Workshop on assessing governance in the Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem, Bangkok, Thailand, October 28-30, 2014: workshop summary and messages for Bay of Bengal marine resource policy-makers and other stakeholders

This brochure suggests casting a wider net when dealing with governance assessment to include other players

Transparency and communication in Norwegian and Nova Scotian Atlantic salmon aquaculture industries

The Atlantic salmon aquaculture industry has the potential to make a significant contribution to economic development and seafood production globally – particularly in rural and coastal communities. However, the lack of social licence to operate (SLO) can become a barrier for industry development. Greater transparency and communication have been suggested as two of the potential drivers for the industry to achieve SLO. This study explores the role of transparency and communication in the achievement of SLO in the salmon aquaculture industry by contrasting the perceptions of relevant stakeholders (researchers, managers/regulators, NGOs/ community groups, and industry). The comparison was carried out in Norway, having national ocean policies incorporating SLO, and Nova Scotia, Canada, that has adopted new aquaculture regulations in 2015 following a three-year moratorium. Results highlight the need for industry to take on a leadership role in transparency and communication. Results also reinforce the importance of meaningful engagement and reporting of environmental standards, but also the need to monitor and report social standards. Comparison of Norway and Nova Scotia helps to understand the role of transparency and communication in achieving SLO, which may be key to promoting the development and sustainability of the salmon aquaculture industry worldwide.publishedVersio

Mobilizing Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit in Narwhal Management through Community Empowerment: A Case Study in Naujaat, Nunavut

This research examines the relationship between government wildlife management and the use of Inuit knowledge or Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) through a case study focusing on narwhal (Monodon monoceros) harvesting in the community of Naujaat, Nunavut. Since Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) introduced a community quota system in 1971, the ultimate responsibility for decision making has shifted from hunting communities to government. This shift corresponds with changes in the use of IQ within the community. Interviews with hunters, elders, and representatives of the hunters and trappers organization in Naujaat provide insight into the nature of these changes. Key factors influencing the role of IQ in narwhal management decision making included the imposed quota system, the perception of the ongoing role of IQ, communication challenges, modern-day drivers of change, and the lack of decision-making authority at the community level.Cette recherche examine le lien entre la gestion de la faune faite par le gouvernement et l’utilisation des connaissances des Inuits, aussi appelées Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) grâce à une étude de cas portant sur la chasse au narval (Monodon monoceros) réalisée dans le hameau de Naujaat, au Nunavut. Depuis que le ministère des Pêches et Océans du Canada (MPO) a mis en place un système de quota communautaire en 1971, la responsabilité ultime en matière de prise de décisions est passée des mains des collectivités faisant la chasse aux mains du gouvernement. Ce virage a donné lieu à des changements en matière d’utilisation de l’IQ dans la région. Des entrevues avec des chasseurs, des aînés et des représentants de groupements de chasseurs et de trappeurs de Naujaat ont permis de comprendre la nature de ces changements. Parmi les facteurs-clés exerçant une influence sur le rôle de l’IQ en matière de décisions prises pour la gestion des narvals, notons le système de quotas qui a été imposé, la perception du rôle continu de l’IQ, les problèmes de communication, les moteurs du changement contemporains et l’absence de pouvoir décisionnel au niveau communautaire

How Icebreaking Governance Interacts with Inuit Rights and Livelihoods in Nunavut: A Policy Review

Sea ice is a contested space when it comes to navigation in ice-covered regions. For Inuit in Nunavut, Canada, sea ice is an integral platform of coastal connectivity, allowing access to areas of subsistence and cultural value. For vessels transiting Arctic waters, sea ice poses potential risks to vessel, crew, and passenger safety consequently, icebreaking is considered an essential service. Yet, many communities in Nunavut have described icebreaking as having, or potentially having significant negative impacts on community and ecological wellbeing. Several policies regulate and provide guidance to icebreakers operating in ice-covered waters. With anticipated increases to icebreaking demand in Arctic waters supporting destinational shipping, a policy review was conducted to explore how current regulations governing icebreaking activities in the Canadian Arctic interact with the rights and livelihoods of Inuit who live in Nunavut. Policy instruments governing icebreaking activities were framed, assessed, and aligned to Inuit rights, as set forth by international, national, and territorial provisions. International instruments provide minimal attention to environmental impacts of icebreaking and even less to its cultural and social impacts. Canadian instruments refer to both environmental impacts and Inuit use of sea ice for winter travel routes, framing both as elements that should be taken into consideration during route planning. Despite this, Inuit have had little involvement in developing current icebreaking regulations and guidelines beyond those under territorial jurisdiction. From this review, opportunities and recommendations are identified that could allow for future icebreaking policies to better account for Inuit rights and governance values

