Marine ecosystem based management

Marine Ecosystem–Based Management (EBM):
Contribution of Marine Biology for a Sustainable Future – Session 4
Mark Zacharias
Associate Adjunct Professor,
Department of Geography
University of Victoria
Assistant Deputy Minister,
Ministry of Agriculture and Lands
Province of British Columbia
 Diane Rome Peebles

My talk today
The Contribution of Marine Biology for a Sustainable Future – Session 4

Brief history of marine management from land/sea tenure systems to modern international agreements
What is marine EBM and where did it come from?
Steps to undertake successful marine EBM
International applications of marine EBM
A critique on marine EBM

Marine EBM : A personal perspective

Clean Energy;
Regional transportation;
Innovation, research and development;
Enhancing a sustainable regional economy, especially with respect to environmental good and services;
Emergency management

Pacific Coast Collaborative

Marine EBM : A manager’s perspective

What really is marine EBM?
Is it really different from status quo management?
How should it be properly applied?
How do I ensure EBM plans are implemented?
Is marine EBM good value for money?

Adaptive environmental assessment and management
Ecosystem-based management
Coastal zone management
Adaptive management
Integrated coastal zone management
Ecosystem approaches
Integrated ecosystem-based management
Ecologically sustainable development
Integrated management
Sustainable development
Environmental management systems
Integrated oceans management
Ecosystem approaches to fisheries
Ecosystem-based fisheries management
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s

1. Significant interest in the topic
2. Some jurisdictions have EBM legislation
3. Long application of EBM concepts in international law
4. EBM in many instances simply improved fisheries management
5. No single guide to marine EBM
6. EBM being applied in dozens of countries

Setting the context for marine EBM
200 Years
Ocean resources are inexhaustible
1760
Key fisheries are inexhaustible.
1860
1960
Major fish populations decline;
Traditional fishing communities breakdown; Ecosystems deteriorate.
Christensen et al. (2007)

Industrialized Fishing Fleets
Global Catch Since 1950
Catch (million tonnes)
Adapted : Christensen et al.,2008

Artificial radionuclides
Petroleum hydrocarbons
Chlorinated hydrocarbons
Metals
Organotin
Carcinogens
Mutagens
Pesticides
Endocrine disrupters
Acidification
Eutrophication
Disease
Visual
Plastic
Sewage
Garbage

Pollution

Light
Noise
Thermal
Invasive species

Pollution and contaminants

Habitat Loss
Other biotic communities
Mud flats and estuaries
Beaches
Dredging, dumping.
Kelp
Mangroves
Sea grasses
Corals

How we use marine environments
Biological resource harvesting
Mineral and energy extraction
Waste disposal
Biological resource cultivation
Transportation and communication
National defence and marine safety
Urban development
Tourism and recreation

What is Ecosystem-Based Management?
Puako Bay and Reef
Land & Sea
Tenure 1886
Hawaii
Ahupua’a
Vertical land-to-sea management units
Juvik et al. 2008, Mueller-Dombois and Wirawan (2005)

Pre 1886 Hawaiian management
Puako Bay & Reef
Ahupua’a

Pre 1886 Hawaiian management

Closed areas
Closed seasons or bans while spawning
Letting some fish escape (MSY)
Holding excess catch in enclosures until needed
Ban on taking small individuals
Use of lagoons when reefs too rough
Restrictions on taking seabirds or their eggs
Restrictions on the number of fish traps in an area
Bans on taking turtle eggs
Bans on taking turtles on the beach

1. Lagoon/reef tenure
2. Superstition/myth

Modern marine management
Hugo Grotius
Mare Liberum (1609)
John Selden
Mare clausum (1635)
Cornelius van Bynkershoek
De dominiomaris (1702)
The “cannon shot rule”

The ‘Common Property’ Rubric
Tragedies
Comedies
Local ‘private fish property’ wars
Commoners lose access to the commons
Policy speaks for the fishers & Science speaks for the fish
e.g., Chesapeake Bay oysters, 1900, Maryland, USA
Unregulated exploitation
Over-capitalization
Resource misappropriation
e.g., American lobster , 1895,
New England, USA
Kennedy and Breisch (1983)

Single-Species Management
Northern Shrimp
All too common…
Declining populations
Idoine (2006)

Multi-Species Management
The Northeast Multi-Species Groundfish Fishery
1. Minimum fish sizes by species
2. Closed areas
3. Protect spawning areas
Mayo and O’Brien (2006)

Limitations to current approaches
Fragmented ocean governance
Maintaining ecosystem elements
Managing diverse impacts
Lack of recognition of connections between:
Ecosystem structure, functioning and services
Land and the sea
Marine habitats
Species
Diverse stressor
Knowledge and uncertainty
Guerry 2005

What is marine EBM?
An integrated approach to management that considers the entire ecosystem, including humans with the goal to maintain an ecosystem in a healthy, productive, and resilient condition so that it can provide the services we want and need.
Compass 2005

P
Perspectives on marine EBM (1)
Ecological Society of America elements of marine EBM

Humans as ecosystem components
Sustainability
Goals
Sound ecological models and understanding
Complexity and connectedness
Dynamic character of ecosystems
Context and scale
Adaptability and accountability

Christensen et al. 1996

P
Reykjavik Declaration of Responsible Fisheries in the Marine Ecosystem

Fisheries should be managed to limit the impacts on the ecosystem to the extent possible
Ecological relationships between harvested, dependent and associated species should be maintained
Management should involve cross jurisdictional arrangements if required
A precautionary approach should be adopted
Governance arrangements should ensure ecosystem well-being and equity

FAO 2001

P
World Wildlife Fund elements of EBM

Maintain natural structure and function of ecosystems
Recognize that human uses and values are central to ecosystem management
Base management on a shared vision of stakeholders
Appreciate that all ecosystems are dynamic
Require a commitment of performance monitoring and management

WWF 2002

P
Pikitch et al. (2004)

EBM is a reversing the order of management priorities to start with the ecosystem rather than the target species
Overall objective is to sustain healthy marine ecosystems and the fisheries they support.

