The Impact of Closing Fish Processing Plants onto the Process of Depopulation of Croatian Islands

Otoci u hrvatskom dijelu Jadrana u proteklom su stoljeću suočeni s rastućim problemom depopulacije. Mnogi su uzročnici toj pojavi, a jedan od najvećih je ograničena mogućnost gospodarskog razvitka, koji se danas oslanja gotovo posve na turizam. Jadransko more pruža velike mogućnosti za razvoj ribarstva i, s njime povezane, riboprerađivačke industrije. U razdoblju od kraja 19. do sredine 20. stoljeća izum riblje konzerve na načelu sterilizacije doveo je do procvata ove gospodarske grane. Na čitavom su jadranskom području bile otvorene brojne tvornice za preradu ribe i one su u tome prijelomnom gospodarskom trenutku odigrale ključnu ulogu u životu naših otoka. Prihvatile su višak poljoprivrednog stanovništva i izravno su poticale ribarstvo. Od tog vremena do danas broj tvornica za preradu ribe na našoj obali i otocima u stalnom je opadanju. Danas u Hrvatskoj djeluje pet takvih tvornica i nekoliko manjih pogona, od čega su dva na otocima. Zatvaranje tvornica za preradu ribe na hrvatskim otocima često se može dovesti u uzročno-posljedično vezu s njihovom depopulacijom. Cilj je ovom radu identificirati povezanost između te dvije pojave na pojedinim hrvatskim otocima.The Islands of the Croatian Adriatic Sea have been confronted with an increasing problem of depopulation in the last century. There are many reasons for this. One of the most important is the limited economic development which is today almost exclusively based on tourism. The Adriatic Sea offers a great opportunity for the development of fisheries and related fishery processing industry. In the period between the late 19th and beginning of 20th century the development of the sterilized canning process led to the prosperity of this industry. Numerous fish processing plants were opened along the entire Adriatic coast and they played a key role in island life in this period. They filled the employment gap created by the decline in agriculture providing employment for workers and directly supporting the local fisheries. Since the turn of the century the number of fish processing plants on Croatian coast and islands has consistently declined. Today, there are five fish processing plants in Croatia, only two of which are located on the islands. The closure of fish processing plants on Croatian islands is frequently connected with their depopulation. The aim of this paper is to identify connections between island demographics and the closure of the processing plants

Distribución estival y abundancia de la gran manta raya (Mobula mobular) en el mar Adriático: datos de base para un marco de gestión iterativo

The giant devil ray (Mobula mobular) is a poorly understood protected endemic species of the eastern Atlantic-Mediterranean region. However, to date there are no range-wide management actions in place. This paper provides the first overview of the summer distribution and abundance of this species and other Myliobatiformes within the Adriatic Sea based on an aerial survey. Although the survey´s primary targets were cetaceans and sea turtles, the study showed that it was possible to use the survey to monitor other species. Abundance estimates are derived using conventional distance sampling analysis. Giant devil rays were observed mainly in the central-southern Adriatic (88% of total sightings). A total of 1595 giant devil rays were estimated in the central-southern Adriatic Sea [coefficient of variation(CV)=25%, uncorrected estimate for perception and availability bias]. When corrected for availability bias the number of specimens was estimated at 3255 (CV=56%). Population growth rate was estimated using life history traits and a sensitivity analysis was conducted to evaluate the benefit of improving biological knowledge on this data-poor species. A power analysis showed that a long-term commitment to an aerial survey would be necessary to monitor population trends. Conservation implications and future work, including how the study could be used to conduct an ecological risk assessment are discussed.La manta raya gigante (Mobula mobular) es una especie endémica protegida poco conocida de la región del Atlántico oriental-Mediterráneo. Sin embargo hasta la fecha no hay acciones de gestión que cubran todo su rango. Este artículo proporciona la primera visión de conjunto de la distribución y abundancia estival de esta especie y otras Myliobatiformes en el mar Adriático basada en un censo aéreo. Aunque los objetivos principales del censo eran cetáceos y tortugas marinas, el estudio mostró que era posible usar el censo para monitorizar otras especies. Las estimas de abundancia se derivaron utilizando análisis convencional de muestreo de distancias. Las manta rayas gigantes se observaron principalmente en el Adriático central y sur (88% de los avistamientos totales). Se estimaron un total de 1595 mantas rayas gigantes en el mar Adriático central-sur (CV=25%, estima no corregida para los sesgos de percepción y de disponibilidad). Cuando se corrigió para el sesgo de disponibilidad el número de especímenes se estimó en 3255 (CV=56%). La tasa de crecimiento de la población se estimó usando aspectos de la historia natural y se realizó un análisis de sensibilidad para evaluar el beneficio de mejorar el conocimiento biológico de esta especie de la que hay tan pocos datos. Un análisis de potencia mostró que sería necesario un compromiso a largo plazo para realizar censos aéreos para monitorizar las tendencias de la población. Se discuten las implicaciones para la conservación y trabajo futuro, incluyendo cómo se podría utilizar este estudio para llevar a cabo una evaluación ecológica de riesgo

