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The intensification of coastal development poses potential threats for coastal seabirds, and understanding their habitat use is a key factor to guide conservation and management. In sub-arctic areas, black guillemots (Cepphus grylle) use coastal habitats year-round, which makes them vulnerable to the increasing human activities in these areas. In mainland Norway, one of the species' strongholds, black guillemots are red-listed after substantial population declines. However, their fine-scale foraging behaviour has received little attention to date. We collected and analysed GPS tracking data from adult black guillemots at three sites located over a latitudinal gradient of 250 km in central/northern Norway. Maximum foraging ranges of 33 km at Sklinna (65°12′N) for incubating birds, and 18 km at both Vega (65°34′N) and Sklinna for chick-rearing birds, are among the longest reported for this species. At all three sites, foraging probability was highest in shallow waters (< 50 m depth) close to the colony and declined with increasing water depth and distance from colony. However, birds from Vega also foraged over deeper waters. Kelp presence was of high importance at Sklinna, but apparently less important at Røst (67°26'N) and Vega. We also found distinct differences in foraging activity across the day and with tidal height among the sites. Inter-site differences in habitat use and foraging activity may be explained by differences in the availability of habitats and suitable prey. Our study highlights the importance of shallow marine areas for black guillemots and shows that habitat use can vary substantially between sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ocean is increasingly used for industry, energy and recreation or protected for conservation, resulting in increasing spatial restrictions for fisheries. Simultaneously, producing seafood with a low climate footprint is becoming increasingly important. Despite this, the effects of spatial restrictions on the emissions of fishing fleets are poorly known. In the Northeast Atlantic, the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU (Brexit) meant that the UK regained autonomy in its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). This suddenly imposed a spatial restriction for several foreign fishing fleets targeting Northeast Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus). Here, we use this natural experiment and open fisheries data to investigate how Brexit affected the performance and emissions of the Norwegian mackerel fishery. As the fleet was excluded from fishing grounds in the UK, the catch per fishing trip almost halved, while the number of trips per vessel doubled. As a result, fuel use intensity (FUI) more than doubled from ∼0.08 to ∼0.18 L fuel per kg mackerel. We estimate that this shift required an additional 23 million liters of fuel per year, causing additional fuel costs of ∼€18 million annually and emitting an additional ∼72,000 tonnes CO 2 per year. The policy change undid ∼15 years of improved fuel efficiency in Norwegian pelagic fisheries. These findings provide rare empirical evidence on how spatial restrictions can undermine progress towards decreasing greenhouse gas emissions in fisheries, highlighting the need to monitor and account for emissions in fisheries management and consider these trade-offs in marine spatial management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The production of Atlantic salmon in aquaculture has grown substantially over the last 40 years. The unintentional release of domesticated salmon poses a significant risk to the long‐term persistence of wild Atlantic salmon populations through ecological interactions and genetic introgression. Our ability to link aquaculture production to farmed escaped salmon in rivers is still limited and hinders identifying the appropriate production capacity of salmon aquaculture to reduce unwanted interactions between wild and escaped Atlantic salmon.Here we use a 14‐year dataset of farmed escapee abundance in rivers to model how the a priori selected covariables of wild salmon abundance, aquaculture intensity, river discharge, hydropower and fjord placement of the river affects escapee abundance across 54 rivers in western Norway. Then, we evaluate the predictive strength of the model to provide context for its use to minimize escapees.We found that the abundance of escaped farmed Atlantic salmon in rivers is correlated to aquaculture intensity. Furthermore, the abundance of wild Atlantic salmon, mean yearly discharge, and the interaction between fjord placement and wild salmon abundance were important predictors of escapee abundance in rivers.The model was 40% accurate when predicting the abundance of farmed escaped salmon in rivers. However, the accuracy improved to 75% when using risk categories derived from modelled intrusion rates that induced long‐term genetic changes to the wild population (low < 4%, medium 4%–10%, and high > 10% escaped farmed salmon).Synthesis and applications. This study links aquaculture production, at relevant spatiotemporal scales (75 km from rivers), to the abundance of escaped farmed Atlantic salmon in rivers, and provides governmental agencies with a tool to help regulate domesticated salmon production based on the carrying capacity of the system to buffer against introgression between conspecifics. Furthermore, understanding this relationship will be beneficial when establishing new aquaculture sites in pristine ecosystems where they would overlap with wild Atlantic salmon. Finally, future mitigation efforts should continue to focus on new technologies (e.g. triploid females) that can eliminate the risk of introgression without limiting aquaculture production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internationally marine ecosystem-based management has been embraced as an approach to design holistic marine management regimes. In this article a comparative research strategy is applied in the analysis of the holistic marine management regimes in Norway, Australia, US, Canada and the European Union. How can holistic marine management regimes based on an ecosystem approach contribute to sustainable ocean development? Important in this context is how the origin and theory of an ecosystem-based management is implemented and interpreted, and to what extent this is manifested through policies, strategies and legal frameworks. The results of this research indicate that the implementation of marine-ecosystem based management is heterogeneous. This article discusses the concrete mechanisms that are used to reach the aim of sustainable ocean management. Implementation challenges are related to lack of functional metrics, weak spatial measures, weak integration and lack of adaptive management. Still marine ecosystem-based management is an important step forward