Regional growth and regional imbalances: Spain and USA

Regional and national incomes are determined by spatial and non spatial phenomena. Relative elasticities in Spain and U.S.A. for income explanatory variables, which were derivated from space models estimates, are 35 y 65%, respectively. External spatial economies, locational inertia of investment and urban expenditure multiplier -all of them typical spatial variables- are all concepts explaining the way space cooperates to income generation. Non spatial economic analysis therefore does not pay attention to phenomena which explain about a third of the produced national wealth. Regional income imbalances have not disappeared after decades or even centuries of economic development. Although they have indeed decreased dramatically, this reduction stopped around 1960 in the U.S.A. and 1980 in Spain. Since then regional per capita income imbalances have remained almost constant, ranging from 60 to 75 % between poor and rich regions. Interregional technological transfers, internal economies of scale, the urban expenditure multiplier, and decreasing external spatial economies explain the interregional “catching-up”. External spatial economies, locational inertia of investment and the end of regional labour migration are the reasons explaining the present steadiness in spatial imbalances.

Environmental variability and fishing effects on artisanal flatfish fisheries along the Portuguese coast

Assessing the effects of fishing activity and environmental variability on fishing species might help to understand their fluctuations and to manage them accordingly. However, despite the increasing number of studies linking fisheries and environmental data, few had a multi-species approach considering flatfish species and different age groups. Therefore, this study aims to determine the effects of environmental and fishing related variables on commercial flatfish species across different regions of the Portuguese coast. For that, sea surface temperature, North Atlantic Oscillation, upwelling index, wind components, river discharges and fishing effort were related to landings per unit effort (LPUE) of five commercial flatfish species ( Pleuronectes platessa , Dicologlossa cuneata , Microchirus spp., Solea lascaris , and Solea solea ) fished by the artisanal fleet along different regions of Portuguese coast (Northwestern coast, Southwestern coast, and Southern coast), using a multi-model statistical approach from 1989 to 2009. The fishing effort had the same effect along the life cycle and was negatively related with LPUE trends for most of the species. Regarding to environmental variability, during early phases (larval to juvenile – age-group-0) the factors that affected the recruitment, in addition to being related to the physiological needs (e.g., sea surface temperature) of individuals that will trigger growth and survival, were related to larval transport and dispersion from offshore spawning areas to coastal nursery habitats beyond (e.g., wind components and upwelling). For juvenile and young-adult phases (age-groups I and II), the effects of environmental variability appeared to be linked to physiological needs important for growth and maturation (e.g., temperature). Concluding, different effects were observed depending on the region, species, and life-cycle phase. Therefore, these environmental-fishing relationships should be used when managing local fishing resources.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. UID/Multi/04326/2020Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. DL57/2016/CP1361/CT000

Assessing countries’ social-ecological resilience to shifting marine commercial species

Climate change is already impacting fisheries with species moving across fishing areas, crossing institutional borders, and thus creating conflicts over fisheries management. In this scenario, scholars agree that adaptation to climate change requires that fisheries increase their social, institutional, and ecological resilience. The resilience or capacity of a fishery to be maintained without shifting to a different state (e.g., collapse) is at stake under climate change impacts and overexploitation. Despite this urgent need, applying the resilience concept in a spatially explicit and quantitative manner to inform policy remains unexplored. We take a resilience approach and operationalize the concept in industrial fisheries for two species that have been observed to significantly shift distribution in European waters: hake (Merluccius merluccius) and cod (Gadus morhua), in the context of the European Union institutional settings. With a set of resilience factors from the literature and by means of contemporary and historic data, we select indicators that are combined into an index that measures resilience on the ecologic, socioeconomic, and institutional dimensions of the fishery. We find that the resilience index varies among species and countries, with lower resilience levels in the socioeconomic dimension of the fisheries. We also see that resilience largely depends on the overexploitation status of the fishery. The results highlight the need to address social and institutional settings to enhance fisheries adaptation to climate change and allow to inform on climate resilient adaptation pathways for the fisheries

Eco-socio-economic vulnerability assessment of Portuguese fisheries to climate change

Understanding ecological, and socio-economical vulnerabilities is fundamental towards developing and implementing regional adaptation strategies to climate change. The Portuguese coast is situated in a transition zone between temperate ecosystems to the north, and subtropical with Mediterranean characteristics, to the south, with distinct oceanographic regions (north, centre, and south), fish assemblages and socioeconomic realities of fish communities across these regions. We develop a framework to assess fisheries climate vulnerability in each port. A total of 32 ecological and socio-economic indicators were used to measure exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity of the fishing sector to climate change by combining i) environmental projections ii) information from fishing communities (surveys at ports) and iii) landings and socio-economic data from official statistics offices. The vulnerability to climate change across regions, and its expected impact on fishing fleets and local communities, was low-moderate. Such information will enable fishing communities and decision makers to respond to expected climate change effects and direct/indirect associated activities. This framework comprises background information for developing mandatory EU climate adaptation plans that aim to improve the resilience of fisheries socio-economic systemsFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. UIDB/04326/2020Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. UIDP/04326/2020Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. LA/P/0101/2020Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. SFRH/BD/11426/2022Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación | Ref. FJC2020–043449-IFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. SFRH/BD/06336/202Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. DL57/2016/CP1361/CT0008Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. 2022.04803.CEECINDPortugal 2020 | Ref. SAICT-45-2017-02Portugal 2020 | Ref. ALG-01-0145-FEDER-028518Portugal 2020 | Ref. PTDC/ASP-PES/28518/2017MAR2020-FEAMP | Ref. MAR-01.03.02-FEAMP-005

