Marine conservation challenges in an era of economic crisis and geopolitical instability: The case of the Mediterranean Sea

In the Mediterranean Sea, socio-economic drivers may accelerate the process of exclusive economic zone (EEZ) declarations. Despite the challenges, the EEZ declarations may provide important opportunities for leveraging change to national policy towards the development of large-scale conservation of marine ecosystems and biodiversity in this zone. Using the Mediterranean Sea as a case study, we aim to highlight a set of best practices that will maximize the potential for the development of large-scale marine conservation initiatives. These include a range of approaches, such as using surrogates to fill the many biodiversity data gaps in the region, further the development of consistent and open access databases, and the utilization of technological developments to improve monitoring, research and surveillance of less accessible and under-explored marine areas. The integration of Mediterranean-wide and local conservation efforts, the facilitation of transboundary collaboration, and the establishment of regional funds for conservation will further enhance opportunities for marine conservation in this region.     

Flexibility in temporary fisheries closure legislation is required to maximise success

Temporary closures have been used for centuries in many parts of the world as a tool for fisheries management and restoration. The length of time that a closure is in place can play a determinative role in the effectiveness of the closure as a means of restoring stock biomass and diversity. For species that are slow growing and slow to reproduce, closures shorter than a decade are unlikely to be sufficient for the effects of restoration to accrue. New Zealand has two legislative mechanisms specifically designed to establish temporary closures: sections 186A and 186B of the Fisheries Act 1996. These provisions were created to respond to localised depletion and to provide for the use and management practices of Māori (New Zealand’s Indigenous People). There is currently a two-year time limit on temporary closures applied for by the community. By defining a time limit for temporary closures legislators have failed to account for the ecology of many of the species targeted for protection that require longer periods of protection for restoration. Furthermore, the way in which the final decision making power is vested with central government is also inconsistent with the original purpose of the provisions. An amendment to the temporary closure provisions is suggested to provide greater flexibility for users and to better recognise the non-commercial fishing rights provided for by the Fisheries Act 1996, of local communities seeking to apply this tool.     

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.     

Marine reserve establishment and on-going management costs: A case study from New Zealand

While there is considerable international research focused on the conservation outcomes of marine protected areas (MPAs) and marine reserves (MRs) there is little information on the economic cost to establish and manage these protected areas. This study estimated the MR pre-establishment and establishment costs for the Taputeranga Marine Reserve (TMR) in New Zealand (NZ) and determined the annual management costs for this reserve and four further NZ MRs. Finally, the cost to local rock lobster fishers resulting from the displaced fishing effort once the TMR had been established was estimated. This research found that the TMR pre-establishment cost was approximately NZ$508,000, and the establishment process cost was approximately NZ$353,000. The annual management costs across the five reserves ranged between NZ$43,200 and NZ$112,500 between 2008/09 and 2010/11. The annual fishers displacement cost at TMR was approximately NZ$22,000 per annum. This research showed that on a unit area basis, small MRs in NZ are just as expensive to maintain as large MRs. This study also highlighted how volunteer effort helped to considerably reduce the monetary cost of the MR pre-establishment process. This research increases our understanding of establishment and management costs, and supports future planning of MRs both within NZ and internationally.     

Ballast water management in Canada: A historical perspective and implications for the future