Razine organoklorovih spojeva u tkivima kratkokljunog običnog dupina, Delphinus delphis, iz sjevernog Jadranskog mora

We analyzed 17 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and 7 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in blubber, liver, muscle, lung, heart and kidney of an adult male short-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) found dead stranded on the island of Cres (Croatia) in 2004. The PCB profile was dominated by hexachlorobiphenyls (39.4 – 63.2% of ΣPCB), with PCB-153 exhibiting the highest concentrations across all tissues. The pattern of PCB tissue distribution (ÓPCB) showed the highest burdens in blubber > liver > kidney > heart > muscle > lung, which were positively correlated with tissue lipid content (rs = 0.986, p blubber > liver > kidney > lung > heart, with no correlation to tissue lipid content (p > 0.05). Total DDTs were lower than total PCB levels for all tissues, with ΣPCB/ΣDDTs ratios ranging from 1.3 in blubber to 5.9 in muscles. Blubber OC burdens recorded in our specimen were among the highest found in a dolphin in the Mediterranean after the year 2000. This result and the presence of mono-ortho substituted PCBs with dioxin-like toxicity in all our samples may present an additional factor of concern for the conservation of regional dolphin populations.Analizirali smo 17 poliklorbifenila (PCB) i sedam organoklorovih pesticida (OCP) u potkožnom masnom tkivu, jetri, mišiću, plućima, srcu i bubregu odraslog mužjaka kratkokljunog običnog dupina (Delphinus delphis) koj je nađen nasukan na otoku Cresu (Hrvatska) 2004. godine. PCB profilom dominirali su heksaklorobifenili (39.4 – 63.2% ΣPCB), s PCB-153 utvrđenim s najvišim koncentracijama u svim tkivima. Raspodjela PCB-a u tkivima slijedi redoslijed: potkožno masno tkivo > jetra > bubreg > srce > mišić > pluća te pozitivno korelira sa sadržajem masti u pojedinom tkivu (rs = 0.986, p potkožno masno tkivo > jetra > bubreg > pluća > srce te ne pokazuje korelaciju sa sadržajem masti (p > 0.05). U svim su tkivima razine ukupnih DDT-a bile niže od razina ukupnih PCB-a, a omjeri ΣPCB/ΣDDTs u rasponu su od 1.3 u potkožnom masnom tkivu do 5.9 u mišiću. Razine organoklorovih spojeva u analiziranom uzorku potkožnog masnog tkiva među najvišim su nađenim razinama u dupinima u Sredozemnom moru nakon 2000. godine. Taj podatak te prisutnost mono-ortho supstituiranih PCB-a koji pokazuju toksičnost sličnu dioksinima u svim našim uzorcima mogu predstavljati dodatan razlog ugroženosti regionalne populacije dupina

Do Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and track two processes support transboundary marine conservation? Lessons from six case studies of maritime disputes

