How wild is the ocean? Assessing the intensity of anthropogenic marine activities in British Columbia, Canada

Abstract

ABSTRACT1. The intensity of marine activities in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of British Columbia, Canada, was quantified.2. Humans use the ocean for a multitude of purposes, many of which have a direct impact on marine life and habitat. Yet such uses are seldom assessed in an integrated fashion.3. Using a GIS approach, spatial information for 39 marine activities was mapped, including commercial and recreational fishing areas, transportation and infrastructure uses, and terrestrial activities along the coast of British Columbia. 4. A relative scale was used to rank both the impact of marine activities and the extent of stressors beyond the location of occurrence. Limited information on the latter led to the application of three ranges of buffer distances to the data (0-1 km, 0-5 km, and 0-25 km).5. The most conservative estimate (41 km buffers) indicates at least 83% of the continental shelf and slope of British Columbia is currently being used by humans. The largest buffer assumption shows 98% of the continental shelf and slope being affected by stressors from anthropogenic activities.6. This analysis provides a baseline for assessing future changes in the state of British Columbia's marine environment, and could assist in identifying areas of conservation potential.

Predictions from machine learning ensembles: marine bird distribution and density on Canada’s Pacific coast

“…Huettmann & Diamond 2001, Yen et al 2004a, Oppel et al 2012). Canada's Pacific coast is subjected to significant anthropogenic pressures (Ban & Alder 2008, Clarke Murray et al 2015, many of which are projected to increase over time (e.g. climate change, IPCC 2014;shipping traffic, N uka RPG 2013).…”

“…On Canada's Pacific coast, such information is particularly relevant because the region is subject to often-intense anthropogenic pressures (e.g. Ban & Alder 2008, Ban et al 2010, Clarke Murray et al 2015 and because outstanding knowledge gaps regarding at-sea marine bird distribution and abundance persist (see Yen et al 2004a, Kenyon et al 2009). …”

L’évaluation des impacts cumulés dans l’estuaire et le golfe du Saint-Laurent : vers une planification systémique de l’exploitation des ressources

“…Ce constat est d'ailleurs supporté par la majorité des études similaires (p. ex. Ban et Alder, 2008;Ban et collab., 2010;Micheli et collab., 2013). Une mise à jour de l'évaluation initiale (Halpern et collab., 2015) a également démontré un accroissement des impacts cumulés entre 2008 et 2013 sur près de 60 % du globe.…”

Assumptions, challenges, and future directions in cumulative impact analysis

“…In response to this need, along with colleagues we developed a methodology and associated tools to quantify and map cumulative impacts, and applied them initially to marine systems globally (Halpern et al 2008b). The approach has now been applied, by us and others, in regional marine assessments (e.g., Ban and Alder 2008, Ban et al 2010, Foden et al 2011, Korpinen et al 2012, in global and regional freshwater systems (e.g., Vorosmarty et al 2010, Allan et al 2013, and has precedents in terrestrial systems (e.g., Sanderson et al 2002, Monfreda et al 2004). It has also been used to guide planning processes in many regions within Europe as part of the Maritime Framework Strategy Directive (EPC 2008), in Massachusetts, United States (MAEEA 2009) and others.…”