Search

This article is a reflection on the author's recognition for their contributions to utilizing economics in the sustainable management of environmental resources. The author discusses the importance of breaking down disciplinary silos in fisheries science and emphasizes the need for interdisciplinary collaboration, ethical engagement, and global jurisdiction in addressing environmental challenges. The author also highlights their work in interdisciplinary oceans and fisheries economics, including their role as Project Director of the OceanCanada Partnership, which aims to foster resilient and sustainable oceans along Canada's coasts. The article concludes with a call for responsible resource extraction and the preservation of the ocean's ecosystem for future generations. [Extracted from the article]

Oxygen is crucial for the survival of marine species. Yet, the ocean has experienced a loss of approximately 2% of its oxygen inventory since the last century, resulting in adverse impacts on marine life and ecosystems. In particular, changes in the gap between the supply and demand for dissolved oxygen lead to physiological and ecological variations, which cause alterations in habitats and food webs for fish and ecosystem services. These changes vary over time and by region, and the heterogeneous characteristics of marine species bring about non-linear consequences to human society. Despite this, identifying the potential ripple effects of deoxygenation on human society is challenging due to the integrated impacts of other stressors, such as global warming and ocean acidification, and their varying changes depending on environmental conditions and regions, such as upwelling and eutrophication. Therefore, we conducted a literature review on ocean deoxygenation and its effects on fish dynamics and the ecosystem, with a focus on the environmental and societal impact, to present crucial considerations and pathways for future research on ocean deoxygenation. We found that quantitative approaches are necessary to assess the dynamic changes under deoxygenation, and the consequent effects on marine ecosystems should be verified to exploit the natural resources from the ocean. One of the most reliable approaches to quantifying the ripple impacts of deoxygenation is to model spatial and temporal changes with other climate stressors, forming a global network encompassing socio-economic and regional effects of this global change to facilitate and improve capabilities to address the impacts of ocean deoxygenation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article calls on the World Trade Organization (WTO) to eliminate harmful fisheries subsidies to curb overfishing, biodiversity degradation and loss, and carbon dioxide emissions. Fisheries subsidies that cause harm include those that lower the cost of fuel and vessel construction, those that provide price support to keep market prices artificially high, and those provided to distant-water fishing fleets.

Molluscan mariculture has become increasingly common in coastal areas of China with production accounting for ∼69% of Chinese total mariculture production. In other international locations, however, a possible underutilization of molluscan mariculture may result from hesitancy based on initial environmental impacts. This study investigated the dynamic relationship between the molluscan mariculture industry (MMI) development and environmental quality (solid waste production, total wastewater emissions, and sulfur dioxide emissions) at the meso level. Their relationship trend followed that described by the environmental Kuznets curve theory in ∼78% of the areas, and ∼89% of the areas were in a coupled coordination state in most periods. This implied that the healthy development of the MMI can reduce environmental stress. These results should help to alleviate the negative perceptions of some researchers and the public regarding mariculture operation. The findings suggest that China, given its substantial contribution to global blue growth, should further support sustainable molluscan production by developing new strategies and policies and reducing potential negative impacts of mariculture on the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mariculture development has contributed to improving global food and nutrition security. This commentary reviews the importance of blue growth and the potential for aquaculture to fill the nutritional gap left by wild fisheries. On this basis, Chinese mariculture development was analyzed, focusing on five representative large-scale aquaculture practices over the past 60 years. The Chinese mariculture industry has moved from an extensive and low-efficiency development stage to an intensive and high-efficiency development stage; however, the development of the industry has been characterized by environmental and economic over-farming. From a policy perspective, to circumvent these two types of over-farming, more policies and actions by both the public sector and stakeholders are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Overfishing is the most significant threat facing sharks and rays. Given the growth in consumption of seafood, combined with the compounding effects of habitat loss, climate change, and pollution, there is a need to identify recovery paths, particularly in poorly managed and poorly monitored fisheries. Here, we document conservation through fisheries management success for 11 coastal sharks in US waters by comparing population trends through a Bayesian state-space model before and after the implementation of the 1993 Fisheries Management Plan for Sharks. We took advantage of the spatial and temporal gradients in fishing exposure and fisheries management in the Western Atlantic to analyze the effect on the Red List status of all 26 wide-ranging coastal sharks and rays. We show that extinction risk was greater where fishing pressure was higher, but this was offset by the strength of management engagement (indicated by strength of National and Regional Plan of Action for sharks and rays). The regional Red List Index (which tracks changes in extinction risk through time) declined in all regions until the 1980s but then improved in the North and Central Atlantic such that the average extinction risk is currently half