Towards Better Surveillance for Coral Ecosystems in Qatar: Stakeholder Engagement in EBM Approach.

More recently, Qatar has undergone a remarkable social and economic transformation in less than a generation. Although Qataris have a historic connection to the sea, dating back to the pearl diving days in the 19th century, the marine environment requires many interventions to be managed in a sustainable manner. Given the fact that coral reefs play an important role in the coastal ecosystem in this peninsular state, principles of environment sustainability should be undertaken for this significant habitats along the Qatari shores. Local pressures and climate change are among the most important factors that have negatively affected Qatar's coral communities. Other major threats result largely from human activities. To achieve sustainable development that preserves the Environment is a core goal especially included in all recent development regimes in Qatar. A balance between development needs and protecting the environment represents the fourth pillar of Qatar National Vision 2030. An explicit reference is also documented in the two most recently adopted strategies of development. This study introduces a good opportunity for Qatar to position itself as a regional leader in the use of environmental management systems that integrate multiple partners in guiding and conserving coral reefs as part of valuable ecosystems as a right of future generations of Qatari nationals guaranteed by the country's sustainable development agenda. It defines 4-stage engagement framework that include 9 diverse stakeholders proposed to participate in the management of coral reef ecosystems, therefore, facilitate monitoring and enforcement, enhance understanding of system dynamics, improve management capacity to respond to shocks and disturbances, and facilitate teamwork.This publication was made possible by the NPRP award [NPRP8-952-1-186] from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of The Qatar Foundation) through the National Priority Research Program

Visualizing the Social in Aquaculture: How Social Dimension Components Illustrate the Effects of Aquaculture across Geographic Scales

Until very recently, governments of many countries, as well as their supporting organizations, have primarily addressed the biological, technical and economic aspects of aquaculture. In contrast, social and cultural aspects of aquaculture production have taken a backseat. Drawing on the observation that aquaculture development in Western Societies has largely failed to address these social effects across different scales and contexts, this paper offers a new way of capturing and visualising the diverse social dimensions of aquaculture. It does so by testing the ability to operationalise a set of social dimensions based on categories and indicators put forward by the United Nations, using several case studies across the North Atlantic. Local/regional stakeholder knowledge realms are combined with scientific expert knowledge to assess aquaculture operations against these indicators. The approach indicates that one needs to have a minimum farm size in order to have an impact of a visible scale for the different social dimension categories. While finfish aquaculture seems to be more social impactful than rope mussel farming, the latter can hold important cultural values and contribute to place-based understanding, connecting people with place and identity, thus playing a vital role in maintaining the working waterfront identity. It could be shown that aquaculture boosts a potential significant pull-factor to incentivise people to remain in the area, keeping coastal communities viable. By visualising the social effects of aquaculture, a door may be opened for new narratives on the sustainability of aquaculture that render social license and social acceptability more positive

Availability and usefulness of economic data on the effects of aquaculture: a North Atlantic comparative assessment

This paper focuses on the availability of economic indicators and metrics to assess effects of marine aquaculture production in the North Atlantic area (the EU, Norway, Canada and USA), including also social and environmental effects. We consider how aquaculture planning and management is organised in the different countries and the usefulness of economic information to address different aquaculture‐related policies. We find that the most relevant economic data for aquaculture management should be at the local and regional levels rather than nationally. The availability of such economic data is mapped for national, regional and local level. The focus is on data that are publicly available from authorities or research institutions. The availability of data is generally fairly good for national and regional data on the direct economic effects of aquaculture. Data on how aquaculture‐related products or input markets are affected are however poorly available, as are economic data on external effects from aquaculture. Countries with a larger aquaculture sector tend to have better availability of aquaculture‐related economic data than those with a smaller sector. An index is developed and calculated to show more specifically where the countries have relatively good or poor data availability compared to their needs. While it will not always be cost‐effective or meaningful to collect economic data on the effects of aquaculture, our study indicates that several countries could benefit from expanding such data collection. It can make trade‐off decisions more consistent and easier to perform, and aquaculture policies and measures can be better tailored to specific contexts

