthy and economically viable along major shipping routes. The remote Pacific island countries (PICS), however, have the unique characteristics of retaining a remarkable seafaring heritage while remaining on the periphery of global commerce. With data obtained from a field study of Fiji's domestic shipping, this research analyzes the potential for implementing Flettner rotor systems to achieve more economically viable alternatives to the current situation. The findings show that with an incremental approach and the addition of a government fuel savings incentive, the Government Shipping Franchise Scheme (GSFS) subsidies could be significantly lowered for Fiji's ten uneconomical shipping routes. Four scenarios of 5%, 10%, 15%, and 25% fuel savings contrast the baseline data on one extreme with a zero-emissions scenario on the other. The most likely fuel savings scenario of between 10% and 15% results in a 20-year government savings of between 348,042 and 522,063 U.S. dollars and a 20-year cumulative reduction in CO₂ emissions of between 2931 and 4396 t. The paper concludes that Flettner rotors show promising results in reducing fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions and recommends future studies in collaboration with the Fiji government to develop practical strategies of implementation.     

Heritage and change on the naval waterfront: opportunity and challenge

The paper examines naval waterfront decline, the potential heritage legacy of that decline, and the challenges which that legacy poses for urban and coastal zone planning and management. An initial analysis of decline processes is juxtaposed with exploration of the state's changing role in the abandonment of naval waterfronts. The range of potential heritage resources likely to be released by naval retreat is assessed, and it is shown that this rich endowment frequently extends well beyond the immediate urban waterfront to engage other parts of the cityport and the wider coastal zone. The impressive 20th-century growth of naval ports raises issues concerning heritage definition, but it is also argued that naval heritage of whatever era has the capacity to create an additional and extensive range of planning and management challenges. These extend from building constraints, through aesthetic issues to economic-impact and market considerations. It is on these challenges, which often contrast sharply with commercial waterfront experiences, that the case for naval waterfront research is based.     

Integrated terrestrial and marine planning in England’s coastal inter-tidal zone: Assessing the operational effectiveness of the Coastal Concordat

In many countries, the regulation of activities and development in the marine environment has begun to evolve from a compartmentalised, fragmented, sectoral and uncoordinated system into a more strategic, comprehensive, integrated and transparent one. A remaining challenge, however, is the effective integration of marine and terrestrial planning, because the tools and mechanisms necessary for its achievement have been slow to be implemented. The introduction of the England's Coastal Concordat in 2013, as a voluntary framework for better integrating marine and terrestrial planning consents, represents an atypical mechanism to secure these goals. This paper is a preliminary survey of the perceived effectiveness of the Coastal Concordat, based on a survey of 32 professionals from the terrestrial planning authorities, marine statutory agencies and marine-sector businesses. While this evaluation is made less than two years after the introduction of the Coastal Concordat, it is important to undertake a preliminary examination, from various stakeholder perspectives, of the factors likely to be influential in the integration of regulatory systems, before the approach is ‘rolled out’ across other parts of England's inter-tidal coastal zone. The results indicate that the Coastal Concordat has produced benefits for marine planning in coastal areas, but that these improvements are largely experienced within the public sector in terms of better communication, early engagement, and a single point of contact. The marine sector businesses are more neutral about the benefits of the Concordat. It is clear, however, that marine sector businesses must participate in the formulation of any reforms if an effective integrated system of planning and management of coastal environments is to be achieved.     

Stock assessment and risk in South African fisheries

Generally, South Africa's domestic fisheries contend with high levels of risk. The major sectors of the domestic industry face a capital replacement crisis that renders them particularly vulnerable at this stage in their development. Considering that the main pressures arise from a dearth of suitable information on which to base business decisions, the scientific community is able to make a very real contribution. Unfortunately, the information gap is not usually bridged, because it is not generally perceived that data collected within the rigorous academic tradition in which the scientific community operates is well in excess of the accuracy and predictive power sufficient for the commercial sector.     

Small-scale fisheries reform: Expectations,hopes and dreams of “a better life for all”

This article follows the transformation process in the fishing industry with specific reference to the emergence of a limited commercial sector. In the policy domain, this sector was accommodated through a “one size fits all approach” to access rights, requiring it to compete with the large-scale commercial sector for the same resources. The strategies and actions of successful and unsuccessful applicants in four fishing communities in South Africa are examined. The paper identifies the key challenges facing the limited commercial sector as being the lack of skills to complete the application process, start up capital or credit, organisation and financial and business acumen. It highlights the disjuncture between the Marine Living Resources Act's stated aims of sustainability, equity and stability and the realities of implementation at a grassroots level.     

Challenges for New Zealand's individual transferable quota system: Processor consolidation,fisher exclusion, & Māori quota rights

This paper identifies three management initiatives in New Zealand's Individual Transferable Quota system that facilitated consolidation of the processing sector and limited market access for fishers, even those with quota rights. They are: (1) the placement of responsibility onto a Māori trust in 1992 and tribes (iwi) in 2004 to manage a limited amount of quota to benefit all Māori, fishers and non-fishers, which increased the use of quota as an investment asset; (2) the creation of Annual Catch Entitlement (ACE) as a fish access right separate from the quota ownership right, which made it possible to overcome consolidation limits by leasing ACE; (3) the 1997 Licensed Fish Receiver Act that made it illegal for fishers to sell fish off the boat without food safety certification. This account of the fishery policy environment in New Zealand explains why, despite owning significant portions of New Zealand's fishing quota, few Māori are fishing, processing, or selling fish caught by Māori quota.     

