Economics and Hawaii's Marine Fisheries

This paper reviews economic research conducted on Hawaii's marine fisheries over the past ten years. The fisheries development and fisheries management context for this research is also considered. The paper finds that new approaches are required for marine fisheries research in Hawaii: A wider scope to include other marine resource and coastal zone issues, and increased and closer collaboration between researchers and the fishing community.

Guidelines for the conservation and restoration of seagrasses in the United States and adjacent waters

Seagrass ecosystems are protected under the federal "no-net-loss" policy for wetlands and form one of the most productive plant communities on the planet, performing important ecological functions. Seagrass beds have been recognized as a valuable resource critical to the health and function of coastal waters. Greater awareness and public education, however, is essential for conservation of this resource. Tremendous losses of this habitat have occurred as a result of development within the coastal zone. Disturbances usually kill seagrasses rapidly, and recovery is often comparatively slow. Mitigation to compensate for destruction of existing habitat usually follows when the agent of loss and responsible party are known. Compensation assumes that ecosystems can be made to order and, in essence, trades existing functional habitat for the promise of replacement habitat. While ~lant ingse agrass is not technically complex, there is no easy way to meet the goal of maintaining or increasing seagrass acreage. Rather, the entire process of planning, planting and monitoring requires attention to detail and does not lend itself to oversimplification.

A biogeographic asssessment of seabirds, deep sea corals and ocean habitats of the New York Bight: science to support offshore spatial planning

This report provides a compilation of new maps and spatial assessments for seabirds, bathymetry, surficial sediments, deep sea corals, and oceanographic habitats in support of offshore spatial planning led by the New York Department of State Ocean and Great Lakes Program. These diverse ecological themes represent priority information gaps left by past assessments and were requested by New York to better understand and balance ocean uses and environmental conservation in the Atlantic. The main goal of this report is to translate raw ecological, geomorphological and oceanographic data into maps and assessments that can be easily used and understood by coastal managers involved in offshore spatial planning. New York plans to integrate information in this report with other ecological, geophysical and human use data to obtain a broad perspective on the ocean environment, human uses and their interactions. New York will then use this information in an ecosystem-based framework to coordinate and support decisions balancing competing demands in their offshore environment, and ultimately develop a series of amendments to New York’s federally approved Coastal Management Program. The targeted users of this report and the compiled spatial information are New York coastal managers, but other State and federal decision-makers, offshore renewable energy development interests and environmental advocates will also find the information useful. In addition, the data and approaches will be useful to regional spatial planning initiatives set up by the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean (MARCO) and federal regional planning bodies for coastal and marine spatial planning.

Distribution of persistent organic contaminants in canyons and on the continental shelf off central California

The National Status and Trends (NS&T) Program has conducted studies to determine the spatial extent and severity of chemical contamination and associated adverse biological effects in coastal bays and estuaries of the United States since 1991. Sediment contamination in U.S. coastal areas is a major environmental issue because of its potential toxic effects on biological resources and often, indirectly, on human health. Thus, characterizing and delineating areas of sediment contamination and toxicity and demonstrating their effect(s) on benthic living resources are therefore important goals of coastal resource management at NOAA. The National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, and the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), University of California Moss Landing Marine Lab (MLML), and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), conducted ecosystem monitoring and characterization studies within and between marine sanctuaries along the California coast in 2002 and 2004 on the NOAA RV McArthur. One of the objectives was to perform a systematic assessment of the chemical and physical habitats and associated biological communities in soft bottom habitats on the continental shelf and slope in the central California region. This report addresses the magnitude and extent of chemical contamination, and contaminant transport patterns in the region. Ongoing studies of the benthic community are in progress and will be reported in an integrated assessment of habitat quality and the parameters that govern natural resource distributions on the continental margin and in canyons in the region.

