Holocene beach deposits for assessing coastal uplift of the northeastern Boso Peninsula, Pacific coast of Japan

This paper presents a case study that assessed spatial variations in the tectonic uplift rates of beach deposits in the relict Kujukuri strand plain, situated on the northeastern coast of the Boso Peninsula, eastern Japan. The southern Boso Peninsula is tilted downward to the northeast due to plate subduction along the Sagami Trough. However, the cause of the northeastern coast uplift creating the relict strand plain is unclear, due to the absence of a Holocene raised marine terrace sequence. Elevations and ages of beach deposits were collected from drilled cores and ground-penetrating radar profiles along three shore-normal sections in the southern Kujukuri strand plain. From this, alongshore variations in the relative sea level since the mid-Holocene could be seen. These corresponded to north-to-northeast downward tilting at a rate of 0.4 m/ka for an interval 10 km and are concordant with the longer term tilting of the last interglacial marine terrace surrounding the plain. Although it is difficult to assess shore-normal variations of uplift based on the present dataset, the recognized tilting apparently continues to the tilting of the southern Boso Peninsula, implying the Sagami Trough probably affects the uplift of the Kujukuri coast.     

Eustatic and tectonic controls on Quaternary Ras Leona marine terraces (Strait of Gibraltar, northern Morocco)

Well-preserved Quaternary staircased marine terraces appear on Ras Leona limestone relief. This is a peculiar sector of the Betic-Rif Cordillera, lying in the four-way junction between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, and Europe and Africa. The age and altitude correlation of the Ras Leona terraces with travertine-covered lateral equivalent terraces fashioned in the neighbouring Beni Younech area, and comparison with those along the Moroccan Atlantic coasts, would suggest that the Ras Leona terraces were mainly formed by eustatic factors. The importance of the eustasy is supported by further comparisons with Spanish and Moroccan Mediterranean terraces and with different marine terraces developed on passive-margin coasts around the world. A tectonic event occurred mainly during the period between the formation of the Maarifian and the Ouljian terraces (i.e., between 370 and 150 ka). The moderate Quaternary tectonic uplift deduced from the marine terraces and its comparison with uplifted marine terraces developed in active subduction setting disagrees with the model of an active eastwards subduction below the Gibraltar tectonic arc.     

海洋科技创新与海洋经济发展的协调关系及其影响机理研究

为深入揭示海洋科技创新与海洋经济发展的协调关系及其影响机理,促进我国海洋科技和海洋经济的高质量和可持续发展,文章构建海洋科技创新和海洋经济发展2个系统的评价指标体系,以辽宁为实例,利用协调度模型分析二者的协调度及其演化趋势,进一步利用结构方程模型构建海洋科技创新影响海洋经济发展的驱动路径,以此分析其影响因素和影响效应,并提出对策建议。研究结果表明:1997-2016年辽宁海洋科技创新与海洋经济发展的协调关系分为中度失调衰退、严重失调衰退、中度协调发展和良好协调发展4个主要阶段;海洋科技创新通过海洋资源水平、海洋经济规模和海洋经济结构对海洋经济发展产生直接效应,同时通过海洋经济规模对地区经济发展产生间接效应,即海洋科技创新对海洋经济发展和地区经济发展均产生显著的促进作用;未来应统筹海洋科技与海洋经济的协调发展,扩大海洋科技的投入和产出,积极培育海洋科研人才和新兴海洋产业,注重提高对外开放程度和发展港口经济。     

海洋牧场背景下的休闲渔业旅游发展模式研究

近年来随着产业融合的发展趋势显著,第一产业和第二产业开始向第三产业转型,海洋牧场建设发展过程中渔业与旅游业逐渐融合发展形成休闲渔业等渔业旅游形式。许多地区因地制宜形成了不同的休闲渔业发展模式,休闲渔业旅游发展多元化的趋势也在逐渐形成。文章对休闲渔业的概念进行了阐述,介绍了休闲渔业的产生与发展,并对我国休闲渔业的旅游模式进行归纳,提出当前休闲渔业发展存在的问题。如:发展观念滞后,缺乏长远规划;海洋休闲渔业产业结构单一;缺乏高素质的从业人员;科技、资金投入不足等。最后总结了海洋牧场背景下休闲渔业的未来发展趋势并对发展方向提出建议。     

海洋牧场建设对生态旅游的影响研究——以三亚蜈支洲岛旅游区为例

建设海洋牧场能修复海洋生态环境、恢复海洋渔业资源,更好地促进海洋渔业的可持续发展。我国于20世纪70年代开始了海洋牧场的建设,并已经取得很大成绩,国内众多学者对海洋牧场的研究也取得了较多的成果。三亚蜈支洲岛海洋牧场是热带海岛休闲旅游型海洋牧场,通过对三亚蜈支洲岛海洋牧场的研究发现,海洋牧场的建设给旅游区带来了显著的生态效益、经济效益、社会效益,海洋牧场建设对生态旅游的开展具有明显的促进作用。     

Marine hydrocarbon source rocks of the Upper Permian Longtan Formation and their contribution to gas accumulation in the northeastern Sichuan Basin,southwest China

