Academic literature on the topic 'Fisheries functional zones'

Abstract Marine and coastal economies are the drivers of growth for many nations around the world. Close proximity to the sea generates positive externalities being especially strong in coastal areas, whose effective governance is a challenge. The greatest challenge to date is ambiguity in delimitation of a coastal zone, as static criteria based on density of population and industry, are limited in our understanding of the functional connectivity of the sea and land. This article studies functional boundaries of a coastal zone by focusing on the geoinformation analysis of marine-related R&D. We hypothesize that maritime knowledge flows between the customers and contractors of R&D projects can outline the actual configuration of coastal zone in its knowledge production domain. The research data is sourced from ROSRID database of 2017-2019, covering 1,773 marine-related R&D projects funded or executed by entities located across 119 municipalities of 64 regions in Russia. The results of the study showed that maritime knowledge flows are not limited to coastal municipalities or even coastal regions. Some research areas, such as Fisheries, aquaculture and marine life studies, are more localized in coastal zones than others, although featuring an overall strong interconnectedness between inland and coastal territories. Functional delimitation of coastal zone management areas using dynamic data on spatial networks can enhance the effectiveness of coastal zone management.

Abstract Global warming is leading to range shifts of marine species, threatening the structure and functioning of ecological communities and human populations that rely on them. The largest changes are seen in biogeographic transition zones, such as subtropical reef communities, where species range shifts are already causing substantial community reorganisation. This causes functional changes in communities over subtropical latitudes, though a baseline functional understanding remains elusive for many taxa. One key marine taxon are molluscs, which provide many ecosystem services, are important prey for fishes and are also fisheries targets themselves, but remain largely unstudied. Here, we examine the trait composition, functional diversity, and functional redundancy of mollusc assemblages along the tropical-to-temperate transition in Japan (25° to 35° Northern latitude). Specifically, we use a trait database of 88 mollusc species from 31 subtropical reefs along the Pacific coast of Japan to show that trait composition of mollusc assemblages changes continuously along the latitudinal gradient. We discover that functional diversity of mollusc assemblages decreases with increasing latitude, a pattern associated with declines in functional dispersion. Moreover, we find a clear distinction between tropical and subtropical mollusc assemblages, with substrate-attached, suspension feeding bivalves more abundant in the tropics and free-living gastropod grazers more prevalent at higher latitudes. Our trait-based evidence in this study shows a contraction and almost complete shift in the functioning of marine mollusc assemblages at biogeographic transition zones and our trait database facilitates further study. Our findings provide evidence of the changing taxonomic and functional composition of extant mollusc communities with latitude, pointing to potential pertinent changes and tropicalisation of these communities with rapid ocean warming.

Elasmobranchs are active predators that depend on a highly developed visual system. The eyes of the southern stingray, Dasyatis americana, are adapted to a changing light environment in coastal zones. In this study we use morphological characters and molecular methods (mtDNA COI) to describe an eyeless morphotype of D. americana from six individuals collected from commercial small-scale fisheries on the Campeche Bank (southern Gulf of Mexico). Additionally to the eyeless characteristic, both regular (presence of eye) and eyeless (absence of eye) morphotypes have contrasting quantitative values and qualitative features for different phenotypic traits (color, teeth number, pelvic fin and spiracle form). Mature female and male eyeless morphotype had functional internal reproductive structures. Using the bar code gene, we found conclusive evidence that the eyeless morphotype belongs to the species D. americana. This is the first report on reproductively functional eyeless individuals of this species or close relatives elsewhere, which live sympatrically with regular D. americana individuals in the southern Gulf of Mexico

This review evaluates the vulnerability of South African estuaries to Climate Change in a data-limited environment. The regional-scale assessment is based on physical characteristics and predicted/measured changes in the abiotic drivers and ecosystem responses. The major Climate Change stressors were identified in order of importance as change in climatic and hydrological processes, ocean circulation and temperature regimes, sea level rise, increase in frequency and intensity of sea storms, and ocean acidification. Flow-related ecosystem responses included changes in mouth state, salinity regimes, biochemical regimes (nutrient fluxes), and floods and related sediment deposition/erosion cycles. The regional vulnerability assessment provides a summary of the key shifts scaled as high, medium, and low in estuary state. Changes in oceanic processes and temperature regimes drive shifts in nearshore temperatures of the transitional zones, with related ecological responses (e.g., range expansion). However, most structural and functional changes are expected along cool temperate and subtropical biogeographical regions, leading to notable shifts in mouth closures and salinity regimes, which in turn will affect estuary function and estuary-associated species. Monitoring and management of resources (e.g., fresh water and fisheries allocations) need to consider this in long-term planning.

