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Governance across the land–sea interface presents many challenges related to (1) the engagement of diverse actors and systems of knowledge, (2) the coordinated management of shared ecological resources, and (3) the development of mechanisms to address or account for biogeochemical (e.g., nutrient flows) and ecological (e.g., species movements) interdependencies between marine and terrestrial systems. If left unaddressed, these challenges can lead to multiple problems of social-ecological fit stemming from governance fragmentation or inattention to various components of land–sea systems. Network governance is hypothesized to address these multiple challenges, yet its specific role in affecting social-ecological fit across the land–sea interface is not well understood. We aim to improve this understanding by examining how network governance affects social-ecological fit across the land–sea interface in two empirical case studies from the Lesser Antilles: Dominica and Saint Lucia. We found that network governance plays a clear role in coordinating management of shared resources and providing capacity to address interactions between ecological entities. Yet, its potential role in engaging diverse actors and addressing, specifically, biogeochemical interactions across the land–sea interface has not been fully realized. Our research suggests that network governance is beneficial, but not sufficient, to improve social-ecological fit across the land–sea interface. Strategically leveraging the network processes (e.g., triadic closure) leading to the existing governance networks could prove useful in addressing the current deficiencies in the networks. Additionally, the interplay between hierarchical and networked modes of governance appears to be a critical issue in determining social-ecological fit at the land–sea interface.

OceanCanada Director Rashid Sumaila gave at talk at the Sustainability and Ecology Seminar Talks at the Institute for International Collaboration, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan, on Monday February 20, 2017. The title of his talk was, "What is sustainability under the global warming?"

Climate change is reshaping the way in which contaminants move through the global environment, in large part by changing the chemistry of the oceans and affecting the physiology, health and feeding ecology of marine biota. Climate change-associated impacts on structure and function of marine food webs, with consequent changes in contaminant transport, fate and effects, is likely to have significant repercussions to those human populations that rely on fisheries resources for food, recreation or culture. Published studies on climate change-contaminant interactions with a focus on food web bioaccumulation were systematically reviewed to explore how climate change and ocean acidification may impact contaminant levels in marine food webs. We propose here a conceptual framework to illustrate the impacts of climate change on contaminant accumulation in marine food webs, as well as the downstream consequences for ecosystem goods and services. The potential impacts on social and economic security for coastal communities that depend on fisheries for food are discussed. Climate change-contaminant interactions may alter the bioaccumulation of two priority contaminant classes: the fat-soluble persistent organic pollutants (POPs), such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), as well as the protein-binding methylmercury (MeHg). These interactions include phenomena deemed to be either climate change-dominant (i.e. climate change leads to an increase in contaminant exposure) or contaminant-dominant (i.e. contamination leads to an increase in climate change susceptibility). We illustrate the pathways of climate change-contaminant interactions using case studies in the Northeastern Pacific Ocean. The important role of ecological and food web modelling to inform decision making in managing ecological and human health risks of chemical pollutants contamination under climate change is also highlighted. Finally, we identify the need to develop integrated policies that manage the ecological and socio-economic risk of greenhouse gases and marine pollutants.

1. Marine conservation areas require high levels of compliance to meet conservation objectives, yet little research has assessed compliance quantitatively, especially for recreational fishers. Recreational fishers take 12% of global annual fish catches. With millions of people fishing from small boats, this fishing sector is hard to monitor, making accurate quantification of non‐compliance an urgent research priority.
2. Shore‐based remote camera monitoring was tested for quantifying recreational non‐compliance in near‐shore, coastal rockfish conservation areas (RCAs) in the Salish Sea, Canada.
3. Six high definition trail cameras were used to monitor 42 locations between July and August 2014.
4. Seventy‐nine percent of monitored conservation area sites showed confirmed or probable fishing activity, with no significant difference in fishing effort inside and outside RCAs.
5. Mixed effects generalized linear models were used to test environmental and geographic factors influencing compliance. Sites with greater depth had significantly higher fishing effort, which may imply high, barotrauma‐induced, rockfish mortality in RCA sites.
6. Non‐compliance estimates were similar to aerial fly‐over compliance data from 2011, suggesting that trail camera monitoring may be an accurate and affordable alternative method of assessing non‐compliance in coastal conservation areas, especially for community‐based organizations wishing to monitor local waters.
7. Widespread non‐compliance could compromise the ability of RCAs to protect and rebuild rockfish populations. Increased education, signage, and enforcement is likely to improve compliance.