Non-indigenous species (NIS) can create significant risks when introduced to foreign ecosystems. One of the many vectors facilitating the global transport of NIS is ballast water, and as commercial shipping increases so does the threat of ballast water-mediated introductions. Despite Canadian regulations, consistent with international guidelines put forth by the International Maritime Organization in the early 1990s, ballast water remains a potential vector for the introduction of many NIS to Canadian marine ecosystems: there have been no new introductions in the Laurentian Great Lakes Region since 2006, yet marine ecosystems continue to see the introduction and establishment of NIS. This paper details and analyzes the development of Canadian ballast water management (BWM), in the context of marine ecosystems, and identifies issues therein. BWM in Canada has a number of management gaps that have persisted since large-scale BWM began in the late 1980s. These include BWM exemptions for vessels not exiting the North American continental shelf, and limitations of effectiveness of mid-ocean exchange as the predominant management method in marine ecosystems. In addition, ballast water regulations for the Canadian Arctic may require additional consideration as the Arctic will likely continue to see an increase in both warming and commercial shipping in the future, thereby increasing the potential risk of NIS. In order to adequately protect all Canadian marine ecosystems, it is recommended that the current BWM regime: fill gaps in management to help prevent further introduction and spread of NIS; focus equally on both marine and freshwater regions, and; look to other aggressive BWM strategies such as those being developed by the state of California.     

Navigating the evolution of marine policy in Panama: Current policies and community responses in the Pearl Islands and Bocas del Toro Archipelagos of Panama

Recent changes in marine policy in Panama are closely related to sustained expansion of the Panamanian economy in the past ten years. Important drivers of economic growth such as the Panama Canal expansion, tourism, and real estate development directly involve marine and coastal areas. Therefore, maintaining the quality of these environments, as well as the sustainability of the human communities that depend on them, calls for the implementation of adequate management and planning policies. In light of a complex history of marine and coastal policy in Panama, current institutional restructuring processes, and a growing recognition of the importance of marine and coastal geographies, the authors aim to document the current status of, and community response to, marine and coastal policy in Panama, analyzed in terms of three important cross-cutting sectors: tourism, fishing, and conservation. To do so, the authors introduce two case studies: one in the Pearl Islands Archipelago and one in Bocas del Toro, each with varying degrees of participation or involvement in each sector, to illustrate the range of adaptations to change occurring in coastal communities. Based on an in-depth policy analysis and the case studies, the authors suggest that there are important administrative and structural gaps in the legislation and institutions that enforce them, as well as a lack of integration across institutions. In particular, the authors highlight the lack of clear marine and coastal property regimes as an obstacle to the implementation of integrative marine policies in Panama.     

桑沟湾农药残留及贝毒对海洋环境质量影响和主要食用贝类健康风险评估

根据2009-04—2010-02隔月6个航次桑沟湾9个调查站位贝类养殖区有机氯(OCPs)、有机磷(OPPs)农药残留和麻痹性贝毒(PSP)的调查资料,分析了它们在该海域海水中、表层沉积物中和主要贝类(栉孔扇贝、太平洋牡蛎和菲律滨蛤仔)体内的含量水平,就农药残留及贝毒污染对海洋环境质量的影响进行综合评价和类别划分,并对主要食用贝类中农药残留和贝毒的暴露水平进行健康风险评估。结果表明,桑沟湾贝类养殖区海水质量、沉积物质量和养殖贝类质量水平范围为1~2级,平均分别为2级、1级和1级,养殖生态环境综合质量水平为2级;总体上,该海域海洋环境综合质量处于良好水平,贝类产区生态环境质量为1类区(清洁区)。即该海域农药残留及贝毒污染对海洋环境质量影响较小或无明显影响。另外,针对食用桑沟湾贝类水产品的消费人群进行了农药残留及贝毒污染的健康风险评估,结果表明调查人群食用贝类中OCPs中的HCHs和DDTs、OPPs中的马拉硫磷和甲基对硫磷、PSP的日摄入量分别为0.75,2.11,0.19,0.09和1.22μg/(人·d),其摄入量低于ADI的推荐限值,因此桑沟湾主要食用贝类中农药残留及贝毒污染的健康风险处于安全范围。     

Quantitative assessment of dissolved radiotracers in the English Channel: Sources, average impact of la Hague reprocessing plant and conservative behaviour (1983, 1986, 1988, 1994)