Guerry 2005

EBM is about perceiving the big picture, recognizing connections and striving to maintain elements of ecosystems

Where has EBM come from? (1)
CLOS—UN Law of the Sea (1982); STRAD—UN Agreement on Straddling Stocks (1995), SCK’72—Stockholm Declaration (1972); RIO—Rio Declaration (1992); A21—Agenda 21 (1992); COP—Decisions of Conference of the Parties (CBD) (1992–2003), WSSD—World Summit on Sustainable Development (2002); CODE—FAO Code of Conduct (1995); REY—FAO Reykjavik Declaration (2001)
Turrell et al. , 2004

CLOS—UN Law of the Sea; STRAD—UN Agreement on Straddling Stocks ;SCK’72—Stockholm Declaration; RIO—Rio Declaration;A21—Agenda 21 COP—Decisions of Conference of the Parties; WSSD—World Summit on Sustainable Development; CODE—FAO Code of Conduct REY—FAO Reykjavik Declaration

Which way lies successful EBM?
Step 1: Develop a common information base
Harmonize mapping of seacapes at a useful scale
Improve inventories of biodiversity
Monitor ecosystem services
Information categories
Oceanographic data
Physiographic data
Biological data
Human use data

Step 2: Describe and understand the system
Ecosystem classifications
Food web models
Oceanographic and dispersal models
Habitat suitability models
Socioeconomic models
Sample Ecosystem Classification
I. Marine regime
II. Broad-scale ecosystems
III. Structural geoforms/hydroforms
IV. Vertical zone (benthic, pelagic)
V. Macrohabitat (spatial/temporal)
VI. Fine-scale habitats
VII. Biotope (biosystems)

Step 3: Risk assessment
Determine what ecosystems are at the greatest risk and the ecosystem services they provide
Ecosystem services
Provisioning services that produce goods, such as food and fresh water
Regulating services that modulate ecosystem processes, such as disease control and climate regulation
Cultural services that provide nonmaterial benefits, such as education and recreation
Supporting services, such as nutrient cycling and primary production that are necessary for the generation of all other ecosystem services
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005)

Step 4: Priority setting / identifying objectives
Statement of the overarching aims and intended products from the effort
SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely)
Commercial fish species
Marine mammals
Seabirds
Fish communities
Benthic communities
Plankton communities
Threatened or declining species
Eutrophication

Step 5: Select targets (goals) for objectives
Determine the amount (abundance, area) of targets required to meet objectives
Can be tied to socio-economic goals in terms of area (tourism, fishing, development) and abundance (ecosystem services, fisheries)
Example targets
100% of Hawksbill turtle nesting sites
30% of coral reef area
< 100 ng /l TBT
< 5mg Chl -a / m3
< 10,000 kg landings per day

Step 6: Identify strategies to meet objectives
Zone-based (place-based) management
Fishery ecosystem plans for each zone
Alternative marine governance systems
Eco-certification
Rights based fishery management
Burden of proof
Precautionary principle
Education and outreach
Legislation and policy
Technological solutions

Step 7: Monitoring and adaptive management
Implementation monitoring whether strategies are implemented
Compliance monitoring whether strategies are being followed
Effectiveness monitoring as to whether strategies are meeting targets
Revision of strategies and targets if necessary

South Florida Ecosystem
Restoration Task Force
Western Everglades:
The Big Cypress located on Shoshone Tribal Land abuts striking Everglades conversion for agriculture & livestock.
Eastern Everglades:
The Loxahatchee Canal passes through the impounded north-eastern Everglades, carrying water from Lake Okeechobee to row-crop agriculture and development in West Palm Beach.

South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force
Divide watersheds into eco-units
A conceptual ecological model developed for each eco-unit
Identify key environmental factors that must be maintained or restored in each eco-unit
Determine what flow are require d to maintain objectives in eco-unit
Marathon, The Florida Keys

Scientists talk to each other
Agencies cooperate
Science introduced into the policy arena
Identified the problem (QQTD)
Managers and scientists speak the same language
Federal cost sharing legislation

Conclusions and final thoughts
Policy makers dictate EBM but currently EBM doesn’t dictate policy
Marine EBM needs a single, agreed-upon definition
EBM still a catch-all term for multi-species management in many jurisdictions
EBM is ‘tools-rich’ but ‘solutions-poor’
No single EBM handbook
EBM or EBM-like principles will soon preface all human management in the natural world
Marine biologists are central in the successful implementation of marine EBM

Thank you
Dr. Mark Zacharias
Nancy Wright
Research & Design
 Diane Rome Peebles