Implementing Adaptive Management within a Fisheries Management Context: A Systematic Literature Review Revealing Gaps, Challenges, and Ways Forward

Adaptive management acknowledges uncertainty and complexity in socio–ecological systems, providing a structured approach for learning and for making the needed management adjustments. Despite its utility, there are few examples of how adaptive management has been applied. To identify the extent to which implementation aligns with theory, we conducted a systematic literature review of adaptive management in a fisheries management context to compare how adaptive management was defined, applied and what was deemed important for implementation. Following the PRISMA approach for meta-synthesis, 20 papers were identified and reviewed against the eight key components of adaptive management. Across the case studies, we found ambiguity in the definitions of adaptive management, a varying emphasis on the different components of adaptive management and barriers to adaptive management that stemmed from both outside the process and as part of the iterative cycle. Our analysis suggests that for adaptive management to be implemented in other natural resource management situations, consideration should be given to the active and ongoing participation of those outside management, integrating socio–economic values into decision-making, and ensuring a monitoring plan is implemented. Additionally, attention should be paid to having the time and ability to detect the effects of management actions against a broader background of change. This analysis offers insights into how management support can lead to more effective objective-based decisions, thereby improving management over time

Ocean Planning And The Gulf Of Maine: Exploring Bi-National Policy Options

Over the twenty-five years since a special Chamber of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued its decision in the Delimitation of the Maritime Boundary in the Gulf of Maine Area (Gulf of Maine Case), legal scholars have written extensively on the significance of the ruling to influence Canada-U.S. relations specifically, and international arbitration in general.2 While the rationale behind any particular scholar’s interest in the case has varied over the years, its significance in informing deliberation surrounding maritime boundary delimitation owes much to the fact that the case presented many “firsts.” Among these were: the use of a special Chamber of the Court; the decision by Canada to submit the dispute to an international tribunal on its own behalf;4 and the request that a decision be made on a “single maritime boundary” that would include, not only the seabed beyond the limits of the territorial sea, but also the water column. In addition to its uniqueness, the significance of this request for a single boundary to delineate both seabed and fisheries resources has led many scholars, and even one of the judges of the Chamber, to question the legality and appropriateness of the request. As only the third case of maritime boundary delimitation to be heard by the Court at the time, the Gulf of Maine Case highlighted the Chamber’s novel use of a hierarchy of principles, equitable criteria, and practical methods in reaching its decision. At the same time, it has been subject to much criticism. Commentators have noted that the challenge of maritime boundary delimitation is to “reconcile conflicting claims to a maritime extension of coasts that differ in configuration, length and position in relation to the area to be delimited.” While solutions to this problem have been attempted in decisions rendered by the Chamber and the full Court over its sixty-five year history, assessing these judgments for guidance on maritime boundary delimitation is not the aim of this Article. Rather, its purpose is to focus on the issues confronting Canada and the United States after the Gulf of Maine decision was rendered and to explore how these two “friendly” neighboring states have attempted to pursue the principles of cooperation and agreement following the decision of the Court. As such, this Article is structured around five key components and is aimed at: (1) highlighting the underlying economic rationale behind why the two neighboring countries of Canada and the United States sought to clarify a single maritime boundary in the Gulf of Maine; (2) identifying the challenges confronting the parties in managing their ocean resources, after ownership had been established, particularly in light of growing energy-related exploitation demands; (3) discussing mechanisms for ocean planning and management adopted by each party to utilize its living and non-living resources; (4) presenting two examples of existing bilateral cooperation from which lessons can be gleaned for future collaborative efforts; and (5) identifying policy options and an implementation mechanism for transboundary cooperation in the Gulf of Maine that could potentially meet the objectives of both countries as they seek to implement marine spatial planning in their respective maritime zones