Coastal fisheries

The coastal zone of Sri Lanka is the most important area of fish production at present. This coastal zone is limited seawards to the edge of our relatively narrow continental shelf. The fishing methods employed are such that only a fraction of the shelf area is exploited. The extent to which the coastal zone is exploited depends on the craft and gear used in the fishing operations. The non-mechanized traditional crafts such as the teppams and orus generally operate within about five miles from shore. The mechanized traditional crafts and the small mechanized boats introduced around 1957 carry out fishing operations up to the continental shelf or beyond. The gear used by these fishing crafts is determined by the habits of the type of fish to be caught, the nature of the sea bed and other related conditions. For the pelagic fishes they use trolling lines or float long lines or drift nets. For the demersal fishes hand lines, bottom long lines, bottom set nets or drag nets are used. However, the net is the preferred fishing gear. The beach seines or madels, the traditional crafts such as orus, teppams and vallams and the small mechanized boats are the important contributors in the coastal fishery. Of these the madels are considered the most important since a high percentage (25-35%) of the Island's landings are produced by the operation of these nets.

Coastal metabolism and the oceanic organic carbon balance

Net organic metabolism (that is, the difference between primary production and respiration of organic matter) in the coastal ocean may be a significant term in the oceanic carbon budget. Historical change in the rate of this net metabolism determines the importance of the coastal ocean relative to anthropogenic perturbations of the global carbon cycle. Consideration of long-term rates of river loading of organic carbon, organic burial, chemical reactivity of land-derived organic matter, and rates of community metabolism in the coastal zone leads us to estimate that the coastal zone oxidizes about 7 × 1012 moles C/yr. The open ocean is apparently also a site of net organic oxidation (∼16 × 1012 moles C/yr). Thus organic metabolism in the ocean appears to be a source of CO2 release to the atmosphere rather than being a sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide. The small area of the coastal ocean accounts for about 30% of the net oceanic oxidation. Oxidation in the coastal zone (especially in bays and estuaries) takes on particular importance, because the input rate is likely to have been altered substantially by human activities on land.

Spatial and temporal variability in Scotian Shelf zooplankton communities

Zooplankton are indicators of the response of marine ecosystems to environmental variability. The relationships between zooplankton communities on the Scotian Shelf and hydrographic and geographic regions of the Scotian Shelf in the 1990s and 2000s were described using complementary data sets, each resolving different space and time scales. The Atlantic Zone Monitoring Program (AZMP) sampled Scotian Shelf zooplankton from the whole water column twice per year at stations along three cross-shelf transects and semi-monthly at a fixed station on the inshore central shelf, while Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) samples were collected from near-surface waters approximately monthly on an along-shelf transect. Variability patterns were compared among these three data sets to identify robust spatial and interannual trends. Stations were clustered based on taxonomic composition, and spatial clusters were compared to hydrographic boundaries and bathymetry to determine whether temporal changes in community composition were driven by changes in water mass distributions on the shelf. This project identifies zooplankton community and abundance shifts that may affect fish recruitment in the northwest Atlantic and contributes to development of ecosystem-based fisheries management on the Scotian Shelf.

Temporal variability in total, micro- and nano-phytoplankton primary production at a coastal site in the Western English Channel

Primary productivity and subsequent carbon cycling in the coastal zone have a significant impact on the global carbon budget. It is currently unclear how anthropogenic activity could alter these budgets but long term coastal time series of hydrological, biogeochemical and biological measurements represent a key means to better understand past drivers, and hence to predicting future seasonal and inter-annual variability in carbon fixation in coastal ecosystems. An 8-year time series of primary production from 2003 to 2010, estimated using a recently developed absorption-based algorithm, was used to determine the nature and extent of change in primary production at a coastal station (L4) in the Western English Channel (WEC). Analysis of the seasonal and inter-annual variability in production demonstrated that on average, nano- and pico-phytoplankton account for 48% of the total carbon fixation and micro-phytoplankton for 52%. A recent decline in the primary production of nano- and pico-phytoplankton from 2005 to 2010 was observed, corresponding with a decrease in winter nutrient concentrations and a decrease in the biomass of Phaeocystis sp. Micro-phytoplankton primary production (PPM) remained relatively constant over the time series and was enhanced in summer during periods of high precipitation. Increases in sea surface temperature, and decreases in wind speeds and salinity were associated with later spring maxima in PPM. Together these trends indicate that predicted increases in temperature and decrease in wind speeds in future would drive later spring production whilst predicted increases in precipitation would also continue these blooms throughout the summer at this site.

