Aquaculture site selection: A GIS-based approach to marine spatial planning in Scotland

This thesis explores, tests and develops various methods and tools for implementing Marine Spatial Planning and aquaculture site selection within Scottish waters. Utilising geographically referenced data sets from numerous sources, a Geographical Information System (GIS) was used to map the spatial distribution of activities; their associated pressures, locations of marine environments and biological communities within Scotland’s sea area. Marine Zoning Schemes such as legislation based Multiple-Use Zoning Scheme and environmentally derived Marine Planning Frameworks have been applied and tested to support and inform the development of a new Prototype Zoning Scheme. The influence of inclusion of different data sets on zone coverage and extent has been explored with specific reference to the amount of protection the resultant zones provide to species and habitats that have significant conservation importance. Building on these zoning schemes, the application of GIS-based Multi-Criteria Analysis models has been appraised and their application investigated for both finfish cage and shellfish long-line aquaculture. This study has explored the suitability of alternative criteria and weighting configurations along with the feasibility of large sea-scale site selection models. In developing and investigating the viability of integrating these models within marine management frameworks such as zoning schemes, this study aims to inform planners, and both aid and inform decision making and management of future aquaculture developments. Together these studies contribute both practical recommendations for sustainable aquaculture development in the future and novel applications within the wider discipline of Marine Spatial Planning. They aim to contribute information to ensure both the sustainability and success of the Scottish aquaculture industry as well as the continued improvement and development of ecosystem-based marine planning and management

An interprofessional approach to trauma-informed care in the Mood and Anxiety program at Health Sciences North

The advanced practicum explored an interdisciplinary approach to trauma-informed care while working on an interprofessional health team in the Mood and Anxiety Program (MAP) at Health Sciences North in Sudbury, Ontario. The MAP team offers group-based therapy that is guided by evidence-based practices which include Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), mindfulness-based approaches and Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT). Individual treatment is also offered to individuals with a diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The literature review analyzed the following key themes: CBT trauma treatment, DBT trauma treatment, trauma and substance abuse, interprofessional collaboration and narrative therapy trauma models. Entry-level social workers have little knowledge about working with PTSD and trauma exposure is often the driving force of many presenting issues for individuals struggling with mental health issues. Social work students need to be educated and have practical experience about trauma-informed care to be effective practitioners in the field of social work.Master of Social Wor

Quantifying marine vessel traffic from aerial surveys in the Salish Sea

There are a number of potential impacts associated with vessel traffic on marine ecosystems, including noise and oil pollution, ship-strikes, and fishing and fisheries bycatch. To assess these impacts, many studies employ marine traffic data collected using Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) onboard vessels. However, AIS only captures a fraction of the actual marine traffic because it omits many of the smaller vessels, which are not legally required to carry AIS. Without this information, the assessment of vessel-associated impacts based on AIS is inherently flawed, and underestimated. The NEMES (Noise Exposure to the Marine Environment from Ships) project is particularly interested in this unknown component of marine traffic as non-AIS vessels are likely contributing a considerable amount of noise in the Salish Sea. With the assistance of the National Aerial Surveillance Program (NASP), we have been collecting vessel traffic information for both AIS and non-AIS vessels during two years (2016, 2017) in parts of the Salish Sea. The AIS receiver and sensors onboard the NASP aircraft can collect AIS information and video with positional information of target objects such as vessels. The video also allows the characterization of the vessel type (e.g., sailboat, motorboat, fishing vessel) and vessel activity (i.e., fishing, motoring or sailing). Results indicate that non-AIS vessels contribute at least 60% of the overall vessel traffic in surveyed areas between 2016 and 2017. The majority of these non-AIS vessels are recreational vessels, particularly during the summer months and near popular touristic destinations such as the Southern Gulf Islands. Through this work, we are now able to build a more complete picture of the distribution and type of vessels using the Salish Sea, and have a better understanding of their potential impacts to the marine ecosystem

First port of call : a horizon scanning workshop for sustainable Arctic marine infrastructure

