European Fisheries Reform

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By Emily Rose Nelson, RJD Intern

Overharvesting is a term known all too well to fisheries. Fish stocks are depleted internationally, subsequently resulting in ecosystem degradation as a whole. The European Union has been under a failing system of management for four decades. Due to insufficient scientific data, vague policies, and a general culture of non-compliance EU fisheries are in urgent need of reform. Three out of four stocks are overfished, 82% of stocks in the Mediterranean and 63% in the Atlantic. Formed in 1971, the European Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) has brought about minimal changes to European fisheries until recently. The European Commission published a much needed reform proposal in 2011 that brings hope for the sustainability of fisheries and the protection of marine biodiversity. The CFP plan of action presents a number of different strategies that have the opportunity to put EU fisheries back on track in the next ten years.

Atlantic Bluefin tuna have suffered major declines due to overfishing. Photo from WikiMedia commons

Maximum sustainable yield (MSY) has been thought of as the overall goal for fisheries management. This describes a situation where fish stocks are at optimal population size, maximizing their reproduction, thus allowing fishers to continually get the most from their harvests. In 2002, at the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development, a goal was set to return fish stocks to MSY producing levels by 2015. The European Commission is working toward this goal, recognizing the progress to come with MSY’s. EU fisheries management currently revolves around maintaining stocks at minimum levels to avoid collapse. MSY brings about the largely different idea of maximizing stocks for the long term.

Another radical concept the CFP suggests is a discard ban. Bycatch creates a major problem in fisheries when large percentages of what is caught ends up back in the ocean, but dead. In the past restrictions have been imposed on fishing techniques to reduce bycatch. However, more concerned about the economic value of their catch than possible sanctions, fisherman failed to accept these restrictions. The Commission has proposed a discard ban on all fisheries, the strongest incentive to reduce bycatch to date. This policy requires vessels to land and register their entire catch, which means including bycatch in their quotas. In order to give fisheries time to adjust, this new policy will be phased in species by species. However, this will not work at all unless it is monitored very closely, such as through cameras or onboard observers.

In addition, the introduction of transferable fishing concessions changes the ownership methods of fish stocks. Often times, when the quota is used up that fishery closes. This model can be described as a “race for resources.” Unaware of when the quota will be closed, fisherman try to get as much as they can as fast as they can. This often results in overexploitation and large amounts of bycatch. The Commission has proposed a solution to this problem, a system of transferable fishing concessions. Within this system specific areas of fishing will be distributed among eligible concession holders. They then own a “share” of the allowable catch; there is no rush to outcompete other fishers. With this system comes the opportunity to buy and sell fishing concessions. Some worry that this could lead to the elimination of small-scale industry, but the benefits of this system outweigh that concern. According to the Commission transferable fishing concessions have shown significant positive contributions to eliminating overcapacity and improving the fishing industry economically.

These are just some of the policies outlined in the Commission proposal for reform. If implemented in full it provides the potential to achieve the European Strategy Framework Directive of good environmental status in Europe’s marine environment by 2020. The Fisheries Council (decision making body) is working against the Commission to weaken the reform of the CFP. Throughout 2012 European Parliament and the Fisheries Council have debated the Commissions proposal. By 2013 the final, reformed CFP will be completed and placed into action. The application and consistent management of a sustainable European Common Fisheries Policy is the only way to protect the resources of European waters.

REFERENCES:

Salomon, Markus, and Karin Holm-Miller. “Towards a Sustainable Fisheries Policy in Europe.” Fish and Fisheries (2012).

“Reform of the Common Fisheries Policy.” European Commission. N.p., 19 Sept. 2012. Web. 19 Sept. 2012.

Is translocation a move in the right direction for conservation policy?

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by Evan Byrnes, RJ Dunlap Marine Conservation program intern

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature guidelines, “translocation” refers to a “deliberate and mediated movement of wild individuals or populations from one part of their range to another” . However, it often is used to describe movements outside of the natural range. These “planned invasions” are used for the purpose of augmenting game populations, resolving human-wildlife conflict, and conservation. It has been used to successfully conserve species like the Hawaiian Monk Seal, and attempted for various other species such as sea otters in Southern California. Although translocation has become a somewhat popular tool for conservation, it presents extremely high risks and there is some work showing it may not be viable.