Expanding coastal urban and industrial seascape in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area: Critical need for coordinated planning and policy

Coastal freshwater and tidal wetland habitats are being transformed as a result of increasing demand for commercial, residential and tourism activities. The consequence is a habitat seascape complex, comprising a mosaic of natural and engineered coastal features. This study used the freely available mapping tool (Google Earth) to define the extent of coastal engineering structures in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBR; Australia), a marine ecosystem of global biodiversity and cultural significance. Continuing threats to the heritage estate concomitant with expanding urban and industrial developments has raised concerns directed at the future conservation and resilience of the reef ecosystems, along with maintaining expected human lifestyles and livelihoods it provides. The data here shows that break walls and pontoons/jetties dominate development, contributing to approximately 10% (equivalent) of the coastline linear length. Most (60%) development occurs along the coastline or within the first few kilometres upstream along estuaries. While conservation and protection of natural coastal habitats is still preferred for the objective of fisheries production and biodiversity, managers must consider seascape implication/benefits more broadly when approving new marine infrastructure rather than a case-by-case approach which further contributes to an ad hoc mosaic seascape of natural and engineered habitats. Not only within the GBR heritage estate, but more broadly, coastal managers need to regard wider seascape connectivity processes during the assessment of any new development. There is an urgent need for policy and planning instrument reform that is inclusive of accumulative impacts of urban and industrial development in this heritage estate. Opportunities to include eco-friendly (green engineering) solutions, in the repair and revitalisation of existing artificial structures, is necessary in any new proposed urban and industrial development and expansion.     

An ecosystem-based framework for governance and management of maritime cultural heritage in the USA

A new federal administration, alongside initiatives proposed by the President's US Commission on Ocean Policy, provides a timely and critical opportunity for maritime archaeologists and cultural resource managers to re-consider management frameworks for maritime cultural heritage in the USA. Policy is urgently needed that defines governments’ roles and responsibilities in protecting and managing maritime cultural heritage in federal waters. Implementation of a regional governance structure based on the tenets of ecosystem-based management is proposed in this paper to manage and develop these resources effectively. Through regional governance, the maritime heritage of the USA can be conserved for future generations, keeping its citizens connected to deep-rooted maritime traditions and contribute to the well-being, economic growth and development of coastal communities.     

Deep-Sea Nodules and Co-rich Mn Crusts

The mining of deep-sea manganese nodules has been a topic of interest since J.L. Mero undertook his preliminary studies in the 1960s to evaluate the prospects for mining deep-sea nodules. Despite the great deal of investment in deep-sea mining over more than 40 years, there has still been no successful attempt to mine the deep-sea nodules on a commercial scale. One of the major problems is that the nodules cannot be brought to the surface with the necessary amounts of recoverable nickel, cobalt and zinc to warrant the initial high investment necessary for this operation. It therefore appears that in the short term, deep-sea manganese and Co-rich Mn crusts will not be mined on a commercial scale in the foreseeable future. Nonetheless, investigations of deep-sea mineral deposits by a number of nations will continue and enable us to understand the deep-sea environment in increasing detail, which is necessary in view of the great extent of the deep oceans which cover an area of about 66% of the Earth's surface.     

Responses of the fishing sector to transitional constraints: From reactive to proactive change,Yucatan fisheries in Mexico

Most fisheries management studies have concentrated on understanding resource dynamics and have paid less attention to understanding the dynamics of those who use the resources. This situation limits the knowledge about the fisheries system as a whole and specifically about the viability of management schemes. It is vital to understand how the actors within the fishing sector (fishing firm owners/managers, fishers, fisheries managers, and traders) may respond to changes in fishing resources trends, market dynamics, and fisheries policies before they are implemented. These issues are explored in this paper by applying a longitudinal analysis of the Yucatan Mexico's fishing industry. The analysis is presented within the framework of the theory of change and coping strategies. The study primarily involved interviews during 2008 with the main owners of companies in the fishing industry and with fisheries managers and other stakeholders. Time-series catch data on the main fishing resources are also reviewed to evaluate changes across three historical periods and describe how the actors have perceived and responded to those changes. Given conditions of uncertainty in resource availability, changes in market demand and changes in institutional arrangements, the viability of traditional business and resource management practices are discussed. The analysis presents different kind of triggers that have modified the conditions of the fishing sector and had had impacts on the socio-economic–ecological system in which fisheries are embedded. The need for adaptive strategies in the whole chain of the fisheries business and resource management is stressed, given the current changes and conditions of fisheries. The discussion states a series of actions that could improve the relationships between business practices and fisheries management.     

Charting a low carbon future for shipping: A UK perspective

Projected growth in the international shipping industry is set to outstrip CO₂ reductions arising from incremental improvements to technology and operations currently being planned and implemented. Using original scenarios, this paper demonstrates for the first time that it is possible for a nation's shipping to make a fair contribution to meeting global climate change commitments, but that this requires transformation of the sector. The scale and nature of technology change varies depending on the level of demand and how this is satisfied. The scenarios show that to develop successful marine mitigation policy, it is essential to consider the interdependencies between ship speed, level and pattern of demand for services, and the extent and rate of innovation in propulsion technology. Across the scenarios, it is difficult to foresee how deep decarbonisation can be achieved without an immediate, fleet-wide speed reduction; and a land-based energy-system transition strongly influences shipping demand, which in turn, influences the extent of required low-carbon propulsion technology change. Setting the industry on a 2 °C heading requires multifaceted and near-term changes in the shipping sector, but these are unlikely to materialise without a major shift by stakeholders to realise new and innovative deep decarbonisation policies in the coming decade.