Knowledge of long-term movements of water-masses in the English Channel has been substantially improved using hydrodynamic modelling coupled with radio-tracers studies; nevertheless, the precision of results so obtained is still largely dependent on measurement precision. New tools are now available to make more accurate determinations of radio-tracer distribution: (1) Repositioning of station locations at the same tide reference-time, giving a homogeneous spatial data set, coupled with the possibility of interpolating and quantifying the amounts of dissolved radioactivity flowing through the English Channel; (2) the first measurements of tritium (³H) in seawater on a large scale in the English Channel demonstrate that this fully conservative radionuclide is a clearly identifiable marker of industrial releases; (3) recent campaigns carried out during the FLUXMANCHE II CCE (1994) programme show the general distribution of dissolved radionuclides ¹³⁷Cs, ¹³⁴Cs, ⁶⁰Co, ¹²⁵Sb, ¹⁰⁶Ru and ³H in the English Channel and the Irish Sea; and (4) the re-utilisation of data from previous campaigns (1983, 1986, 1988) provides indications, at any given location in the English Channel, about the average dilution and distribution of releases derived from the La Hague reprocessing plant. Excesses and losses of radionuclides are now quantified with respect to known source terms; estimates of losses are provided for non-conservative radionuclides, while an excess of ¹³⁷Cs was observed in the English Channel during the period 1983–1994. This excess, which has the same order of magnitude as the quantities released from La Hague plant in the English Channel, could be explained by about 1% of the Sellafield reprocessing plant releases entering the Channel. These results confirm and give a more detailed picture of the previously known distribution of water masses in the English Channel. They lead to clear information about transit times and dilution at this scale, and provide directly comparable data for the validation of hydrodynamic models.     

厦门国家级珍稀海洋物种自然保护区文昌鱼(Branchiostoma belcheri)种群健康评价

利用2009-2010年四个季度月用底栖生物抓斗式采样器捕获的文昌鱼样品,从其资源分布、年龄结构、生物学和生态学特征等方面对厦门国家级珍稀海洋物种自然保护区文昌鱼的种群健康状况进行评价研究.结果表明:(1)文昌鱼种群资源分布衰减趋势明显,只在黄厝—前埔海区、小嶝岛—角屿海区和南线—十八线海区3个核心区还有分布,但资源密度低,分布范围狭小,而在鳄鱼屿实验区未能发现.(2)文昌鱼体重与体长之间关系:W=6.6895×10-4L3.1818;体长与体质量生长方程分别为:厶=65.63[1-e-0.68(t+032)],Wt=404.62[1-e-0.68(t+032)]3.1818;夏季、冬季航次的优势体长组分别为25-35mm和35-45mm,优势体重组分别为25-50mg和50-100mg;秋季低龄鱼较多,而冬季高龄鱼比例较高.(3)采用ELEFAN Ⅰ技术分析了厦门文昌鱼的Von Bertalanffy生长参数K、L∞、总死亡系数Z、自然死亡系数M和开发率E,发现其生长参数K值较大,自然死亡系数较高,开发率较大(0.69).综之,厦门自然保护区内的文昌鱼种群健康状况整体不佳,应注意资源保护,加强保护文昌鱼栖息地的底质和水质以及防止过度捕捞以实现其资源可持续利用.     

我国沿海马尾藻属(Sargassum)的物种多样性及其区系分布特征

通过对我国沿海多次野外实地考查以及文献报道,采用统计学的分析方法,研究了马尾藻属海藻资源的物种构成和区系分布特征.结果表明,马尾藻属种数在我国海域的水平分布呈现出北少南多的趋势,黄、东海仅17种,南海达到124种、占世界马尾藻总数的36.47％.其中,黄海西区、东海西区、南海北区和南海南区种数及小区单一分布种类数分别为10、13、82和61种及2、3、52和42种.我国特有种类为64种、占世界尾藻总数的18.82％.在我国沿海马尾藻的垂直分布特征为:高潮带2种,低潮带91种,潮下带78种.