Adding or removing a species from an ecosystem can erode the biodiversity, and the ecosystem is disrupted. With biodiversity changed and fundamental process can be altered, such as nutrient cycling, primary and secondary production, and the hydrology. These impacts and their intensity can be very difficult to predict and can cause for entire ecosystems to crash. For example a North American freshwater shrimp was introduced in Flathead Lake in Montana to enhance the diet of a salmon, but due to the shrimps nocturnal nature they were inaccessible to the salmon. They resided in the dark depths in cracks in the lakebed during the day and fed at night. Instead of supplementing the salmons, diet they ultimately became the salmons’ major food competitors and caused the salmon to die of starvation . Without enough research the species ended up causing unintended problems. Such examples where native species are extirpated and food webs are disrupted are common.

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Conservation research: The cost of rebuilding fisheries

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by Laurel Zaima, RJD intern

The depletion of fish stocks is a direct result from human’s impact on the ocean. Overexploitation, pollution, and habitat loss are the driving forces behind this problem. Data indicates that the overall rate of fishing is inclining, the condition of global fisheries is declining, and the socio-economic benefit of fishing is being compromised. The fisheries are receiving extra pressure to increase their catch despite the fisheries and management policies that are being applied by coastal States. The 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) tried to create a solution for this problem. The WSSD has set a target for fisheries in order to maintain and restore the stocks to a maximum sustainable yield (MSY) by 2015.

A bio-economic model was created with the intentions estimating the ultimate benefits for both the economy and the biodiversity of the ocean. The results indicate that the global fishing capacity needs to be cut by 36-46% from 2008 level. The negative effects of this cut included the loss of employment for 12-15 million fishers and costing the United States $96-358 billion for buy backs. On the other hand, the positive effects includes an increase in the annual fishery production $ 16.5 million tones, annual rent by US $32 billion and improvement of the biodiversity of the marine ecosystem. Unfortunately, the rebuilding of stocks has been delayed because many people are unwilling to accept the short-term socio-economic consequences that occur in order to restore the fish stocks.

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Coral reef restoration through coral gardening

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by Christina Vilmar, Marine Conservation Biology student

Many environmental and anthropogenic stressors have caused a worldwide decline in coral coverage. In the Caribbean, Acropora has experienced declines of 80-90% since the late 1980s, which decreases diversity, complexity, ecosystem function and economic services of the reefs.

A. palmata and A. cervicornis are listed as critically endangered by the IUCN Red List since 2008. Recently, coral gardening has been gaining attention as an effective tool for reef restoration to enhance natural coral recovery and rehabilitate degraded reefs. Coral gardening is the process of collecting coral biomass (generally by breaking off fragments), growing fragments in a nursery, and outplanting the reared corals on reefs. The goal is to create sexually reproductive colonies to promote recovery.

Photo from Johnson et al. 2011. Caribbean Acropora Restoration Guide.

Collection of fragments does not significantly damage the donor and pruning can actually increase coral productivity. Transplantation projects worldwide are seeing survival and growth of outplants as well as natural recruits in areas with active restoration and sediment stabilization.

Despite the positive outcomes of current coral nursery projects and studies, it is important to remember that successful restoration cannot take place without effective management and removal of threats that caused the destruction. Coral restoration can help mitigate damage, but policy and enforcement are needed to reduce our negative impacts. Preservation of the natural habitat is the best choice, but coral gardening is a viable way to help repair the damage we have caused and aid in the recovery of coral reefs.

