Marine and coastal accounts for Small Island Developing States: A case study and application in Grenada

In recent decades, a concerted effort has been made to define methodologies and frameworks to account for the contribution of the natural environment to national wealth and its role in fulfilling societal and economic needs. The linkages between natural capital and human well-being are even stronger in low-income and vulnerable countries, such as Small Island Developing States (SIDS). This is particularly true for coastal and marine ecosystems and for SIDS, considering that a large portion of their population live along the coast. Therefore, SIDS would greatly benefit from systematically assessing and recording the condition and services provided by marine and coastal habitats in ecosystem accounts. Applications of accounting frameworks to marine and coastal habitats, however, are still under development. Through a case study in the Caribbean Island of Grenada, we explore SIDS readiness to develop marine and coastal natural capital accounts, in particular framed within the guidelines of the United Nations System of Environmental-Economic Accounting Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA-EA). We find that, while data to compile accounts of ecosystems extent exist and may be suitable for accounting, data related to ecosystem condition are very limited. Data gaps significantly constrained the potential approaches to estimate the ecosystem services supply provided by the coastal and marine environment in our natural capital accounts for Grenada. Our case study investigation brings us to suggest initial steps for the development of ecosystem accounts in SIDS, including potential methodologies and approaches and discuss how developing a set of coherent accounts can play a key role in incorporating nature into decision-making

Fishers perspectives on the barriers for the English inshore fleet to diversify into aquaculture

Long-term trends in seafood production and demand indicate a need to move away from capture fisheries in favour of increased aquaculture production. The paper explores the potential social and economic barriers towards creating a more holistic seafood production chain. Fisheries not only provide food but also play a significant role in the provision of cultural ecosystem services. Diversification to a similar maritime activity is therefore a potential solution to help preserve this culturally significant activity as well as sustaining food provision and income. However, there are potential social and economic barriers that need to be understood to allow this integration of sectors to happen. This study uses the Q-methodology to investigate the integration or diversification into aquaculture in the English inshore fleet. The results indicate distinctive viewpoints of fishers on aquaculture and the barriers to integration. There were two emergent viewpoints that were positive to diversification into aquaculture and two viewpoints that were against integration. The findings suggest that there is room for policy makers to encourage diversification using measures such as providing guidance documents or training in winter downtime to help fishers to get technical knowledge on aquaculture. Moreover, aquaculture out-reach programmes, addressing public perceptions and aquaculture design consultations, run by NGO's or funded by government, may also provide an outlet for this group to learn more and help address the wants and interests of this group. To ease uncertainty for fishers, pilot projects demonstrating the potential co-location of aquaculture and fisheries, may another way to overcome the reluctance of some fishers to diversify into aquaculture

The potential of the UK inshore fleet to switch or integrate aquaculture to form a more holistic seafood production system

The potential for the UK inshore fleet to either switch from wild capture fisheries to aquaculture or integrate it within its business model as a livelihood option was investigated. The aim was to assess the opportunities, barriers and potential for developing a more holistic seafood production system and to generate information for future policies and programs. A review of the current situation of the inshore fleet reveals recent economic hardships, decreasing employment opportunities, displacement and reduction in size of fishing grounds as a result of management measures including the creation of marine protected areas (MPAs). A subsequent literature review of fishers either switching from wild capture fisheries to aquaculture or integrating it into their business model indicates that there is a complex mixture of barriers including regulatory, social and economic factors that hinder fishers’ uptake of aquaculture. However, assessment of current integration examples of aquaculture and wild-capture sectors within the UK revealed many instances where fishers have successfully added aquaculture to their business portfolio. Results show that to meet increased demand, a supportive policy environment needs to be created along with clarification and simplification of the processes for acquiring space including clear guidelines of which types of aquaculture can be practised where, and clarification of the rules for aquaculture in and around MPAs. Areas of further work are suggested including assessment of cultural issues surrounding switching or integration and the provision of funding to test potential approaches. It is concluded that government regulatory policies along with social acceptance will play a crucial role in creating a more holistic seafood production system and for marine aquaculture to fulfil its potential via integration with capture fisheries