Recent evolution of fishery and land reclamation in Curonian and Lesina lagoons

Abstract

The evolution of fishery and land reclamation in Lesina (Italy) and Curonian (Lithuania/Russia) lagoons was analysed as an example of recent trends in European coastal lagoons. Social and political changes were considered, addressing resource exploitation and inherent impacts on ecosystems. In both lagoons, the mismanagement of the fish stock led to the depletion of fish resources and to the decline of commercial fishery. In parallel, vast wetland fringes were reclaimed and turned into intensively managed farmland, with a marked loss of aquatic-terrestrial ecotones. In the last decades, the annual fish yield fell to less than 40 kg ha -1 in the Lesina lagoon, where the fishermen dwindled to 40 units, mostly pensioners rounding off their income. Recently, in the Curonian lagoon, more than 100 small private fishing enterprises were licensed to fish. Overall, the landed catches were difficult to monitor, which resulted in a substantial uncontrolled landing of fish (up to 60% of the fish yield). Under these conditions, the sustainable exploitation of lagoons and their resources can be achieved through an integrated management of watershed and lagoons. The restoration of ecotones, marshes and floodplains and the preservation of semi-natural agricultural ecosystems have to be considered as priorities. Examples of such approach are provided by pilot programs, aiming at the commercial exploitation of the reed belts along the Curonian lagoon fringes. Reed harvesting would increase the acreage of important migration corridors and spawning habitats for fish, also providing an additional income to the local communities.

Characterizing and Monitoring Ground Settlement of Marine Reclamation Land of Xiamen New Airport, China with Sentinel-1 SAR Datasets

“…To alleviate pressure from dense populations, it is an important way to carry out marine reclamation land projects and expand urban space in coastal cities. Therefore, land reclamation activities have been performed in many countries around the world, including the USA [1], Singapore [2], the Netherlands [3], Japan [4], China [5], and other countries [6]. However, because land reclamation usually involves dumping uncompacted filling materials over unconsolidated marine sediments [7], the settlement process of reclamation foundation has become a problem of great public The function area of the airport mainly includes the flight area, the terminal area, and the supporting area, and the runway is about 3800 m in length [23].…”

Coastal Subsidence Monitoring Associated with Land Reclamation Using the Point Target Based SBAS-InSAR Method: A Case Study of Shenzhen, China

“…To promote urbanization and economic development, land reclamation [2] from the sea is a common practice for many countries in the world, such as USA [3], Japan [4], Italy [5], the Netherlands [6,7], and China [8][9][10].…”

A Bayesian approach to ecosystem service trade-off analysis utilizing expert knowledge

“…1). Generally, the lagoon's edges are predominantly covered by reed beds (Breber et al 2008;Gasiūnaitė et al 2008;Razinkovas-Baziukas et al 2016). The Curonian Lagoon is one of the several protected areas included into the ECOPOTENTIAL project (http://ecopo tenti al-proje ct.eu/2016-05-24-14-52-12/prote cted-areas /16curon ian-lagoo n) and is well known to tourists and locals alike for the natural aesthetic, cultural values, and environmental richness.…”

“…Reed beds, both in general and specifically in relation to the Curonian Lagoon, are known to provide valuable ESs which can be divided into two categories. The first category entails ESs linked to the continuous presence of reed beds including, but not limited to habitat provision (e.g., as key breeding habitat for birds and fishes), coastal protection/stabilization, biodiversity, and scenery (Mal and Narine 2004;Breber et al 2008;Iital et al 2012;Fogli et al 2014;ECO-POTENTIAL 2015;Razinkovas-Baziukas et al 2016). The second category encompasses ESs derived from utilizing reed as raw material: for agricultural use (e.g., fodder), as industrial material (e.g., thatching material), and for energy production (Breber et al 2008;Iital et al 2012;Köbbing et al 2013).…”

“…The Curonian Lagoon is also an area which is rich in fish stocks (Repečka 2003) and provides essential spawning, feeding, and nursery grounds for various fish species (Repečka 2003;Breber et al 2008;Iital et al 2012;Zolubas et al 2014). There is very little literature published on how exactly fish utilize reed belts as spawning grounds; particularly in the case of the Curonian Lagoon.…”