Consideration of coastal risk in the Irish spatial planning process

The vulnerability of coastal areas to associated hazards is increasing due to population growth, development pressure and climate change. It is incumbent on coastal governance regimes to address the vulnerability of coastal inhabitants to these hazards. This is especially so at the local level where development planning and control has a direct impact on the vulnerability of coastal communities. To reduce the vulnerability of coastal populations, risk mitigation and adaptation strategies need to be built into local spatial planning processes. Local government, however, operates within a complex hierarchal governance framework which may promote or limit particular actions. It is important, therefore, to understand how local coastal planning practices are shaped by national and supranational entities. Local governments also have to respond to the demands of local populations. Consequently, it is important to understand local populations’ perceptions of coastal risk and its management. Adopting an in-depth study of coastal planning in County Mayo, Ireland, this paper evaluates: (a) how European and national policies and legislation shape coastal risk management at local level; (b) the incorporation of risk management strategies into local plans; and (c) local perception of coastal risks and risk management. Despite a strong steer from supranational and national legislation and policy, statutory local plans are found to be lacking in appropriate risk mitigation or adaptation strategies. Local residents appear to be lulled into a sense of complacency towards these risks because of the low level of attention afforded to them by the local planning authorities. To avoid potentially disastrous consequences for local residents and businesses, it is imperative that this situation is redressed urgently. Based on our analysis, we recommend: the development and implementation of a national ICZM strategy, supported by detailed local ICZM plans; and obliging local government to address known risks in their plans rather than defer them to project level decision making.