that in the Southwest. Many sharks and rays are wide ranging, and successful fisheries management in one country can be undone by poorly regulated or unregulated fishing elsewhere. Our study underscores that well-enforced, science-based management of carefully monitored fisheries can achieve conservation success, even for slow-growing species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accounts of fishing conflicts have been rising globally, particularly between small-scale and industrial vessels. These conflicts involve verbal or physical altercations, and may include destruction of boats, assault, kidnapping, and murder. Current scholarship around industrial/small-scale fishing conflicts theorizes them as a form of resource conflict, where fish scarcity is the dominant contributor to conflict and competition. Alternatively, conflicts may be driven by spatial competition, concentrating where there are increased encounters, unrelated to resource status. Current policies to address these conflicts focus on enforcing the separation of small-scale and industrial vessels; however, this broad spatial separation has yet to be evaluated for deterring conflicts. Here we employ a novel spatial analysis to estimate the locations of industrial/small-scale conflicts at sea in Ghana, West Africa. Using data from narrative reports over the period of 1985 to 2014, we combine qualitative information on depth and shoreline indicators to analyze conflict locations. We find virtually all expected conflict locations (98%) occurred within the zone meant to exclude industrial vessels, and conflicts concentrated primarily around major ports. Our results suggest conflicts are likely more related to spatial patterns of vessel presence than patterns of resource use. These findings suggest a critical need for evidence-based and contextual information on the drivers of fisheries conflicts, rather than continued reliance on assumptions of resource scarcity. They also suggest that nuanced policies that reduce vessel encounter and clarify exclusive spatial rights may be more important in responding to these conflicts than approaches designed to broadly separate fleets or increase fish stocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rebuilding overexploited marine populations is an important step to achieve the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 14—Life Below Water. Mitigating major human pressures is required to achieve rebuilding goals. Climate change is one such key pressure, impacting fish and invertebrate populations by changing their biomass and biogeography. Here, combining projection from a dynamic bioclimate envelope model with published estimates of status of exploited populations from a catch‐based analysis, we analyze the effects of different global warming and fishing levels on biomass rebuilding for the exploited species in 226 marine ecoregions of the world. Fifty three percent (121) of the marine ecoregions have significant (at 5% level) relationship between biomass and global warming level. Without climate change and under a target fishing mortality rate relative to the level required for maximum sustainable yield of 0.75, we project biomass rebuilding of 1.7–2.7 times (interquartile range) of current (average 2014–2018) levels across marine ecoregions. When global warming level is at 1.5 and 2.6°C, respectively, such biomass rebuilding drops to 1.4–2.0 and 1.1–1.5 times of current levels, with 10% and 25% of the ecoregions showing no biomass rebuilding, respectively. Marine ecoregions where biomass rebuilding is largely impacted by climate change are in West Africa, the Indo‐Pacific, the central and south Pacific, and the Eastern Tropical Pacific. Coastal communities in these ecoregions are highly dependent on fisheries for livelihoods and nutrition security. Lowering the targeted fishing level and keeping global warming below 1.5°C are projected to enable more climate‐sensitive ecoregions to rebuild biomass. However, our findings also underscore the need to resolve trade‐offs between climate‐resilient biomass rebuilding and the high near‐term demand for seafood to support the well‐being of coastal communities across the tropics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ocean warming and deoxygenation are already modifying the habitats of many aerobic organisms. Benthic habitat in the Northeast Pacific is sensitive to deoxygenation, as low oxygen concentrations occur naturally in continental shelf bottom waters. Here, we examine the potential impacts of deoxygenation and ocean warming on the habitat distribution of Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis), one of the most commercially important groundfish in North America. We combine fisheries‐independent Pacific halibut survey data (1998–2020) with oceanographic measurements and a regional ocean circulation model to investigate current and future (end of 21st century) influences of deoxygenation and warming on optimal Pacific halibut habitat. We use the observations and model output to derive a metabolic index of Pacific halibut‐specific suitable habitat. Our results show high Pacific halibut counts in regions where the metabolic index is greatest and demonstrate that interannual variability in Pacific halibut abundance is coherent with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. Working with model projections, we examine potential future changes in suitable Pacific halibut habitat by the end of the century under a high carbon dioxide emissions scenario. These projections indicate that suitable Pacific halibut habitat may largely disappear off the coast of Washington state, retreating approximately 5° latitude northward. In bottom waters along coastal British Columbia and Alaska continental shelf, Pacific halibut habitat is projected to decrease by about 50%. Such habitat changes may potentially drive a northward shift in Pacific halibut, with significant implications for commercial fisheries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The magnitude of subsidies provided to the fishing sector by governments worldwide is immense—an estimated $35.4 billion USD per year. The majority of these subsidies may be impeding efforts to sustainably manage fisheries by incentivizing overfishing and overcapacity. Recognizing the