Applicability of Individual Transferable Quotas (ITQs) in Japanese fisheries: A comparison of rights-based fisheries management in Iceland, Japan, and United States

ITQs have not yet been introduced by the Government of Japan. In coastal areas, fishery cooperative associations have traditionally played an important role in managing fisheries through self-imposed rules and peer-monitoring systems. Recently, however, the economic competitiveness of Japanese fisheries in the international market is being questioned. In this paper, a detailed examination of the pros and cons of the current system in Japan is compared to the current fishery management measures of Iceland and the United States, where attaining economically or biologically efficient outcomes may be prioritized in making fisheries management decisions. For many coastal fisheries in Japan, maintaining a management scheme in which stakeholders play an active role in determining fisheries measures seems more relevant if their priority is to maintain the stability of coastal communities and equity of stakeholders. Intensive dialog among stakeholders would be necessary to identify shared objectives of their fishery operations and to make decisions to establish specific steps toward the goal of increasing economic efficiency, environmental sustainability, or stability of communities and equity of stakeholders.     

The first network of marine protected areas (MPAs) in the high seas: The process, the challenges and where next

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are increasingly being established to protect and rebuild coastal and marine ecosystems. However, while the high seas are increasingly subject to exploitation, globally few MPAs exist in areas beyond national jurisdiction. In 2010 a substantial step forward was made in the protection of high seas ecosystems with 286,200 km² of the North-East Atlantic established as six MPAs. Here a summary is presented of how the world's first network of high seas marine protected areas was created under the OSPAR Convention, the main challenges and a series of key lessons learned, aiming to highlight approaches that also may be effective for similar efforts in the future. It is concluded that the designation of these six MPAs is just the start of the process and to achieve ecological coherence and representativity in the North-East Atlantic, the network will have to be complemented over time by additional MPA sites.     

Trophic ecology of Pomatoschistus microps within an intertidal bay (Roscoff,France), investigated through gut content and stable isotope analyses

The diet of Pomatoschistus microps has been studied using both gut content and stable isotope analyses. In the Roscoff Aber Bay (Brittany, France), this fish is commonly found on sandy muddy intertidal flats. Gut content analyses were also interpreted using trophic indices. Owing to the large diversity of prey consumed, these indices emphasised the opportunistic feeding behaviour of P. microps. Here, this species fed mainly on endofauna with meiofauna being of high relative importance. The main biotic components of its trophic habitat, characterized by δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N, provided evidence of a major trophic pathway based on drift Enteromorpha sp. Trophic positions estimated by both diet analyses and isotopic analyses led to similar results. In this bay, P. microps is a first‐order predator with a low degree of omnivory. Despite a preferential consumption of the amphipod Corophium arenarium, we assumed that this goby behaves as a generalist feeding on a uniform variety of endofauna taxa.     

瘤背石磺体腔细胞分类、免疫相关酶特性及初步转录组学分析

瘤背石磺(Onchidium struma)广泛分布于潮间带和潮下带,是海洋生物向陆地生物辐射进化的重要代表,也是环境监测的指示生物.为丰富瘤背石磺的基础免疫学资料,本文研究了瘤背石磺体腔细胞的类别、细胞密度和体腔液免疫相关酶活性,并通过RNA-Seq测序获得体腔细胞转录本,进行生物信息学分析.结果表明,瘤背石磺主要有...     

Combining process and output indicators to evaluate participation and sustainability in integrated coastal zone management projects

Integrated coastal zone management has evolved in practice and in the literature to implicate and advocate for public participation. Public participation has been proposed to open debate, contribute to policy formulation, increase government accountability, build support for agency programs, reduce community tensions and increase the sustainability of the actions. This study analysed the success of three integrated coastal zone management projects based on 8 process and output indicators. Public participation does not seem to have had an impact on the overall project objective nor on the sustainability indicators. These results bring us back to the initial concept of ICZM based on horizontal and vertical integration, and suggest that projects promoting ICZM need to be adapted to each specific cultural and political context. Long-term sustainability and natural resource management will only be achieved when the projects and activities are adapted to meet the reality on the field.     