Conhecimento comum e perceção do risco na gestão territorial costeira

As zonas costeiras, pelas suas características naturais, disponibilizam à sociedade múltiplas oportunidades e serviços, o que favorece uma ocupação desmedida deste território e a ocorrência de transformações relevantes provocadas pela intervenção humana. A simultaneidade da influência das atividades e intervenções humanas e da ocorrência das funções naturais deste território, revestidas de um forte caráter dinâmico, encontra-se na base do desenvolvimento quer de conflitos do tipo socioambiental, quer de situações de risco costeiro. A contribuir para esta situação, surge também a problemática das alterações climáticas, com impactos em domínios diversos, como por exemplo biodiversidade, pesca ou turismo, com um registo de aumento e intensidade de acidentes naturais associados a fenómenos meteorológicos. Apesar da existência de um conjunto de instrumentos de preservação dos recursos naturais e de ordenamento e gestão territorial, a degradação do sistema natural costeiro é muito visível, com impactos negativos de complexa recuperação. Refira-se, também, o caráter de exceção dos planos de ordenamento da orla costeira, em particular em frentes urbanas consolidadas ou em consolidação, permitindo o contínuo aumento da urbanização na orla costeira. A atuação das entidades responsáveis pela gestão do território costeiro tem sido desenvolvida com um baixo nível de envolvimento da população e maioritariamente no sentido de dar resposta às situações de perigo que vão surgindo, com a implementação de estruturas de defesa costeira, suportadas pelo erário público, cujos impactos se traduzem num agravamento do estado da zona costeira portuguesa, em geral. A região de Aveiro é um exemplo da problemática exposta, onde se registam frequentemente episódios de perigo costeiro, considerando-se urgente a tomada de medidas que contribuam para a sustentabilidade deste território, associada a uma visão de longo prazo, e que deverão passar pela integração do risco na gestão territorial costeira. Esta investigação, com a qual se pretende aumentar o conhecimento científico, desenvolver uma abordagem integrada de diversos domínios disciplinares, demonstrar a relevância da valorização do conhecimento comum e da perceção social na gestão do território, bem como desenvolver uma ferramenta de suporte à gestão territorial da zona costeira, tem como propósito contribuir para a preservação do sistema natural costeiro e para o aumento dos níveis de segurança humana face ao risco costeiro. Nesse sentido, desenvolveu-se um estudo de perceção social em aglomerados urbanos costeiros da região de Aveiro, para avaliação da perceção do risco costeiro e da gestão do território e recolha de conhecimento comum sobre a dinâmica costeira. Concebeu-se, também, um sistema de informação geográfica que permite às entidades de gestão do território costeiro uma atuação facilitada, articulada e de caráter preventivo, suportada na integração de conhecimentos científico, técnico e comum, de perceções e aspirações, de limites, propostas e condicionantes de planos de ordenamento e gestão do território existentes, entre outra informação, e com potencialidade para evoluir simultaneamente para um sistema de aviso de acidentes. Como resultados do estudo empírico destacam-se a forte ligação da população ao mar, de caráter afetivo ou pela pretensão de utilização da praia, a desvalorização do risco costeiro, apesar do reconhecimento do recuo da linha de costa, a valorização das estruturas de defesa costeira, a escassa disponibilização de informação à população acerca do risco costeiro a que está exposta, e a importância atribuída à participação da população no processo de gestão territorial costeira. O sistema de informação geográfica foi validado para o caso da Praia de Esmoriz, permitindo identificar, por exemplo, para cada proprietário de habitação localizada em área de risco, a disponibilidade para participar no processo de gestão territorial costeira ou a abertura para aderir a um processo de relocalização da habitação. Face à pertinência do tema e à expectativa do mesmo ser considerado uma prioridade da política da atualidade, considera-se a necessidade de desenvolvimentos futuros de aprofundamento de conhecimentos em paralelo com uma aproximação ao sistema institucional de gestão territorial costeira, no sentido da minimização dos conflitos entre dinâmica costeira e uso do território e da prevenção do risco costeiro, particularmente risco de inundação e de erosão.

Integration of numerical models in geographic databases: the case of Sado estuary management

Geographic information systems (GIS) are now widely applied in coastal resource management. Their ability to organise and interface information from a large range of public and private data sources, and their ability to combine this information, using management criteria, to develop a comprehensive picture of the system explains the success of GIS in this area. The use of numerical models as a tool to improve coastal management is also widespread. Less usual is a GIS-based management to ol implementing a comprehensive management model and integrating a numerical modelling system into itself. In this paper such a methodology is proposed. A GIS-based management tool based on the DPSIR model is presented. An overview of the MOHID numerical modelling system is given and the method of integrating this model in the management tool is described. This system is applied to the Sado Estuary (Portugal). Some preliminary results of the integration are presented, demonstrating the capabilities of the management system.

Descarga costeira de águas subterrâneas com elevado conteúdo em nitratos para a Ria Formosa

Dissertação de Mestrado, Estudos Marinhos e Costeiros, Faculdade de Ciências do Mar e Ambiente, Universidade do Algarve, 2007

Planeamento espacial marinho das áreas marinhas protegidas: o caso de estudo da ára protegida de gestão de recursos: Caloura - ilhéu de Vila Franca do Campo

Tese de Doutoramento, Ciências do Mar (Ecologia Marinha), 26 de Novembro de 2013, Universidade dos Açores.