Biodiversity provides “raw materials” for the food chain and seafood production, and also influences the capacity of ecosystems to perform these and other services. Harvested marine seafood species now exceed 100 million t y -1 and provide about 6% of all protein and 17% of animal protein consumed by humans. These resources include representatives from about nine biologically diverse groups of plants and animals. Fish account for most of the world’s marine catches, of which only 40 species are taken in abundance. Highest primary productivity and the richest fisheries are found within Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ). This narrow strip (200 nautical mile/370 km wide) is not only the site of coastal “food factories” but also the area associated with heaviest perturbation to the marine environment. Structural redundancy is evident in marine ecosystems, in that many species are interchangeable in the way they characterise assemblage composition. While there is probably functional redundancy within groups, the effects of species loss on ecosystem performance cannot be easily predicted. In particular, the degree to which biodiversity per se is needed for ecosystem services, including seafood/fishery production, is poorly understood. Many human activities, including unsustainable fishing and mariculture, lead to erosion of marine biodiversity. This can undermine the biophysical cornerstones of fisheries and have other undesirable environmental side effects. Of direct concern are “species effects”, in particular the removal of target and non-target fishery species, as well as conservationally important fauna. Equally disrupting but less immediate are “ecosystem effects”, such as fishing down the food web, following a shift from harvested species of high to low trophic level. Physical and biological disturbances from trawl nets and dynamite fishing on coral reefs can also severely impact ecosystem structure and function. “Broadscale” biological and social effects brought about by fishing carry even more far-reaching consequences. For example, fishing itself can change the age at which sexual maturity is reached, thus affecting the reproductive status of the stock. Hence, fishing may be regarded as a mediator of evolution. Social impacts include conflicts over fish prices and policies arising from heavy fishing and inadequate institutional structures. Measures to increase the sustainability of catches and of biodiversity need to be much more tightly coupled. Promising approaches include use of bio-economic indicators and fully protected marine areas. High- and local-level governance options are also examined. Use of expert systems incorporating “fuzzy logic” are providing useful environmental insights in the ASEAN countries and other parts of the world, and have applications in fishery management and biodiversity conservation.

The article underlines the need to pass from the traditional methods of organization, planning and control over the processes and systems of industrial fishing to the innovative methods based on new qualitative level of development of the theory of industrial fishing, which is stipulated by the problems of scientific rationale, description and forecasting the prospects and results of development of the fisheries industry at the present stage. The modern approach to organization, planning and management of fishing activities involves taking into account the multicomponent composition of factors forming the fishing systems and defining basic object of study – a fishing zone of the fishery basin. In the result of studying the Eastern-Kamchatka zone of the Far Eastern fishery basin it has been established that in the course of conducting fishing activities biological, technical and technological components interact in a complex manner including resource potential, production units (fishing fleet), and fishing technologies; the strong links between them and their properties determining the integrative qualities of the total commercial zone have been noted. The established system regularities in functioning of multi-species fishing system Fishery allowed to design its structural model and to determine a sequence of functional stages.