The contribution by women to fisheries economies globally continues to be overlooked, in part, because “fishing” is often narrowly defined as catching fish at sea, from a vessel, using specialized gears. Both men and women are involved in fisheries, but often in different roles and activities. Fisheries research, management, and policy have traditionally focused on direct, formal, and paid fishing activities—that are often dominated by men, ignoring those that are indirect, informal, and/or unpaid—where women are concentrated. This has led to a situation where men’s and women’s contributions to fisheries are not equally valued or even recognized and has resulted in women being largely excluded from fisheries decision-making processes. Here, we examine the contributions by women in the fisheries sector of five globally significant marine fishing countries—Mexico, Peru, Senegal, South Africa, and Vietnam. These countries each have strong links between livelihoods and marine capture fisheries, yet represent different geographic, socioeconomic, and governance contexts. Through a synthesis of existing data, case studies, and consultation with local experts, we found that the contribution by women to the fisheries of these five countries is substantial. However, this investigation also revealed major gaps in understanding of gender inequalities in the fisheries sector and the need for better gender-disaggregated data to inform fisheries policy.

Large marine protected areas are increasingly being established to meet global conservation targets and promote sustainable use of resources. Although the factors affecting the performance of small-scale marine protected areas are relatively well studied, there is no such body of knowledge for large marine protected areas. We conducted a global meta-analysis to systematically investigate social, ecological, and governance characteristics of successful large marine protected areas with respect to several social and ecological outcomes. We included all large (>10,000 km2), implemented (>5 years of active management) marine protected areas that had sufficient data for analysis, for a total of twelve cases. We used the Social-Ecological Systems Meta-Analysis Database, and a consistent protocol for using secondary data and key informant interviews, to code proxies for fisheries, ecosystem health, and the wellbeing of user groups (mainly fishers). We tested four sets of hypotheses derived from the literature on small-scale marine protected areas and common-pool resources: (i) the attributes of species and ecosystems to be managed in the marine protected area, (ii) adherence to principles for designing small-scale marine protected areas, (iii) adherence to the design principles for common-pool resource management, and (iv) stakeholder participation. We found varying levels of support for these hypotheses. Improved fisheries were associated with older marine protected areas, and higher levels of enforcement. Declining fisheries were associated with several ecological and economic factors, including low productivity, high mobility, and high market value. High levels of participation were correlated with improvements in wellbeing and ecosystem health trends. Overall, this study constitutes an important first step in identifying factors affecting social wellbeing and ecological performance of large marine protected areas.

With the rapid growth of aquaculture, some negative factors of extensive monoculture accumulated, causing integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) to draw increasing attention worldwide for its ecological and economic advantages. However, the development of IMTA in open water systems may not go as smoothly as anticipated—at least in Weihai, China, some producers who have adopted it would prefer to return to monoculture. This paper explores the problem from the angle of the economic performance by providing an in-depth analysis of costs and revenues generated by kelp monoculture and kelp-mollusk polyculture (IMTA). We find that the monoculture generates higher profits during the same production cycle. Besides inherent defects in system design, the rapidly growing labor cost and depressing selling price of the mollusk conspire to aggravate the economic failure of IMTA. Due to positive environmental externalities, the social benefits associated with IMTA are higher than the private benefits. This implies that there is a role for the government to generalize IMTA to achieve more total benefits. But single policy such as subsidies may backfire, a combination of policies designed to promote IMTA could be effective.

Available at http://science.sciencemag.org/content/355/6321/140.2

Please see updated announcement at https://oceancanada.org/ocp-van-aquarium-speaker-series-charting-a-sustainable-course-exploring-canadas-fisheries/

Congratulations to Dr. Rashid Sumaila, who has won UBC's Killam Faculty Research Prize.

This award recognizes a faculty member's "outstanding research and scholarly contributions."

Dr. Sumaila's research on fisheries economics and the benefits of sustainable fisheries to society on a global scale is both important and timely in today's political climate.