Public Perceptions of Deep-Sea Environment: Evidence From Scotland and Norway

Abstract

Knowledge of people's understanding of environmental problems is vital for the effective implementation of the ecosystem approach to marine management. This is especially relevant when conservation goals are aimed at ecosystems in the deep-sea that are remote to the consciousness of most people. This study explores public perceptions of the deep-sea environment among the Scottish and Norwegian public. It further analyses the relationships between respondents' pro-environmental concerns toward the marine environment and personal characteristics using a multiple indicators multiple causes model. The results show that public knowledge of the deep-sea environment is low for Scottish and moderate for Norwegians. Awareness of cold-water corals was high for the Lofoten case study area amongst the Norwegian public and low for the Mingulay reef complex in the Scottish case. These differences might arise because Norway is known to host the world's largest cold-water corals in the Lofoten area; a fact that has been well-publicized. We find that most people think changes in the deep-sea have at least some effect on them. On average, the public perceive the deep-sea condition to be at most "fairly good" but are dissatisfied with the management of it with approximately only one third or less thinking it is well-managed. Generally, the public perception from both countries show ecocentric attitudes toward the marine environment implying that they recognize the value of ecosystem services, the current ecological crisis and the need for sustainable management.

Investigating societal attitudes toward marine ecosystem restoration

“…Despite relatively low awareness, there were high levels of support for restoration with 73% of Norwegians and 76% of Italians agreeing that once damaged at least a part of the ecosystem should be restored. While no direct comparisons are forthcoming from the literature, these levels of support compare favorably with studies that survey key stakeholder support for restoration and support among the general public for related marine conservation efforts (Ware & Callaway 2019;Ankamah-Yeboah et al 2020). Papadopoulou et al (2019) found 54% of Greek and 81% of European stakeholders support marine restoration.…”

“…As pointed out by Ankamah-Yeboah et al (2020), examining public environmental perceptions, and in this case attitudes toward marine ecosystem restoration, is a critical socioeconomic assessment tool for the success of any marine management program. Recognizing the public's current level of knowledge with regard to marine ecosystems and restoration can also assist in the development of educational tools and effective management policy that might influence behavior and in turn reduce future damages to marine ecosystems.…”

“…Implementing effective public participation and garnishing public support for ecosystem restoration first requires an understanding of the public's attitude toward the need for restoration and their knowledge of the multiple anthropogenic stressors on the marine environment (Crain et al 2009;Claudet & Fraschetti 2010). Several previous studies have examined public attitudes toward the marine environment (Potts et al 2011;Hynes et al 2014;Jacobs et al 2015;Lotze et al 2018;Ware & Callaway 2019;Ankamah-Yeboah et al 2020). Others have examined public attitudes to marine industrial activity and in particular to different forms of aquaculture and their perceived impacts on the marine environment (Whitmarsh & Palmieri 2009;Alexander et al 2016;Hynes et al 2019).…”

Tourist Preferences for Seamount Conservation in the Galapagos Marine Reserve

“…Thus our findings have relevance beyond the Galapagos as they give insights into the motivations people have to see the sustainable management of poorly known deep-sea ecosystems. Recent work shows members of the public in Norway and Scotland are supportive of deep-sea marine conservation, despite overall low levels of prior understanding (Ankamah-Yeboah et al, 2020). It is important that this public goodwill translates through national and international policy processes and those decisions are informed by the best available scientific information.…”

Casting a Wider Net on Ocean NETs

“…The ocean is often perceived as fragile and pristine (Hawkins et al, 2016;Cox et al, 2020b), and research finds that ocean NETs might be seen as overstepping the limits of human ability to understand and control the environment (Macnaghten et al, 2015;Wibeck et al, 2017;Gannon and Hulme, 2018). Research in Scotland and Norway found that people felt changes in the deep sea would personally impact them and they were not confident in the abilities of management to protect the marine environment (Ankamah-Yeboah et al, 2020). The concern people express about the ocean is commonly linked to a positive emotional connection with it (McMahan and Estes, 2015), shown to be important for perceptions of ocean acidification (Spence et al, 2018).…”