Ukraine ranks first in Europe in the number of natural water bodies. These abundant water resources are the source of significant fish resources, which are effectively exploited by the fishing industry. Rationalization and equal distribution of the commercial load, the reduction of the commercial pressure on the main fish species has always been an urgent issue. This can be achieved by shifting the focus of fishing to other types of fish, which will allow rational use of the entire complex of commercial species. The Prussian carp Carassius gibelio (Bloch, 1782) is among such promising objects of fishing - a massive, small-particle species, which in certain water bodies of Ukraine has displaced other minor commercial fish species and formed stable numerical populations. A decisive role in the age structure formation of the Prussian carp population was played by the increase in the specific number of middle and older age groups, which is associated with an insufficient level of commercial load. Thus, the variation series of this species in the commercial catches of 2021, unlike other species, had the form of a double-peaked curve, which was formed due to the loss of size classes of 25-28 cm. According to the Fishing Rules and the Regime of Fishery Operation of the Dnipro Reservoirs in force today, nets with a step are allowed hole a=38-49 mm and 70 mm and more. This distribution of commercial load selectivity reduces pressure on bream and bream populations. However, it also causes a significant increase in the stock of Prussian carp. And this alien species has formed abundant populations in the Kremenchuk Reservoir. Thus, its average annual catch in the period 2000-2020 increased from 44.6 to 462.4 tons or 10 times in 20 years. We should note that Prussian carp occupied an insignificant segment of the catch - no more than 0.1% by weight in the traditional commercial set of gill nets (a=75-90 mm) at the Kremenchuk Reservoir, while, in the 50-60 mm mesh size nets this species is dominant with a share in catches of up to 60% by weight. Thus, the main indicators that characterize the fisheries and environmental protection components of gill net fishing are a mesh size that deals with part of the main target fishing objects, size and weight indices, and bycatch of immature commercially valuable species. The gill nets with 50-60 mm generally meet the requirements for the current legislation and might be used for targeted harvest of the species in the littoral zones. Considering the need to intensify fishing for Prussian carp and its high actual specific mass in catches of nets with a mesh size of 50-60 mm, the implementation of specialized fishing for this species in the Dnieper reservoirs can be considered as a means of optimizing the use of the formed bioresource for the commercial fishery. In order to minimize the negative impact of this fishing on the structural and functional indicators of the bream population, specialized fishing should be focused on the areas of accumulation of Prussian carp, i.e. it is a specialized fishery with a share of Prussian at least 50%. The necessity of the meliorative capture introduction aimed to downgrade the reproductive core of the population of this alien species to prevent its uncontrolled population growth.

The decade-long process of negotiation leading to a new regime of Oceans Law is drawing to a close. One of its major achievements to date is the elaboration of an entirely new concept in ocean space, the exclusive economic zone. Canada has played a leading role in bringing about consensus on the main elements of this zonal approach, a bridge linking certain features of the territorial sea regime with a number of safeguards derived from the exercise of high seas rights. Canada 's contribution was based generally on a novel application of the functional approach which has been prevalent in Canada 's treatment of Law of the Sea issues over the past few years. The idea was to apply the principles of delegation of powers to those of functionalism, in order to foster a zonal approach whereby certain functional rights and obligations (pertaining, for instance, to fisheries or to the marine environment) would be carried out by the coastal state on behalf of the international community. In recognition of its exercise of this mandate, and in regard to its geographical proximity to the ocean space it managed, the coastal state would be granted a preferential (and for most purposes an exclusive) access to the resources of the zone. One of the best examples of this approach can be found in Canada 's earliest efforts to deal with the fundamental issue of fishing rights at the Conference. Bringing a multi-disciplinary focus to bear on the need to distinguish between different species of fish in the coastal areas, the Canadian delegation, with the co-sponsorship of a number of like-minded countries, brought forward proposals tailored to the management and exploitation of these species.

Rivers and wetlands in Myanmar provide essential services to people in terms of transportation, agriculture, fisheries and a myriad of other ecosystem services, all of which are dependent on a healthy ecosystem. Irrigation channels are also an important part of the infrastructure for daily water use in Myanmar. The objective of this research is to describe the aquatic ecosystem of irrigation channels using aquatic macroinvertebrate communities. The research focused on the taxonomic composition of the aquatic macroinvertebrates of the Zawgyi River and the associated irrigation channels in central Myanmar, east of the city of Mandalay. Significant differences between the river and channels, and among individual channels, were shown using an analysis of similarity: Bray–Curtis similarity, a multivariate equivalent of the univariate statistical method of analysis of variance: ANOSIM and an analysis of similarity percentages: SIMPER by Plymouth Routines in Multivariate Ecological Research: PRIMER v6 software. The initial findings suggest that there is a clear separation between macroinvertebrate communities at the morpho-species level of identification between river and irrigation channels, while there is less separation between functional feeding groups (FFG) between them. The lower taxonomic level of discrimination at the family level using a water quality index showed no significant difference between river and channels. The preliminary field results indicate that a recently modified biomonitoring index method could be applied in Myanmar to assess the ecological water quality of the modified river, as well as human-made channels.

