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This decade represents a critical period to profoundly rethink human–nature interactions in order to address the interwoven climate and biodiversity crises. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) demonstrate promise for increasing ecosystem resilience and reversing habitat and population declines, but outcomes vary considerably from context to context. Partially protected areas offer a compromise between ecological recovery and the social needs of local communities, but their success is contingent on an array of factors. This in-depth review summarizes 15 years of marine conservation research and impact in Lyme Bay (southwest UK), to serve as a model for the future adoption of partially protected MPAs. The findings from the UK's longest integrated socioecological monitoring MPA study are presented and supplemented by an evaluation of the whole-site management approach as a core element of Lyme Bay's achievements. The journey from research to improved monitoring and ambitious policy is illustrated within and interspersed with stories of novel discoveries, ongoing challenges, and method developments. What started as a dedicated group of community members has grown into an immense collaboration between fishers, scientists, NGOs, and regulators, and their combined efforts have sent ripple effects of positive change across the globe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inaugural Computer Vision for Marine Scientists workshop was held at the 17th South African Marine Science Symposium, with the primary goal of establishing a community of practice for computer vision (CV) in marine sciences in South Africa. The one-day hybrid event, attended by 97 people, covered the principles of artificial intelligence (AI) techniques required for evaluating video and photographic imagery through presentations, practical demonstrations and interactive discussions. The recordings of the workshop sessions are available online, providing an opportunity to reach marine researchers both regionally and globally. The workshop highlighted that many scientists have begun to incorporate CV and AI into their research activities; however, there is little national coordination and the extent of research is lagging behind international trends. To support image-based AI research in South Africa, it is critical to maintain and expand the network established during the workshop. This would enable a more collaborative and successful approach to incorporating CV technology in the country's marine research initiatives, ultimately leading to ground-breaking discoveries and advancements in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

C. pagurus and H. gammarus are deemed to be declining in abundance in the Berwickshire Marine Reserve from personal communications with local inshore fishers. Fisheries data in the form of catch per unit effort (CPUE) were collected for these two commercially important decapods. Other explanatory variables from fishing activity such as the creel and bait type used, the soak time of the fishing gear, and deployment depth were recorded to provide as much detail as possible to describe the effort applied to catch these decapod species. In this study, CPUE was higher for H. gammarus and C. pagurus outside the Berwickshire Marine Reserve. General additive models (GAMs) were used to describe the effects of the explanatory variables and showed that soak time (days) and depth (m) significantly affected CPUE for C. pagurus, not H. gammarus. Sea temperature (°C) showed a negative correlation with the CPUE of both H. gammarus and C. pagurus; however, a positive correlation was found with the number of C. pagurus caught. The data collected in this study provide a foundation in understanding the current abundance of C. pagurus and H. gammarus in a voluntary marine reserve on the east coast of Scotland, which can be used to inform future changes in fisheries management in Berwickshire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is an insight into the spatial use and economic performance of a fishery and linked fisher wellbeing across economic, social and health domains over a 12-year timescale pre- and post-Marine Protected Area (MPA) designation. Since the MPA designation, there has been an increase in vessels using static gear inside and outside the MPA, with a significant positive trend for vessels using static gear inside the MPA. Over time, static gear landings have decreased by 110 kg per vessel per month, although there has been a significant positive trend over time in value (landings of £1,452 per vessel per month), linked to catches of high value species such as lobster, which are associated with the reef ecosystem. Fishing activity providing high volume (weight) and value landings from vessels using mobile demersal gears within the MPA ceased in July 2008. Mobile demersal gear fishing effort has since increased significantly outside the MPA. The value of mobile demersal gear landings in 2017 are comparable to fishing activity prior to the MPA designation, but has not reached the peak landings values of 2008 when the MPA was designated. Fishers predominantly using mobile demersal gear report lower subjective wellbeing and material losses. Static gear fishers report higher levels of subjective wellbeing over time compared to their mobile demersal gear counterparts. Positive subjective wellbeing is pronounced when the fishers are involved with an independent working group. Sustainability across ecological, social and economic systems requires an integrated rather than sequential approach to fisheries management and marine conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]