By definition, marine protected areas (MPAs) and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) address spatial aspects of the ecological processes and marine features. Such a requirement is especially challenging in areas where there is no clearly defined jurisdiction. However, in these areas, assigning sovereignty and rights can be achieved through bilateral or multilateral agreements, or with the use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) tools such as mediation and arbitration. In some cases, states may engage in transboundary marine conservation initiatives to provide an entry point to enable wider collaboration. These processes can also evolve into a form of ‘environmental peacebuilding’ while ideally maintaining ecosystem functioning and resilience as a core goal. Conversely, MPAs and OECMs can also be used to assert maritime sovereignty rights over disputed waters, under the pretext of conserving marine habitats. This paper identifies emerging issues of conflict resolution and their interaction with transboundary marine conservation. While ADR focuses on negotiations and facilitated processes between state representatives (“track one diplomacy”), we also discuss other forms and levels of marine environmental peacebuilding and dispute resolution, particularly those between civil society organizations (“track two diplomacy”). The six case studies presented highlight areas of recent maritime conflict or border disputes in the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, the West Indian Ocean, the Korean West Sea and the South China Sea. In all cases, high ecological value, vulnerable ecosystems, and the need to conserve ecosystem services provide a shared interest for cooperation despite on-going diplomatic difficulties. The strategies used in these cases are analyzed to determine what lessons might be learned from cross-border collaborative marine initiatives in situations of territorial dispute. The use of ADR tools and their ability to support joint marine initiatives are examined, as well as how such initiatives contribute to formal border negotiations. Other forms of inter-state dialogue and cooperation between local or civil organizations, circumventing formal treaties and negotiations between state leaders (‘track two’) are also investigated. Finally, other influencing factors, including third-party involvement, stakeholder interests, power dynamics, economic context, and socio-cultural aspects, are considered.European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST):15121info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Addressing transboundary conservation challenges through marine spatial prioritization

The Adriatic and Ionian Region (AIR) is an important area for both strategic maritime development and biodiversity conservation in the European Union (EU). However, given that both EU and non‐EU countries border the sea, multiple legal and regulatory frameworks operate at different scales which can hinder the coordinated long‐term sustainable development of the region. Transboundary marine (or maritime) spatial planning can help overcome these challenges by building consensus on planning objectives and making the trade‐offs between biodiversity conservation and its influence on economically important sectors more explicit. We approach this challenge by developing and testing four spatial prioritization strategies, using the decision‐support tool Marxan, which meets targets for biodiversity conservation whilst minimizing impacts to users. We evaluate these strategies in terms of how priority areas shift under different scales of target‐setting (e.g. regional versus country‐level). We also examine the trade‐off between cost‐efficiency and how equally solutions represent countries and maritime industries (N = 14) operating in the region using the Protection Equality metric. We show that there are negligible differences in where priority conservation areas are located when we set targets for biodiversity at the regional versus country scale. Conversely, the prospective impacts on industries, when considered as costs to be minimized, are highly divergent across scenarios and bias the placement of protection towards industries located in isolation or with few other industries. We conclude by making several recommendations to underpin future MSP efforts in the region, including the identification of: 1) areas of national significance, 2) transboundary areas requiring cooperation between countries, and 3) areas where impacts on maritime industries require careful consideration of the trade‐off between biodiversity conservation and socio‐economic objectives

Advancing marine conservation in European and contiguous seas with the MarCons Action

Cumulative human impacts have led to the degradation of marine ecosystems and the decline of biodiversity in the European and contiguous seas. Effective conservation measures are urgently needed to reverse these trends. Conservation must entail societal choices, underpinned by human values and worldviews that differ between the countries bordering these seas. Social, economic and political heterogeneity adds to the challenge of balancing conservation with sustainable use of the seas. Comprehensive macro-regional coordination is needed to ensure effective conservation of marine ecosystems and biodiversity of this region. Under the European Union Horizon 2020 framework programme, the MarCons COST action aims to promote collaborative research to support marine management, conservation planning and policy development. This will be achieved by developing novel methods and tools to close knowledge gaps and advance marine conservation science. This action will provide support for the development of macro-regional and national policies through six key actions: to develop tools to analyse cumulative human impacts; to identify critical scientific and technical gaps in conservation efforts; to improve the resilience of the marine environment to global change and biological invasions; to develop frameworks for integrated conservation planning across terrestrial, freshwater, and marine environments; to coordinate marine conservation policy across national boundaries; and to identify effective governance approaches for marine protected area management. Achieving the objectives of these actions will facilitate the integration of marine conservation policy into macro-regional maritime spatial planning agendas for the European and contiguous seas, thereby offsetting the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services in this region