No abstract

No abstract

In the last decades, several targets for marine conservation were set to counter the effects of increasing fishing pressure, e.g., protecting 10% of the sea by 2020, and establishing large-scale marine protected areas (LSMPAs). Using the ‘reconstructed’ catch data for 1950 to 2018 made available by the Sea Around Us initiative, we show that the declaration of an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in 1983 by the U.S.A. and its protection by the U.S. Coast Guard had a much bigger impact on catches around the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands than the subsequent creation of a LSMPA. This is similar to Pitcairn Islands, a UK territory. Trends differed sharply in the Galapagos and New Caledonia, where neither their EEZ declaration nor the LSMPA (by Ecuador in 1988 and by France in 2014) stopped local fisheries from continuous expansion. Our results also demonstrate that in the studied multizone LSMPAs continued local fishing induces a ‘fishing down’ effect wherein the mean trophic level (TL) declined, especially in the Galapagos, by 0.1 TL per decade. Stakeholders’ responses to a short questionnaire and satellite imagery lent support to these results in that they documented substantial fishing operations and ‘fishing the line’ within and around multizone LSMPAs. In the case of EEZs around less populated or unpopulated islands, banning foreign fishing may reduce catch much more than a subsequent LSMPA declaration. This confirms that EEZs are a tool for coastal countries to protect their marine biodiversity and that allowing fishing in an MPA, while politically convenient, may result in ‘paper parks’ within which fishing can cause the same deleterious effects as in wholly unprotected areas.

Migrations of large pelagic fishes across the Pacific are usually inferred from tagging or genetic studies. Even though these techniques have improved over time, they still fail to demonstrate large transoceanic migrations, usually proposing ‘routes’ that do not cycle seasonally. The current study uses the concept of ‘philopatry’ in 11 large pelagic fish species, i.e., the tendency for animals to return to their natal site to reproduce. Tentative migration routes and maps emerge by applying this concept to the movements extracted through a comprehensive review of the literature on satellite and conventional tagging, and population and subpopulation linkages inferred from genetic and/or genomic studies. Moreover, when comparing these proposed migration routes and the mapped reconstructed catch (1950–2016, Sea Around Us) of each species in the Pacific, similarities emerge, reinforcing the accuracy of these migration cycles informed by philopatry. Finally, by superposing the migration routes of our 11 species, we identified areas of the Pacific that are part of the inferred migration routes of multiple species, leading to a discussion of possible ‘blue corridors’ that would protect the studied species’ key migration routes and stocks, which are important for the fisheries, culture and nutrition of Pacific islanders.

A cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is described for a novel wave energy converters (WEC) design based on a marine hybrid bio-structure—a combination of macroalgae, shellfish or other species on a built frame. The Bio-Oscillator design utilises a hard “skeleton” (e.g., carbon fibre, wood) on which biological organisms (e.g., shellfish, large macroalgae) are grown. As waves pass by, the load generated by the oscillating drag and inertia is transferred through mooring lines to power takeoff technology. This novel approach essentially reverses the typical marine engineering view that “bio-fouling is bad” and instead leverages off the added-drag of biological growth on structures. The approach results in a structure that is largely biodegradable, naturally self-replicating and synergistic with the background environment, self-de-risking in terms of failure impact and can leverage off its own form to enhance energy capture beyond a conventional design. This reduces impact while connecting with conventional marine industries such as aquaculture. A CBA examines the economic pros and cons of this approach, focusing on installation and material costs, along with benefits from synergistic production. The analysis suggests that in addition to typical wave energy obstacles (e.g., cable length, capture width, and power take off) the benefits (biodegradability, harvestability, and carbon reduction) of replacing much of the mass of the structure with living biological material can be included.

No abstract

New Zealand, home to 0.06% of the world’s population, contributed nearly 22% to the global dairy market in 2019. New Zealanders are twice as likely to fall ill from campylobacter as Britons, and three times more than Australians or Canadians. Half of New Zealand’s lakes are irreversibly damaged and two thirds of its rivers are too polluted to swim in.

No abstract