for sustainable ocean governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developments in national fisheries and marine environmental policies during the last 30 years have changed the relationship between coastal communities and the marine resources that people in these communities traditionally harvested. In Norway, for example, when the state authorities have made decisions to defend what they regard as national interests, the local level has been left with authority over minor issues related to area planning in the coastal zone. Although coastal planning until recently was about sharing fishing areas between different users, we now see a spatial dimension emerging in planning, giving it a much broader scope. The processes of defining spatial properties and creating coastal space as a governable object have the potential to empower local communities. These processes contribute to enhanced local control and improved local participation in the governance of natural resources. In Norway, the 2008 Planning and Building Act strengthened the role of municipalities in local planning. In addition, the application of a new three-dimensional, spatial approach to coastal planning may create opportunities for new control over local resources. In marine spatial planning (MSP) the natural resources are seen as part of coastal spatial properties; thus, governing of sea space implies resource governance. As our examples illustrate, considerable power is associated with the ability to identify and define the properties of coastal space. MSP could become an important tool for controlling local resources, rebuilding collapsed fisheries, and managing them sustainably at the level of municipalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the turn to integrated forms of ecosystem governance, ocean zoning is argued to be an efficient means to manage cumulative pressures and multiple spatial claims. Maps and mapping practices reflect and constitute the turn to marine ecosystem governance, wherein different actors take part to design policy instruments. This paper traces how mapping practices enacted ecosystem governance in the Barents Sea-Lofoten area in Norway. It demonstrates how ecological values and vulnerability were translated into a boundary infrastructure, which was consequently distilled into a user-oriented grid that provided a temporary framework for oil and gas activities. The paper demonstrates that mapping-perceived as an on-going process of translation-results in constant redefinations of the relationship between actors and information, and of regular reinterpretation of the reality that is created. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Place-based management is any management action having implications for a specified area. Place-based management is seen as a key component to practical implementation of ecosystem approach to management, with marine spatial planning (MSP) being the currently most promoted approach. In the present paper we address the challenges of place-based management at local, regional and global (oceanic) spatial scales using case studies from the Northeast Atlantic with examples from Norway. Both ecological, governance and management complexity increases with increasing geographic scale, with associated increases in uncertainty and thus increasing need for managing under the precautionary approach. A process where (ecologically) valuable and vulnerable areas are defined early on is essential to successful place-based management under the ecosystem approach. Integrating across sectors and achieving necessary cooperation between involved institutions and stakeholders is also necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last four decades there has been a significant increase in experiences to implement marine spatial planning and the interest of the scientific community in evaluating the impacts of these policies. In this context, a lack of tools and techniques to be applied to the evaluation of strictly economic impacts is evident. Based on knowledge of the direct economic impacts on production in the activity sectors affected by marine planning, the aim of this study is to propose an input-output methodology to estimate total economic impacts that include indirect and induced impacts. This methodology has been applied to three case studies: The German Baltic Sea, Belgium and the North Sea and Skagerrak Strait of Norway. The positive effects derived from the application of these policies have been estimated in the three case studies, both in terms of increased production as well as value added and employment. In general, these positive impacts are concentrated in just a few marine-related sectors, although they also appear in other non-marine sectors. The results obtained offer a more complete view of the economic effects of these public planning policies and the methodology followed can be used as an applicable policy guideline to analyse other similar cases. • Mixed endogenous-exogenous input-output model to evaluate economic impacts. • Estimating direct, indirect and induced impacts associated with Marine Spatial Planning. • Economic impacts of Marine Spatial Planning implementation in three case studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marine spatial planning (MSP) in Europe is in a paradigm shift as all (coastal) European countries now have established practices for the production of marine spatial plans. Though international guidelines and an EU directive for MSP provides policy frameworks, the formulation of national policy designs for MSP remains a national responsibility resulting in vastly different practices. Focusing on three Northern European countries; Denmark, Germany and Norway, this paper presents examples of how national policy designs for marine spatial planning are structured, and how the current practice in each country is influenced by local planning cultures. This mapping gives insights to a number of challenges facing planning authorities when planning for sustainable development. Ambiguity dominates the framework of marine spatial planning and the central sustainability concepts it contains. This paper gives voice to the planning teams, as they are key-players in generating meaning in this ocean of ambiguity, giving insights to their understanding of sustainability in the planning of futures for sustainable seas. • The ambiguity of marine spatial planning (MSP) frameworks makes for heterogeneous MSP policy designs and practices. • The use of sustainability concepts in MSP policy designs is ambiguous and without guidance for implementation. • The understanding of sustainability is left to the planners, of which some does not build their own understanding. • National planning cultures in MSP authority largely depend on the type of agency (e.g. environmental vs. economic). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]