Identification of the main hydrocarbon source rocks of the large Puguang gas field (northeastern Sichuan Basin, southwest China) has been the subject of much discussion in recent years. A key aspect has been the lack of a comprehensive understanding of the development of hydrocarbon source rocks of the Upper Permian Longtan Formation, which had been thought to contain mainly coal seams and thick carbonate layers. In this paper, based on geological data from more than ten wells and outcrops and their related mineralogy and geochemistry, we investigated the depositional environment and main factors controlling organic matter enrichment in the Longtan Formation. We propose a model which combines information on the geological environment and biological changes over time. In the model, organic matter from prolific phytoplankton blooms was deposited in quiescent platform interior sags with rising sea-levels. During the Longtan period, the area from Bazhong to Dazhou was a platform interior sag with relatively deep water and a closed environment, which was controlled by multiple factors including syngenetic fault settling, isolation of submarine uplifts and rising sea-levels leading to water column stratification. Although the bottom water was anoxic, the phytoplankton were able to bloom in the well-lit upper euphotic zone thus giving rise to a set of sapropelic black shales and marlstones containing mostly algal organic matter with minor terrestrial contributions. As a consequence, these rocks have a high hydrocarbon generation potentials and can be classified as high-quality source rocks. The area from Bazhong to Dazhou is a center of hydrocarbon generation, being the main source of reservoired paleo-oils and presently discovered as pyrobitumen in the Puguang gas field. The identification of these source rocks is very important to guide future petroleum exploration in the northeastern Sichuan Basin.     

What makes a “successful” marine protected area? The unique context of Hawaii′s fish replenishment areas

In 1998, in order to combat the degradation of yellow tang populations on the west coast of Hawaii Island, fish replenishment areas (FRAs) were established prohibiting aquarium fishing along more than thirty percent of the coastline. Unlike other marine management approaches in Hawaii, which have largely been controversial, fraught with confusion over regulations, inadequately enforced, and lacking public support, these FRAs have been lauded as a marine conservation success, with wide-ranging support and evidence of rapid replenishment of the yellow tang population. In order to better understand the contextual factors contributing to the success of the West Hawaii FRAs, this research explores the following questions: (1) What factors documented in the literature on marine protected areas (MPAs) have been demonstrated to contribute to or inhibit MPA success internationally; (2) which of these factors do the FRAs of West Hawaii exhibit; and (3) are there additional factors that may have contributed to their wide acceptance and success? Common factors contributing to MPA success are determined through a synthesis of the literature. These include: level of community engagement, socioeconomic characteristics, ecological factors, MPA design, governance, and enforcement. The outcomes of West Hawaii′s FRAs are examined in the context of these factors. While the common factors agreed upon in the literature were key to the success of the FRAs, additional contextual factors such as the unique nature of the aquarium fishery and its social marginalization also played a vital role.     

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.     

Fishing the last frontier: The introduction of the marine aquarium trade and its impact on local fishing communities in Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea has sometimes been called the world's last frontier for relatively undamaged coral reefs and their resources. In 2007, the country joined its neighbours in the marine aquarium trade. By licensing a private company, Papua New Guinea tried an alternative approach to the introduction of this activity. Under the so-called SeaSmart Programme, over 100 fishers were trained in sustainable collection techniques and handling of organisms, until the programme was shut down in 2010, and replaced by its successor, EcoAquariums PNG. This article contains the first study on the introduction of the marine aquarium trade into Papua New Guinea. It evaluates the overall outcomes of the SeaSmart Programme, lists targeted species, and their prices. The main focus is on the local collectors, and on the impacts of this new activity on them and their communities. Benefits from collecting marine ornamentals are assessed and their contribution to household income is quantified. Perceptions on non-financial benefits of the SeaSmart Programme are also gathered. The empirical work was carried out between September 2010 and February 2011 in the Central Province of Papua New Guinea. A total of 199 fishers including 44 aquarium fishers were interviewed in eight different communities in the Central Province of Papua New Guinea. The results show that marine aquarium fishing does provide benefits to local resource collectors, but also that this “sustainable” way of collecting of marine ornamentals might lead to some depletion.     

Sustaining marine life beyond boundaries: Options for an implementing agreement for marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

For nearly a decade, governments have been discussing the need to improve efforts to conserve and sustainably use marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ). Support for a new international agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) – an Implementing Agreement – on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in ABNJ has been growing. In June 2012, at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, States agreed to take a decision on the development of an international instrument under UNCLOS before the end of the 69th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), which runs from September 2014 to August 2015. In follow-up to this commitment, it was agreed to consider the “scope, parameters and feasibility” of this instrument. To inform these international discussions, this article highlights some potential options for the content of a new UNCLOS Implementing Agreement. It first reviews the history of UN discussions, and then elaborates on options to address key elements identified as priorities for States in 2011: marine genetic resources, including the sharing of benefits, area-based management tools, including marine protected areas, environmental impact assessments, capacity-building and the transfer of marine technology. It addresses cross-cutting issues such as the governing principles, institutional structure as well as on other critical points such as High Seas fishing and flag State responsibilities. The article concludes with suggestions on possible next steps in order to succeed in the negotiations for an agreement.