Further studies on the process of coastal upwelling along the south west coast of India - possible correlations with biological productivity

An attempt is made to study the possible relationship between the process of upwelling and zooplankton biomass in the shelf weters along the south west coast of India between Cape comorin and Ratnagiri based on oceanographic and Zooplankton data collected by the erstwhile FAO/UNDP Pelagic Fishery Project,Cochin between 1973 and 1978. Different factors such as the depth from which the bottom waters are induced upwards during the process of upwelling,the depth to which the bottom waters are drawn, vertical velocity of upwelling and the resultant zooplankton productivity were considered while arriving at the deductions. Except for nutrients and phytoplankton productivity, for which simultaneous data is lacking, all the major factors were taken into consideration before cocluding- xon positive/negative correlation.

Interrelatedness of grazing livestock with vegetation parameters and farmers’ livelihoods in the Mahafaly region, southwestern Madagascar

The study aims to get deeper insight into the highly extensive system of animal husbandry in the Mahafaly region of southwestern Madagascar. It tries to understand the major drivers for pastoral dynamics, land and resource use along a gradient in altitude and vegetation to consider the area’s high spatial and temporal heterogeneity. The study also analyzes the reproductive performance of local livestock as well as the owners’ culling strategies to determine herd dynamics, opportunities for economic growth, and future potential for rural development. Across seasons, plateau herds from both livestock species covered longer distances (cattle 13.6±3.02 km, goats 12.3±3.48 km) and were found further away from the settlements (cattle 3.1±0.96 km, goats 2.8±0.98 km) than those from the coastal plain (walking_dist: cattle 9.5±3.25 km, goats 9.2±2.57 km; max_dist: cattle 2.6±1.28 km, goats 1.8±0.61 km). Transhumant cattle were detected more vulnerable through limited access to pasture land and water resources compared to local herds. Seasonal water shortage has been confirmed as a key constraint on the plateau while livestock keeping along the coast is more limited by dry season forage availability. However, recent security issues and land use conflicts with local crop farmers are gaining importance and force livestock owners to adapt their traditional grazing management, resulting in spatio-temporal variation of livestock numbers and in the impending risk of local overgrazing and degradation of rangelands. Among the 133 plant species consumed by livestock, 13 were determined of major importance for the animals’ nutrition. The nutritive value and digestibility of the natural forage, as well as its abundance in the coastal zone, substantially decreased over the course of the dry season and emphasized the importance of supplementary forage plants, in particular Euphorbia stenoclada. At the same time, an unsustainable utilization and overexploitation of its wild stocks may raise the pressure on the vegetation and pasture resources within the nearby Tsimanampetsotsa National Park. Age at first parturition was 40.5±0.59 months for cattle and 21.3±0.63 months for goats. Both species showed long parturition intervals (cattle 24.2±0.48 months, goats 12.4±0.30 months), mostly due to the maintenance of poorly performing breeding females within the herds. Reported offspring mortality, however, was low with 2.5% of cattle and 18.8% of goats dying before reaching maturity. The analysis of economic information revealed higher than expected market dynamics, especially for zebus, resulting in annual contribution margins of 33 € per cattle unit and 11 € per goat unit. The application of the PRY Herd Life model to simulate herd development for present management and two alternate scenarios confirmed the economic profitability of the current livestock system and showed potential for further productive and economic development. However, this might be clearly limited by the region’s restricted carrying capacity. Summarizing, this study illustrates the highly extensive and resources-driven character of the livestock system in the Mahafaly region, with herd mobility being a central element to cope with seasonal shortages in forage and water. But additional key drivers and external factors are gaining importance and increasingly affect migration decisions and grazing management. This leads to an increased risk of local overgrazing and overexploitation of natural pasture resources and intensifies the tension between pastoral and conservation interests. At the same time, it hampers the region’s agronomic development, which has not yet been fully exploited. The situation therefore demonstrates the need for practical improvement suggestions and implication measures, such as the systematic forestation of supplemental forage plant species in the coastal zone or a stronger integration of animal husbandry and crop production, to sustain the traditional livestock system without compromising peoples’ livelihoods while at the same time minimizing the pastoral impact on the area’s unique nature and environment.