threat these subsidies pose, the World Trade Organization has set a goal of reaching an agreement that would end fisheries subsidies that contribute to overcapacity, overfishing, and illegal fishing. However, negotiations have been hampered by uncertainty around the likely effects of reforming these subsidies. Here we present a novel method for translating a bioeconomic model into an interactive online decision support tool that draws upon real-world data on fisheries subsidies and industrial fishing activity so users can directly compare the relative ambition levels of different subsidy reform options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is shifting the distribution of shared fish stocks between neighboring countries' Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) and the high seas. The timescale of these transboundary shifts determines how climate change will affect international fisheries governance. Here, we explore this timescale by coupling a large ensemble simulation of an Earth system model under a high emission climate change scenario to a dynamic population model. We show that by 2030, 23% of transboundary stocks will have shifted and 78% of the world's EEZs will have experienced at least one shifting stock. By the end of this century, projections show a total of 45% of stocks shifting globally and 81% of EEZs waters with at least one shifting stock. The magnitude of such shifts is reflected in changes in catch proportion between EEZs sharing a transboundary stock. By 2030, global EEZs are projected to experience an average change of 59% in catch proportion of transboundary stocks. Many countries that are highly dependent on fisheries for livelihood and food security emerge as hotspots for transboundary shifts. These hotspots are characterized by early shifts in the distribution of an important number of transboundary stocks. Existing international fisheries agreements need to be assessed for their capacity to address the social–ecological implications of climate‐change‐driven transboundary shifts. Some of these agreements will need to be adjusted to limit potential conflict between the parties of interest. Meanwhile, new agreements will need to be anticipatory and consider these concerns and their associated uncertainties to be resilient to global change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fish from marine and inland capture fisheries is an important food that contributes significantly to diets and health, but their contribution is somewhat overlooked in food security and poverty‐related policies. Given the current numbers of malnourished people globally, there is a pressing need to consider how to better realize the potential of fish in food systems that can address malnourishment. To do so, we re‐examine the fisheries literature from the perspective of food systems. Starting with nutritional needs and considering how these may be met through local food systems reveals an ongoing transformation that has implications for small‐scale fisheries, as increasingly become part of globalized food systems. We describe the factors that can change the nature of production, mediate access to fish and the distribution of benefits that can lead to impoverishment. This emphasizes the governance challenges that lie at the heart of complex, contested and increasingly globalized food systems, in which actors interact to shape the systems, determining who benefits and how. We draw attention to critical issues of access, power and the values and norms that underpin efforts to manage and transform fisheries, exposing the unequal struggle to secure access that small‐scale fishers and poor people must endure. We suggest a vital challenge for fisheries management is to engage with this struggle and develop policies and management measures that would enable fisheries to make positive contributions to food systems and nutritional security, while meeting global sustainable development objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the discussion on climate change and fishing presenting dual threats. Topics include important to the homeostasis of the Earth system exhibiting distinctive marine biodiversity and having tremendous scientific impact; and climate regulation and oxygen production through the primary production of seasonal phytoplankton blooms.

Arctic sea ice loss has direct consequences for predators. Climate‐driven distribution shifts of native and invasive prey species may exacerbate these consequences. We assessed potential changes by modelling the prey base of a widely distributed Arctic predator (ringed seal; Pusa hispida) in a sentinel area for change (Hudson Bay) under high‐ and low‐greenhouse gas emission scenarios from 1950 to 2100. All changes were relatively negligible under the low‐emission scenario, but under the high‐emission scenario, we projected a 50% decline in the abundance of the well‐distributed, ice‐adapted and energy‐rich Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) and an increase in the abundance of smaller temperate‐associated fish in southern and coastal areas. Furthermore, our model predicted that all fish species declined in mean body size, but a 29% increase in total prey biomass. Declines in energy‐rich prey and restrictions in their spatial range are likely to have cascading effects on Arctic predators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective fisheries management is necessary for the long‐term sustainability of fisheries and the economic benefits that they provide, but focusing only on ecological sustainability risks disregarding ultimate goals related to well‐being that must be achieved through broader social policy. An analysis of global landings data shows that average fishing wages in 36%–67% of countries, home to 69%–95% of fishers worldwide, are likely below their nationally determined minimum living wage (which accounts for costs of food, shelter, clothing, health and education). Furthermore, even if all fisheries in every country were perfectly managed to achieve their Maximum Sustainable Yield, a common sustainability target, average incomes of fishers in up to 49 countries—70% of fishers worldwide—would still not meet minimum living wages. Access to decent work and livelihoods are fundamental human rights, including for