Sediment bioavailable organic matter,deposition rates and mixing intensity in the Setúbal–Lisbon canyon and adjacent slope (Western Iberian Margin)

The role of the Setúbal–Lisbon canyon in accumulation and transport of labile organic matter from the coastal sea and ocean surface water towards the deep sea was assessed by investigating the distribution of organic matter of different quality in sedimentary aggregates and surface sediments of the canyon and adjacent slopes. Total hydrolysable amino acids (THAA) and organic carbon (Corg) were measured from aggregates, and contents of Corg, chlorophyll a (chl a), phaeopigments (phaeo), chloroplastic pigment equivalents (CPE) from sediments. As indices of organic matter (OM) quality THAA:Corg, degradation index (DI), chl a:phaeo, chl a:Corg and C:N ratio were determined. Sediment profiles of chl a and the isotope 210 of lead (²¹⁰Pb) were used as tracers in a transport model to estimate deposition rates and background levels of the tracers, and sediment mixing rates (Db). Whereas bulk Corg contents of canyon and slope sediments were practically similar at all depths, higher contents of THAA, chl a and CPE, as well as higher THAA:Corg, DI and chl a:Corg, in aggregates and sediments from the upper reaches of the canyon indicate that labile organic matter accumulates in the upper canyon. This is confirmed by higher chl a and ²¹⁰Pb deposition and Db calculated from the model. Hence, the Setúbal–Lisbon canyon, specially the upper region, acts as a natural trap of organic matter that is transported to the region via lateral transport and vertical settling from primary productivity. Organic matter might be further transported in downward canyon direction via rebound processes. The chl a and ²¹⁰Pb profiles reveal active sediment mixing by physical processes and/or animal reworking.     

Terminal velocities of pure and hydrate coated CO2 droplets and CH4 bubbles rising in a simulated oceanic environment

Understanding the upward motion of CO₂ droplets or CH₄ bubbles in oceanic waters is prerequisite to predict the vertical distribution of the two most important greenhouse gases in the water column after these have been released from the seabed. One of the key parameters governing the fate of droplets or bubbles dissolving into the surrounding seawater as they rise, is the terminal velocity, u_T. The latter is strongly influenced by the ability of both compounds to form skins of gas hydrate, if pressure and temperature satisfy thermodynamic framework conditions. Experimental efforts aiming to elucidate the rise properties of CO₂ droplets and CH₄ bubbles and specifically the influence of hydrate skins open the possibility to obtain a parameterization of u_T applicable to both hydrate-coated and pure fluid particles of CH₄ and CO₂. With the present study, we report on experimentally determined terminal velocities of single CH₄ bubbles released to pressurized and temperature-regulated seawater. Hydrate skins were identified by high bubble sphericities and changed motion characteristics. Based on these experiments as well as published data on the rise of hydrate-coated and pure liquid CO₂ droplets and physical principles previously successfully used for clean bubbles near atmospheric pressures, a new parameterization of u_T is proposed. Model predictions show a good agreement with the data base established from the laboratory-based measurements.     

Influence of the Spatial Resolution of Satellite Images on the Values of the Characteristics of Ice-Cover Leads in the Arctic Seas

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - The values of the characteristics of ice-cover leads in the Laptev and East Siberian Seas calculated from satellite images with spatial resolution of...     

Miocene facies associations and sedimentary evolution of the Southern Transylvanian Basin (Romania): Implications for hydrocarbon exploration

The Transylvanian Basin is a mature hydrocarbon province of Romania characterized by two petroleum systems: Mesozoic (thermogenic) and Miocene (biogenic). An extensive outcrop-based sedimentological and micropaleontological study correlated to seismic and well data discusses the elements of the Miocene petroleum system. The facies associations are indicative of alluvial, fandelta, shallow- and deep-marine settings. These are grouped into four different depositional systems (evaporite, mud-carbonate, sand-mud and sand-gravel). Their evolution in time and space shows large differences between various parts of the basin that have important consequences for exploration.