Catching the Right Wave: Evaluating Wave Energy Resources and Potential Compatibility with Existing Marine and Coastal Uses

Many hope that ocean waves will be a source for clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy, yet wave energy conversion facilities may affect marine ecosystems through a variety of mechanisms, including competition with other human uses. We developed a decision-support tool to assist siting wave energy facilities, which allows the user to balance the need for profitability of the facilities with the need to minimize conflicts with other ocean uses. Our wave energy model quantifies harvestable wave energy and evaluates the net present value (NPV) of a wave energy facility based on a capital investment analysis. The model has a flexible framework and can be easily applied to wave energy projects at local, regional, and global scales. We applied the model and compatibility analysis on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada to provide information for ongoing marine spatial planning, including potential wave energy projects. In particular, we conducted a spatial overlap analysis with a variety of existing uses and ecological characteristics, and a quantitative compatibility analysis with commercial fisheries data. We found that wave power and harvestable wave energy gradually increase offshore as wave conditions intensify. However, areas with high economic potential for wave energy facilities were closer to cable landing points because of the cost of bringing energy ashore and thus in nearshore areas that support a number of different human uses. We show that the maximum combined economic benefit from wave energy and other uses is likely to be realized if wave energy facilities are sited in areas that maximize wave energy NPV and minimize conflict with existing ocean uses. Our tools will help decision-makers explore alternative locations for wave energy facilities by mapping expected wave energy NPV and helping to identify sites that provide maximal returns yet avoid spatial competition with existing ocean uses

Modeling Seasonal Distribution of Irrawaddy Dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris) in a Transnational Important Marine Mammal Area

Fishing activities continue to decimate populations of marine mammals, fish, and their habitats in the coastal waters of the Kep Archipelago, a cluster of tropical islands on the Cambodia-Vietnam border. In 2019, the area was recognized as an Important Marine Mammal Area, largely owing to the significant presence of Irrawaddy dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris). Understanding habitat preferences and distribution aids in the identification of areas to target for monitoring and conservation, which is particularly challenging in data-limited nations of Southeast Asia. Here, we test the hypothesis that accurate seasonal habitat models, relying on environmental data and species occurrences alone, can be used to describe the ecological processes governing abundance for the resident dolphin population of the Kep Archipelago, Cambodia. Leveraging two years of species and oceanographic data—depth, slope, distance to shore and rivers, sea surface temperature, and chlorophyll-a concentration—we built temporally stratified models to estimate distribution and infer seasonal habitat importance. Overall, Irrawaddy dolphins of Kep displayed habitat preferences similar to other populations, and were predominately encountered in three situations: (1) water depths ranging from 3.0 to 5.3 m, (2) surface water temperatures of 27–32°C, and (3) in close proximity to offshore islands (< 7.5 km). With respect to seasonality, statistical tests detected significant differences for all environment variables considered except seafloor slope. Four predictor sets, each with a unique combination of variables, were used to map seasonal variation in dolphin habitat suitability. Models with highest variable importance scores were water depth, pre- and during monsoon season (61–62%), and sea surface temperature, post-monsoon (71%), which suggests that greater freshwater flow during the wet season may alter primary productivity and dolphin prey abundance. Importantly, findings show the majority of areas with highest habitat suitability are not currently surveyed for dolphins and located outside Kep’s Marine Fisheries Management Area. This research confirms the need to expand monitoring to new areas where high-impact fisheries and other human activities operate. Baseline knowledge on dolphin distribution can guide regional conservation efforts by taking into account the seasonality of the species and support the design of tailored management strategies that address transboundary threats to an Important Marine Mammal Area

A spatial explicit vulnerability assessment for a coastal socio-ecological Natura 2000 site

In line with the global trend, the Ria de Aveiro coastal lagoon is subjected to multiple co-occurring pressures threatening vital benefits flowing from nature to people. The main objective of this research was to assess the status of habitats important for ecosystem services in the Ria de Aveiro by identifying vulnerable areas to anthropogenic threats. The pressures from seven relevant human activities (recreation, services, aquaculture, agriculture, commercial development, unintended impacts from management, and invasive alien species) were analysed based on their spatiotemporal distribution (exposure) and impact over the EUNIS habitats (EUNIS codes A2.2, A2.22 – sand flats and beaches; A2.3 – mud flats; A2.61 – seagrasses; A2.5, A2.53C, A2.535, A2.545, A2.554 – salt marshes; and, X10 – ‘Bocage,’ a landscape of small-hedged fields) in seven distinct landscape units. A prospective scenario, co-developed for the year 2030, was evaluated using a map-based risk assessment tool and brought forward the near-term vulnerability of the seagrass biotope. The highest risks posed to intertidal habitats (mud flats and salt marshes) were driven mainly by environmental management activities that support critical socio-economic sectors. Our methodology evaluated plausible threats to habitats in the near term, established baseline knowledge for the adaptive management process in Ria de Aveiro Natura 2000 site, and showcased how future assessments can inform the operationalization of ecosystem-based management as new information becomes available

The Power of Three: Coral Reefs, Seagrasses and Mangroves Protect Coastal Regions and Increase Their Resilience