all fisherfolk around the world, and strategies to support their well‐being must therefore integrate a much wider set of perspectives, disciplines and institutions. Key first steps for fisheries researchers are to more fully recognize and estimate fisheries benefits to households—including income from women and/or alternative employment, unreported landings, or shadow values of subsistence catch—and to help identify and learn from economic equity outcomes in rebuilt fisheries around the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are globally underfunded. We present a five-step framework that can help practitioners prioritize actions that may improve financial sustainability, which was applied to six MPAs in Colombia, Bonaire, and Belize. Limited funds were found to directly undermine effectiveness towards conservation goals for five sites, with these impacts particularly significant for four. Annual budgets required increases from 6 % to 141 % to meet financial needs. Two sites had significant underlying weaknesses in their financial strategies that could lead to direct impacts if not addressed, with an additional three sites having more minor, but still observable, weaknesses in this manner. Staff salaries were the largest expense for all MPAs examined and also most frequently in need of additional funds. Opportunities to potentially eliminate these funding gaps were identified for all six MPAs through reallocating existing resources (n = 2), improving in-place mechanisms (n = 6), or implementing one or more alternative mechanisms (n = 6). Among several findings, some MPAs had the potential to increase tourism-based income by several million dollars per year, which would well exceed local financial requirements and could have substantial financial benefits on a network-wide scale. Some MPAs, including those with lower budgets, effectively leveraged partnerships and inter-institutional coordination to expand management capacity. Among alternative mechanisms that could be implemented, opportunities to leverage private-sector investments were especially common. Other MPAs around the world could likewise improve financial sustainability through analysis, evaluation, and execution of the full suite of options described herein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2017, more than 15,000 scientists from 184 countries signed a second warning letter to humanity to caution against our continued wholesale destruction of global ecosystems (Ripple et al., 2017). Here, we reaffirm their message with a similar warning specifically focused on the ocean: humanity must immediately and significantly alter our harmful trajectory in order to avoid irrevocably damaging our oceans in multiple ways that will further affect ocean health for both us and future generations. The ocean is the world's largest realm, housing an astonishing array of biodiversity that provides critical ecological functions that ultimately support life on Earth. In this paper, we outline some of the significant ongoing and imminent activities that degrade ocean health, including destructive fishing practices, oil and natural gas extraction, seabed mining, coastal development, shipping, pollution, and greenhouse-gas emissions. We end by offering potential avenues to mitigate these impacts, including the cessation of particularly harmful activities, restoration of damaged habitats, strong protection of key and representative ecosystems, reduction in waste and emissions, and global policy shifts that prioritize ecosystem health. • The ocean hosts a vast array of biodiversity that supports all life on Earth. • Ocean health is severely threatened by a large number of anthropogenic stressors. • Humanity must take immediate, transformative action to safeguard our ocean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Food system transformation is urgent, requiring rigorous, science-based monitoring to guide public and private decisions and support those who hold decision-makers to account. • Monitoring the whole of food systems and the interactions between their components is essential to support the immediate course corrections required to meet global sustainable development goals. • A food systems framework is proposed to define the architecture for a comprehensive monitoring agenda covering five thematic areas and their component indicator domains. • An inclusive process is called for that would select and track indicators for analysis of food systems performance and accountability. Food systems that support healthy diets in sustainable, resilient, just, and equitable ways can engender progress in eradicating poverty and malnutrition; protecting human rights; and restoring natural resources. Food system activities have contributed to great gains for humanity but have also led to significant challenges, including hunger, poor diet quality, inequity, and threats to nature. While it is recognized that food systems are central to multiple global commitments and goals, including the Sustainable Development Goals, current trajectories are not aligned to meet these objectives. As mounting crises further stress food systems, the consequences of inaction are clear. The goal of food system transformation is to generate a future where all people have access to healthy diets, which are produced in sustainable and resilient ways that restore nature and deliver just, equitable livelihoods. A rigorous, science-based monitoring framework can support evidence-based policymaking and the work of those who hold key actors accountable in this transformation process. Monitoring can illustrate current performance, facilitate comparisons across geographies and over time, and track progress. We propose a framework centered around five thematic areas related to (1) diets, nutrition, and health; (2) environment and climate; and (3) livelihoods, poverty, and equity; (4) governance; and (5) resilience and sustainability. We hope to call attention to the need to monitor food systems globally to inform decisions and support accountability for better governance of food systems as part of the transformation process. Transformation is possible in the next decade, but rigorous evidence is needed in the countdown to the 2030 SDG global goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]