Ecological sensitivity and vulnerability of fishing fleet landings to climate change across regions

The degree of exposure of fishing communities to environmental changes can be partially determined by the vulnerability of the target species and the landings composition. Hence, identifying the species that ecologically most contribute to the vulnerability of the landings are key steps to evaluate the risk posed by climate change. We analyse the temporal variability in intrinsic sensitivity and the ecological vulnerability of the Portuguese fisheries landings, considering the species proportions derived both from the weights and revenues. To account for the diversification of species of each fleet, we explored the species dependence of the fishery in combination with the vulnerability of them. The analyses were carried out separately for three fleet typologies and three regions. Opposite to what has been observed at a global scale, the ecological sensitivity of the fisheries landings between 1989 and 2015 did not display a decline across areas or fishing fleets. Considering each fleet independently, for trawling, where average vulnerability was lower than in the other fleets, the sensitivity of the landings increased since the 2000s. On the other hand, the high vulnerability found in multi-gear fleets was compensated by diversification of the species caught, while purse-seine fleets targeted low vulnerability species but presented a high fishery dependence on few species. The results highlight the importance of combining information on ecological vulnerability and diversification of fishing resources at a regional scale while providing a measure of the ecological exposure to climate change.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. UIDB/04326/2020Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. SAICT-45-2017-02Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. ALG-01- 0145-FEDER-028518Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. PTDC/ASP-PES/28518/2017Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. MAR-01.03.02-FEAMP-0052Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. FCT DL57/2016/CP1361/CT000

Ecological sensitivity and vulnerability of fishing fleet landings to climate change across regions

The degree of exposure of fishing communities to environmental changes can be partially determined by the vulnerability of the target species and the landings composition. Hence, identifying the species that ecologically most contribute to the vulnerability of the landings are key steps to evaluate the risk posed by climate change. We analyse the temporal variability in intrinsic sensitivity and the ecological vulnerability of the Portuguese fisheries landings, considering the species proportions derived both from the weights and revenues. To account for the diversification of species of each fleet, we explored the species dependence of the fishery in combination with the vulnerability of them. The analyses were carried out separately for three fleet typologies and three regions. Opposite to what has been observed at a global scale, the ecological sensitivity of the fisheries landings between 1989 and 2015 did not display a decline across areas or fishing fleets. Considering each fleet independently, for trawling, where average vulnerability was lower than in the other fleets, the sensitivity of the landings increased since the 2000s. On the other hand, the high vulnerability found in multi-gear fleets was compensated by diversification of the species caught, while purse-seine fleets targeted low vulnerability species but presented a high fishery dependence on few species. The results highlight the importance of combining information on ecological vulnerability and diversification of fishing resources at a regional scale while providing a measure of the ecological exposure to climate change.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Guía para padres. Ayudándoles a evitar riesgos

Peer reviewe

Accumulation of northern krill (Meganyctiphanes norvegica) in a convergence zone at the Cap Breton Canyon (southern Bay of Biscay)

Publicado

Deep-sea mega-epibenthic assemblages from the SW Portuguese Margin (NE Atlantic) subjected to bottom-trawling fisheries

Bottom-trawling fisheries are a common threat to the health of continental margins worldwide. Together with numerous environmental and biological processes, physical disturbance induced by trawlers can largely shape the benthic habitats and their associated assemblages. At the SW Portuguese Margin, crustacean bottom trawlers have exploited deep-sea habitats for a few decades, but its effects on the benthic biodiversity are practically unknown. During the spring-summer of 2013 and 2014, several Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) video transects were used to investigate mega-epibenthic abundance, composition, and diversity in soft-sediment areas subjected to varying trawling pressures off Sines and Setúbal (200–800 m). Differences in mega-epibenthic assemblages were linked with environmental changes (depth, grain size, primary productivity) and trawling disturbance. The effect of trawling was assessed between segments with similar habitat characteristics, i.e., muddy-sand bottoms between 300 and 500 m. Areas subjected to intensive trawling pressure showed a generally flattened seabed, with abundant recent trawl marks (up to 3 scars.100 m−1), indicating that the seabed physical integrity was compromised. Significant negative correlations were detected between various mega-epibenthic diversity indices [S, H′, and ET(20)] and trawling pressure (h.cell−1.y−1). Furthermore, the distinct mega-epibenthic assemblages and absence of several sessile erect morphospecies at both low and highly disturbed locations by trawling off Sines, namely all seapen morphospecies found in non-trawled areas, demonstrates the negative influence of trawling fisheries on the benthic component of the study area. Also, low dissimilarity between assemblages from the main fishing grounds and the adjacent low-disturbance locations, suggests that the potentially negative influence of trawling can extend beyond the targeted areas (e.g., by the plumes of re-suspended sediments). The observed deleterious effects of trawling on mega-epibenthic fauna together with the intensification of trawling pressure in the study area, stress the need for adequate monitoring programs and regulatory measures to halt the long-term loss of biodiversity and allow the sustainability of fisheries at the SW Portuguese Margin