ResearchBlogging.org

Lirman, D., Thyberg, T., Herlan, J., Hill, C., Young-Lahiff, C., Schopmeyer, S., Huntington, B., Santos, R., & Drury, C. (2010). Propagation of the threatened staghorn coral Acropora cervicornis: methods to minimize the impacts of fragment collection and maximize production Coral Reefs, 29 (3), 729-735 DOI: 10.1007/s00338-010-0621-6

Rinkevich, B. (2008). Management of coral reefs: We have gone wrong when neglecting active reef restoration Marine Pollution Bulletin, 56 (11), 1821-1824 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2008.08.014

Conservation research: Recovery of salt marshes after the BP oil spill

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by Evan Byrnes, RJD intern

Oil spill damage has been a hot area of interest, especially since the BP Deepwater Horizon Spill in 2010. This is because oil spills can affect flora and fauna for generations, especially in coastal wetlands where decomposition is slow due to the low energy and anoxic environment. Coastal wetlands are very important habitats. They are commonly used for reproduction by various organisms, provide protection from shoreline erosion, regulate gasses and nutrients, support fishery and ecotourism industries, and much more.

Figure 1 from McCall and Pennings 2012, showing “typical conditions at oiled sites”

Coastal wetlands are a predominant habitat in the Gulf of Mexico, yet over 3000 production platforms are active in the Gulf. This brings about major concern for potential damage to these crucial habitats. Therefore many laboratory studies have been completed studying the damage done by oil spills. However, laboratory studies have not proved pertinent because they cannot duplicate the effect of natural wave and tidal action and normally have short durations. For these reasons, McCall and Pennings took it upon themselves to conduct a field study following the BP Deepwater Horizon Spill studying the effect with natural conditions and over a longer period of time.

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Sea Invaders: Lionfish

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by Catherine MacDonald, RJD student

Sea Invaders

Anyone living in South Florida is familiar with the issue of invasive species—particularly the invasion of the Everglades by the African Rock Python (P. sebae) and the Indian Python (P. molurus) and the presence in the Florida Keys of large numbers of non-native Green or Common Iguanas (Iguana Iguana).

What you may not know, however, is that invasive marine species are also a big problem. Recent estimates by NOAA suggest that the total cost of invasive species to the U.S. economy is as much as $137 billion per year. Baltz (1991) provides a review of non-native marine fish introductions, reporting that well over 100 species have staged “invasions” worldwide, many as a result of ballast water releases in shipping, canal construction, or intentional transplantation for “fishery enhancement”. According to the U.S. Geological Survey’s Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database, in the last 100 years more than 68 non-native species have been introduced just in Florida, the Caribbean, and the Gulf of Mexico. Once established, even intensive campaigns have failed to successfully eradicate invaders like the European Green Crab (Carcinus maenas) on the U.S. Pacific coast or a variety of ornamental fish including Siamese Fighting Fish (Betta Splendens) and the Yellow Tang (Zebrasoma flavescens) in the rivers and oceans of South Florida.

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RJD Facebook timeline cover photos

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The RJD team is pleased to share a series of shark research photos formatted for Facebook timeline cover photos. Feel free to use them and share them with friends! Let us know what you think of these photos in the comments section.

 

 

 

 

 

A sea of unanswered questions about humboldt squid

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by Virginia Ansaldi, RJ Dunlap Marine Conservation Program lab manager

Magen Schifiliti holds up one of the Humboldt squid from Buttonshell beach for a picture. Photo courtesy Magen Schifiliti.

A year ago, I moved out to California to take a job on Catalina Island as an outdoor educator. I worked through the spring and summer, but then my love affair with the island was brought to an end, as I was to attend graduate school back in Miami at the start of fall.

Shortly after leaving the island, my friends there told me that a bizarre amount of Humboldt squid had washed up on the shores of the camp’s cove. Enthralled with pictures of these sci-fi looking creatures, I decided to find out just why so many of them had come to rest on Buttonshell beach.

Dosidicus gigas, also known as the jumbo flying squid or the Humboldt squid (from its prevalence in the Humboldt current), has a historical range from Chile to Baja California. It is occasionally found as north as San Francisco, but never in large numbers or over an extended amount of time, according to a publication  titled “Humboldt Squid Migrating to California Waters,”. Video and data collected from 1989 to 2007 by Bruce Robison, and others from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute were reviewed to study changes in abundance of the Humboldt squid.