Natural habitats have the ability to protect coastal communities against the impacts of waves and storms, yet it is unclear how different habitats complement each other to reduce those impacts. Here, we investigate the individual and combined coastal protection services supplied by live corals on reefs, seagrass meadows, and mangrove forests during both non-storm and storm conditions, and under present and future sea-level conditions. Using idealized profiles of fringing and barrier reefs, we quantify the services supplied by these habitats using various metrics of inundation and erosion. We find that, together, live corals, seagrasses, and mangroves supply more protection services than any individual habitat or any combination of two habitats. Specifically, we find that, while mangroves are the most effective at protecting the coast under non-storm and storm conditions, live corals and seagrasses also moderate the impact of waves and storms, thereby further reducing the vulnerability of coastal regions. Also, in addition to structural differences, the amount of service supplied by habitats in our analysis is highly dependent on the geomorphic setting, habitat location and forcing conditions: live corals in the fringing reef profile supply more protection services than seagrasses; seagrasses in the barrier reef profile supply more protection services than live corals; and seagrasses, in our simulations, can even compensate for the long-term degradation of the barrier reef. Results of this study demonstrate the importance of taking integrated and place-based approaches when quantifying and managing for the coastal protection services supplied by ecosystems

Using GIS and stakeholder involvement to innovate marine mammal bycatch risk assessment in data-limited fisheries

Fisheries bycatch has been identified as the greatest threat to marine mammals worldwide. Characterizing the impacts of bycatch on marine mammals is challenging because it is difficult to both observe and quantify, particularly in small-scale fisheries where data on fishing effort and marine mammal abundance and distribution are often limited. The lack of risk frameworks that can integrate and visualize existing data have hindered the ability to describe and quantify bycatch risk. Here, we describe the design of a new geographic information systems tool built specifically for the analysis of bycatch in small-scale fisheries, called Bycatch Risk Assessment (ByRA). Using marine mammals in Malaysia and Vietnam as a test case, we applied ByRA to assess the risks posed to Irrawaddy dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris) and dugongs (Dugong dugon) by five small-scale fishing gear types (hook and line, nets, longlines, pots and traps, and trawls). ByRA leverages existing data on animal distributions, fisheries effort, and estimates of interaction rates by combining expert knowledge and spatial analyses of existing data to visualize and characterize bycatch risk. By identifying areas of bycatch concern while accounting for uncertainty using graphics, maps and summary tables, we demonstrate the importance of integrating available geospatial data in an accessible format that taps into local knowledge and can be corroborated by and communicated to stakeholders of data-limited fisheries. Our methodological approach aims to meet a critical need of fisheries managers: to identify emergent interaction patterns between fishing gears and marine mammals and support the development of management actions that can lead to sustainable fisheries and mitigate bycatch risk for species of conservation concern

Workshop on sea bird bycatch monitoring in the NEAFC regulatory areas (WKBB)

In 2021, ICES received a special request for advice from the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) on seabird bycatch in the NEAFC regulatory areas (RAs). Data scoping exercises conducted in 2021, 2022, and 2023 on the availability of bycatch data in the region on the one hand and on the availability of fisheries data on the other hand concluded of important shortages both in terms of quality and quantity that prevented in-depth analyses of the magnitude and the scale of the seabird bycatch problem in the NEAFC RAs. The Workshop on seabird Bycatch monitoring in the NEAFC regulatory areas (WKBB) was the next step in the NEAFC special request. This report describes the work undertaken at the WKBB workshop that took place in Copenhagen and online in May 2023, presents a synthesis of the analytical outputs (including conclusions), and provides some recommendations for the scope and implementation of a pilot monitoring programme which will significantly improve the evidence base related to the incidental bycatch of seabirds in commercial fisheries operating in the NEAFC RAs. The data at hand for the workshop – fisheries effort and two complementary seabird tracking datasets – were used to estimate the spatiotemporal overlap between seabirds and fishing activities in the period 2018-2022. Following this, a bycatch risk assessment method originally developed for marine mammal bycatch (called ByRA) was adapted to estimate risk scores and to map high-risk areas for 20 seabird species susceptible to bycatch in the NEAFC RAs. The results are discussed, including the uncertainty in the data used during the workshop. Based on the results from the ByRA, the last part of the report presents recommendations for a pilot monitoring study to increase the understanding of the scale and of the magnitude of seabirds-fisheries interactions in the NEAFC RAs

Market opportunities for octopus in the Atlantic area: Cephs & Chefs: summary of main achievements

Sem resumo disponível.INTERREG Atlantic Area (EAPA 282/2016)publishe

Identifying sustainability priorities among value chain actors in artisanal common octopus fisheries

The United Nations (UN) Decade of Ocean Science highlights a need to improve the way in which scientific results effectively inform action and policies regarding the ocean. Our research contributes to achieving this goal by identifying practical actions, barriers, stakeholder contributions and resources required to increase the sustainability of activities carried out in the context of artisanal fisheries to meet UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA) Global Action Plan (GAP) Pillar targets. We conducted a novel ‘social value chain analysis’ via a participatory workshop to elicit perspectives of value chain actors and fisheries stakeholders associated with two Spanish artisanal common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) fisheries (western Asturias—Marine Stewardship Council [MSC] certified, and Galicia—non-MSC certified) about their priorities regarding sustainable octopus production and commercializationOpen Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature. The authors acknowledge the financial support from the Cephs and Chefs Project (https://www.cephsandchefs.com/) funded by the European Regional Development Fund (https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/funding/erdf/) through the Interreg Atlantic Area Programme grant number EAPA_282/2016. CP, TF, KR and DC would also like to acknowledge financial support to CESAM by FCT/MCTES (UIDP/50017/2020 + UIDB/50017/2020 + LA/P/0094/2020), through national funds. CP acknowledges the FCT research contract 2020.02510.CEECIND. SV and PP acknowledge the financial support from the Xunta de Galicia (https://www.xunta.gal/portada) (RECREGES II project under Grant 1400 ED481B2018/017 and Grupo de Referencia Competitiva GI-2060 AEMI, under Grant 1401 ED431C2019/11). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscriptS