Tag Archives: global

Evolving Perspectives of Stewardship in the Seafood Industry

R. Blasiak, A. Dauriach, J. Jouffray, C. Carl Folke, H. Österblom, J. Bebbington, F. Bengtsson, A. Causevic, B. Geerts, W. Grønbrekk, P. J. G. Henriksson, S. Käll, D. Leadbitter, D. McBain, G. O. Crespo, H. Packer, I. Sakaguchi, L. Schultz, E. R. Selig, M. Troell, J. Villalón, W. C., E. Wassénius, R. Watson, N. Yagi, B. Crona, (2021). Frontiers in Marine Science 8,

stewardship, seafood, management, policy, global,

10.3389/fmars.2021.671837, http://www.ecomarres.com/downloads/Stewardship.pdf

Humanity has never benefited more from the ocean as a source of food, livelihoods, and well-being, yet on a global scale this has been accompanied by trajectories of degradation and persistent inequity. Awareness of this has spurred policymakers to develop an expanding network of ocean governance instruments, catalyzed civil society pressure on the public and private sector, and motivated engagement by the general public as consumers and constituents. Among local communities, diverse examples of stewardship have rested on the foundation of care, knowledge and agency. But does an analog for stewardship exist in the context of globally active multinational corporations? Here, we consider the seafood industry and its efforts to navigate this new reality through private governance. We examine paradigmatic events in the history of the sustainable seafood movement, from seafood boycotts in the 1970s through to the emergence of certification measures, benchmarks, and diverse voluntary environmental programs. We note four dimensions of stewardship in which efforts by actors within the seafood industry have aligned with theoretical concepts of stewardship, which we describe as (1) moving beyond compliance, (2) taking a systems perspective, (3) living with uncertainty, and (4) understanding humans as embedded elements of the biosphere. In conclusion, we identify emerging stewardship challenges for the seafood industry and suggest the urgent need to embrace a broader notion of ocean stewardship that extends beyond seafood.

Sharing the Seas: A Review and Analysis of Ocean Sector Interactions

B. Crona, E. Wassénius, K. Lillepold, R. Watson, E. Selig, C. Hicks, H. Österblom, C. Folke, R. Blasiak, J. Jouffray, (2021). Environmental Research Letters,

ocean sector, global, interactions, fishing, oil, planning,

10.1088/1748-9326/ac02ed, http://www.ecomarres.com/downloads/Sharing.pdf

Ocean activities are rapidly expanding as Blue Economy discussions gain traction, creating new potential synergies and conflicts between sectors. To better manage ocean sectors and their development, we need to understand how they interact and the respective outcomes of these interactions. To provide a first comprehensive picture of the situation, we review 3187 articles to map and analyze interactions between economically important ocean sectors and find 93 unique direct and 61 indirect interactions, often mediated via the ocean ecosystem. Analysis of interaction outcomes reveals that some sectors coexist synergistically (e.g. renewable energy, tourism), but many interactions are antagonistic, and negative effects on other sectors are often incurred via degradation of marine ecosystems. The analysis also shows that ocean ecosystems are fundamental for supporting many ocean sectors, yet 13 out of 14 ocean sectors have interactions resulting in unidirectional negative ecosystem impact. Fishing, drilling, and shipping are hubs in the network of ocean sector interactions, and are involved in many of the antagonistic interactions. Antagonistic interactions signal trade-offs between sectors. Qualitative analysis of the literature shows that these tradeoffs relate to the cumulative nature of many ecosystem impacts incurred by some sectors, and the differential power of ocean sectors to exert their rights or demands in the development of the ocean domain. There are also often time lags in how impacts manifest. The ocean governance landscape is not currently well-equipped to deal with the full range of trade-offs, and opportunities, likely to arise in the pursuit of a Blue Economy in a rapidly changing ocean context. Based on our analysis, we therefore propose a set principles that can begin to guide strategic decision-making, by identifying both tradeoffs and opportunities for sustainable and equitable development of ocean sectors.

Poleward Bound: Adapting to Climate-Driven Species Redistribution

J. Melbourne-Thomas, A. Audzijonyte, M. J. Brasier, K. Cresswell, H. E. Fogarty, M. Haward, A. J. Hobday, H. L. Hunt, S. C. Ling, P. C. McCormack, T. Mustonen, K. Mustonen, J. Nye, M. Oellermann, R. Trebilco, I. van Putten, C. Villanueva, R. A. Watson, G. T. Pecl, (2021). Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries,

Climate change, range shifts, species redistribution, global, future seas,

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11160-021-09641-3, http://www.ecomarres.com/downloads/Poleward.pdf

One of the most pronounced effects of climate change on the world’s oceans is the (generally) poleward movement of species and fishery stocks in response to increasing water temperatures. In some regions, such redistributions are already causing dramatic shifts in marine socioecological systems, profoundly altering ecosystem structure and function, challenging domestic and international fisheries, and impacting on human communities. Such effects are expected to become increasingly widespread as waters continue to warm and species ranges continue to shift. Actions taken over the coming decade (2021–2030) can help us adapt to species redistributions and minimise negative impacts on ecosystems and human communities, achieving a more sustainable future in the face of ecosystem change.We describe key drivers related to climate-driven species redistributions that are likely to have a high impact and influence on whether a sustainable future is achievable by 2030. We posit two different futures—a ‘business as usual’ future and a technically achievable and more sustainable future, aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. We then identify concrete actions that provide a pathway towards the more sustainable 2030 and that acknowledge and include Indigenous perspectives. Achieving this sustainable future will depend on improved monitoring and detection, and on adaptive, cooperative management to proactively respond to the challenge of species redistribution. We synthesise examples of such actions as the basis of a strategic approach to tackle this global-scale challenge for the benefit of humanity and ecosystems.