PhD Louis Zeidberg of Stanford declared no observation of Humboldt squid in the remote operated vehicle (ROV) cameras from 1989 to 1997. However, in 1997 a number of the squid were counted. The scientists realized that the sighting coincided with an intrusion of warm water into the bay from a strong El Nino event that year.

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Biscayne National Park’s Coral Nursery Club: working to protect Florida’s coral reefs

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by Jonathan Dorsey, RJ Dunlap Marine Conservation Program intern

Coral transplanted into Biscayne National Park reefs

Biscayne National Park on the southeastern tip of Florida is 95% underwater. The bay consists of many types of coral species that may be in harm’s way. While these delicate reef structures struggle with warming waters, disease, and physical assaults from boaters, divers, and anglers, volunteers at the park are working to preserve them by designing coral nurseries.

The Coral Nursery Club was founded by the park rangers of Biscayne National Park in 1993. This is a non-profit organization that has three goals in mind: 1) To rescue coral fragments resulting from inadvertent vessel groundings in Park waters, 2) To develop and maintain a supply of natural coral colonies with a diversity that reflects natural conditions in the Park, and 3) To provide a platform for community volunteers to participate and learn the intricacies of coral reef management and restoration.

When the rangers hear of a boat grounding that took place in the bay, they take volunteers to go scavenge the reef for scraps for coral that were broken off or damaged. Using special adhesives, the rangers glue these coral fragments onto small spokes and further places into a long row underneath the dock at Adam’s Key. Then to monitor, the rangers take more volunteers out to photographing the collected samples, checking for growth and rejuvenation. By comparing these new pictures to the old ones, researchers are able to calculate the polyp growth rate and they take note of seasonal variances.

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The pros and cons of shark ecotourism

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By Stephanie Crawford, Marine Conservation Biology student

Ecotourism is one of the fastest growing sectors in the tourism industry. It encourages locals to utilize natural resources in a sustainable manner and can promote conservation.  Ecotourism enables people to interact with marine life for money, which is economically important for countries. One strategy for reducing the harvest of vulnerable populations is to use ecotourism to generate revenue from live sharks to help deter population declines. Shark diving can be found in 29 countries, with new destination and target species being established due to the recognition of the economic potential.

Shark ecotourism is popular and controversial – there has been debate based on the risks to human safety, such as associating food with humans, and perceptions of behavioral shifts. Shark diving has local economic benefits and encourages conservation by creating public awareness, but it is argued that ecotourism also has the potential to affect species by altering their natural behavior. Studies have shown that shark diving can have behavioral and ecological impacts on sharks. It is important to assess the impacts of shark ecotourism has on their natural behavior and to determine if it is detrimental to their health.

There have been studies done on the feeding behaviors, depth differences, abundance and habitat use on various species of sharks to see if shark diving has negative impacts on the health and ecology of sharks. There is still limited information on how provisioning sharks in general affects the natural behavior and health of individual sharks. The strong economic incentive to maintain, or even promote, shark related tourism may outweigh the perceived negative effects of provisioning on sharks, especially since there is a lack of strong evidence showing such effects. Studies have shown that it has not been possible yet to determine whether tourism significantly affects sharks health or long-term behavior and further research needs to be done.

ResearchBlogging.org

Orams, M. (2002). Feeding wildlife as a tourism attraction: a review of issues and impacts Tourism Management, 23 (3), 281-293 DOI: 10.1016/S0261-5177(01)00080-2

Maljković, A., & Côté, I. (2011). Effects of tourism-related provisioning on the trophic signatures and movement patterns of an apex predator, the Caribbean reef shark Biological Conservation, 144 (2), 859-865 DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2010.11.019

Fitzpatrick, R., Abrantes, K., Seymour, J., & Barnett, A. (2011). Variation in depth of whitetip reef sharks: does provisioning ecotourism change their behaviour? Coral Reefs, 30 (3), 569-577 DOI: 10.1007/s00338-011-0769-8