Funding Information: The “Scanning the Horizon: Identifying challenges, knowledge gaps and opportunities for sustainable development of port infrastructure for the Arctic’s Shipping Routes” workshop was funded by the Scottish Government’s Arctic Connection Fund; ref No. ACF21-02 ( https://www.gov.scot/publications/arctic-connections-fund-successful-projects/ ) and supported by the EU Horizon 2020 Funded ePICenter project, grant agreement No. 861584 ( https://epicenterproject.eu/ ). The authors would like to thank Jan Dusik of WWF Arctic programme for his considerable contribution to the project proposal and submission, workshop planning and facilitation; Anthony Field, WWF UK for reviewing the workshop report; and Andrea Norgren, WWF Arctic Programme for her help with social media and dissemination of the workshop outputs. In addition, the authors would like to thank the MASTS pooling initiative (The Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland is funded by the Scottish Funding Council; grant ref No. HR09011) and contributing institutions) and Hannah Ladd-Jones for their support, provision of the workshop online platform and assistance with workshop facilitation. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Same space, different standards : a review of cumulative effects assessment practice for marine mammals

The lead author is a PhD student, whose stipend during the undertaking of this work was provided by a James Watt scholarship (Heriot-Watt University). Financial support enabling the open access publication of this research was provided by Natural England - the government’s adviser for the natural environment in England.Marine mammals are vulnerable to a variety of acute and chronic anthropogenic stressors, potentially experiencing these in isolation, successively and/or simultaneously. Formal assessment of the likely impact(s) of the cumulative effects of multiple stressors on a defined population is carried out through a Cumulative Effects Assessment (CEA), which is a mandatory component of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process in many countries. However, for marine mammals, the information required to feed into CEA, such as thresholds for disturbance, frequency of multiple (and simultaneous) exposures, interactions between stressors, and individual variation in response, is extremely limited, though our understanding is slowly improving. The gaps in knowledge make it challenging to effectively quantify and subsequently assess the risk of individual and population consequences of multiple disturbances in the form of a CEA. To assess the current state of practice for assessing cumulative effects on marine mammals within UK waters, 93 CEAs were reviewed across eleven maritime industries. An objective framework of thirteen evaluative criteria was used to score each assessment on a scale of 13-52 (weak - strong). Scores varied significantly by industry. On average, the aquaculture industry produced the lowest scoring CEAs, whilst the large offshore windfarm industry (≥ 20 turbines) scored highest, according to the scoring criteria used. There was a significant increase in scores over the sample period (2009-2019), though this was mostly attributed to five industries (cable, large and small offshore wind farms, tidal and wave energy). There was inconsistency in the language used to define and describe cumulative effects and a lack of routinely applied methodology. We use the findings presented here, along with a wider review of the literature, to provide recommendations and discussion points aimed at supporting the standardisation and improvement of CEA practice. Although this research focused on how marine mammals were considered within UK CEAs, recommendations made are broadly applicable to assessments conducted for other receptors, countries and/or environments. Adoption of these proposals would help to ensure a more consistent approach, and would aid decision-makers and practitioners in mitigating any potential impacts, to ensure conservation objectives of marine mammal populations are not compromised.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Capturing Information on Vessels and Cetaceans: developing a passive monitoring system for Boundary Pass

As marine traffic intensifies in the Salish Sea, cetaceans, and in particular, Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKWs), are continually facing increasing amounts of exposure to noise and other disturbances from movements of vessels. While the majority of large vessel activity can be captured and assessed through the use of Automatic Identification Systems (AIS), the contribution of smaller non-AIS vessels is difficult to quantify and currently largely under assessed. Increasingly, government and industry are required to take operational and strategic mitigation measures to minimise vessel disturbances on cetaceans without reliable, comprehensive data and analysis to inform those decisions. Therefore this work focuses on filling these gaps by collecting information on both non-AIS vessels and the presence of marine mammal (including SRKW) within Boundary Pass) using three passive forms of data collection: an AIS receiver, hydrophones and a land-based camera. This talk describes an outline of the camera work being undertaken, from the design stages to installation. It will highlight some of the initial findings from the early analysis work along with some of the challenges and limitations of this type of data. Additionally, acoustic data on cetaceans in Boundary Pass will also be presented. Unlike the camera this form of passive monitoring is only able to capture the presence of cetaceans when they are vocalizing. Evidence already exists to suggest that some species reduce their rate of vocalization in the presence of vessels (and their associated noise). Therefore, integration of both acoustic and visual data will enable us to build a more complete picture of cetacean habitat use and the relationship between vessels and cetaceans in Boundary Pass. Furthermore, the information obtained through analysis of this data is also particularly important for informing models that aim to assess the level of vessel disturbance cetaceans are subjected to