Revisiting ‘Reinventing Residual Reserves in the Sea: Are We Favouring Ease of Establishment over Need for Protection?’

R. Devillers, R. L. Pressey, A. Grech, J. N. Kittinger, G. J. Edgar, T. Ward, R. Watson, (2020). Aquatic Conservation 30, 1758–1764.

marine protected areas, mpa, residual reserves, global

10.1002/aqc.2445, http://www.ecomarres.com/downloads/RMPA2.pdf

As systems of marine protected areas (MPAs) expand globally, there is a risk that new MPAs will be biased toward places that are remote or unpromising for extractive activities, and hence follow the trend of terrestrial protected areas in being ‘residual’ to commercial uses. Such locations typically provide little protection to the species and ecosystems that are most exposed to threatening processes. 2. There are strong political motivations to establish residual reserves that minimize costs and conflicts with users of natural resources. These motivations will likely remain in place as long as success continues to be measured in terms of area (km2) protected. 3. The global pattern of MPAs was reviewed and appears to be residual, supported by a rapid growth of large, remote MPAs. The extent to which MPAs in Australia are residual nationally and also regionally within the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) Marine Park was also examined. 4. Nationally, the recently announced Australian Commonwealth marine reserves were found to be strongly residual, making almost no difference to ‘business as usual’ for most ocean uses. Underlying this result was the imperative to minimize costs, but without the spatial constraints of explicit quantitative objectives for representing bioregions or the range of ecological features in highly protected zones. 5. In contrast, the 2004 rezoning of the GBR was exemplary, and the potential for residual protection was limited by applying a systematic set of planning principles, such as representing a minimum percentage of finely subdivided bioregions. Nonetheless, even at this scale, protection was uneven between bioregions. Within bioregion heterogeneity might have led to no-take zones being established in areas unsuitable for trawling with a risk that species assemblages differ between areas protected and areas left available for trawling. 6. A simple four-step framework of questions for planners and policy makers is proposed to help reverse the emerging residual tendency of MPAs and maximize their effectiveness for conservation. This involves checks on the least-cost approach to establishing MPAs in order to avoid perverse outcomes.

Evolution of Global Marine Fishing Fleets and the Response of Fished Resources

Y. Rousseau, R. A. Watson , J. Blanchard, E. Fulton, (2019). PNAS,

fishing capacity; effort; cpue; artisanal; industrial

10.1073/pnas.1820344116, http://www.ecomarres.com/downloads/Yannick1.pdf

Previous reconstructions of marine fishing fleets have aggregated data without regard to the artisanal and industrial sectors. Engine power has often been estimated from subsets of the developed world, leading to inflated results. We disaggregated data into three sectors, artisanal (unpowered/powered) and industrial, and reconstructed the evolution of the fleet and its fishing effort. We found that the global fishing fleet doubled between 1950 and 2015—from 1.7 to 3.7 million vessels. This has been driven by substantial expansion of the motorized fleet, particularly, of the powered-artisanal fleet. By 2015, 68% of the global fishing fleet was motorized. Although the global fleet is dominated by small powered vessels under 50 kW, they contribute only 27% of the global engine power, which has increased from 25 to 145 GW (combined powered-artisanal and industrial fleets). Alongside an expansion of the fleets, the effective catch per unit of effort (CPUE) has consistently decreased since 1950, showing the increasing pressure of fisheries on ocean resources. The effective CPUE of most countries in 2015 was a fifth of its 1950s value,which was compared with a global decline in abundance. There are signs, however, of stabilization and more effective management in recent years, with a reduction in fleet sizes in developed countries. Based on historical patterns and allowing for the slowing rate of expansion, 1 million more motorized vessels could join the global fleet by midcentury as developing countries continue to transition away from subsistence fisheries, challenging sustainable use of fisheries’ resources.

Defining Global Artisanal Fisheries

Y. Rousseau, R. A. Watson , J. Blanchard, B. Fulton, (2019). Marine Policy 108, 103634.

artisanal; small-scale; global Fisheries

10.1016/j.marpol.2019.103634, http://www.ecomarres.com/downloads/Artisanal.pdf

While small-scale and artisanal fisheries are undeniably important globally, there is no global consensus on how to define the sectors, hindering comparative studies and international agreements. We focused on the usage of the words in both the scientific literature and legal documents and show that the confusion stems from a misuse of the terms artisanal, small-scale, coastal and subsistence, and is further propagated by language barriers. Accepting the complexity and subtleties of each term, we developed a simple method based on rhetoric and within a transdisciplinary background, which allows the ‘level’ of artisanal fisheries between nations to be parameterised and compared