Introduction. Today much attention is paid to the role of a family in the system of psychological, medical and pedagogical support for children with disabilities. The need to study the functional resource of a family with a child with special educational needs in order to identify its problem areas and determine psychotherapeutic targets determines the relevance of this study. Materials and methods. The study involved 32 families raising children with disabilities aged 4 to 7; the comparison group consisted of 32 families raising healthy children of the same age. The experience of family life is 5-8 years. The age of parents is from 27 to 38 years old. The following research methods and techniques were used: a test of the functional resource of the family by N.M. Lavrova and V.V. Lavrov; statistical processing was carried out using Pearson's chi-squared goodness-of-fit test and Fisher's angular transformation test. Results. In the group of families raising healthy children, in 9 families the functional resource indicators corresponded to the "high positive" zone, in 22 families an “average positive” resource was determined, in one family – a low positive resource. Among families raising a child with disabilities, two families had indicators on the border of “high positive”/“average positive” resource, in most cases (18 families) the indicators showed an “average positive” resource; in 12 families, the indicators corresponded to a “low positive” and “weakly negative” resource. When comparing indicators in families raising a child with disabilities with indicators in families with a healthy child, using Pearson's chi-squared goodness-of-fit test, significant differences were revealed (χ2 value is 19.620, p≤0.01). This indicates that the functional resource of families raising a child with disabilities is significantly lower than that of families raising a healthy child. The study of the functional resource of the family by this method made it possible to identify problem areas and determine the direction of the study of response patterns using a focused genogram in order to determine therapeutic targets. Conclusions. The data obtained in the study of the functional resource of the family using the test by N.M. Lavrova and V.V. Lavrov made it possible to state that the functional resource of families raising a child with disabilities is lower than the functional resource of families raising a healthy child; the analysis of the responses of a husband and wife in the same family allows identifying problem areas of the family and studying them using the analysis of a focused genogram.

La cartographie de la répartition des espèces d’intérêts halieutiques et l'identification de leurs zones fonctionnelles est cruciale pour assurer le renouvellement des espèces et pour l’aménagement de l’espace marin. Pour autant, la localisation des habitats essentiels des poissons, et plus particulièrement des frayères, reste incertaine pour de nombreuses espèces exploitées.Les données de référence pour cartographier la distribution des espèces exploitées et identifier leurs frayères sont issues de campagnes scientifiques qui bénéficient d'un protocole d'échantillonnage standardisé. Ces campagnes ont généralement lieu une ou deux fois par an, elles prélèvent un nombre limité d'échantillons et elles peuvent ne pas correspondre à la période de reproduction des espèces étudiées. Elles sont donc limitées pour identifier les frayères des espèces d’intérêt halieutique.Par ailleurs, les déclarations de capture des pêcheurs (logbook) fournissent des informations sur l'ensemble de l’année avec une densité d'échantillonnage supérieure à celle des données scientifiques.En les combinant aux données de géolocalisation des navires disponibles par le système de surveillance des navires de pêche (VMS), les données de déclarations peuvent permettre de compléter l’information apportée par les données de campagne.Dans cette thèse, nous avons développé un modèle statistique qui permet de combiner les données commerciales et scientifiques pour inférer la distribution des espèces d’intérêt halieutique à une résolution spatio-temporelle fine. Le modèle permet de prendre en compte le comportement de ciblage des pêcheurs (échantillonnage préférentiel) et d’intégrer les données de déclarations qui sont définies à une résolution spatiale grossière pour inférer la distribution des espèces à une résolution fine (changement de support). Les cartes de la distribution des espèces permettent d’identifier les zones d'agrégation pendant la saison de reproduction. Nous décrivons également les applications potentielles du cadre de modélisation pour l’aménagement de l'espace marin et les extensions qui pourraient être ajoutées à la version actuelle du modèle
Mapping fish distribution and identifying fish essential habitats grounds is key to ensure species renewal and manage the marine space. Information on the location of fish essential habitats and specifically of fish spawning grounds is still lacking for many harvested species.The reference data to map fish distribution and identify spawning grounds are scientific survey data. These data benefit from a standardized sampling protocol. However, due to their costs, they also generally suffer from a low sampling density in space and time. In particular, they generally occur once or twice a year and they may mismatch fish reproduction.Commercial declarations combined with Vessel Monitoring System data could prove highly valuable to complement the information brought by scientific survey data as fishermen landings provide information on the full year with a much denser sampling density. In this PhD, we developed an integrated statistical framework that allows to combine commercial and scientific data sources to infer fish distribution in space and time. Our approach accounts for fishermen targeting behavior towards areas of higher biomass (preferential sampling) and allows to infer fine scale species distribution based on spatially aggregated declarations data (change of support). We demonstrate the ability of the framework to produce monthly maps of fish distribution and to identify aggregation areas during reproduction season. We also outline the potential applications of the framework for Marine Spatial Planning and discuss several extensions that could be added to the actual model

<em>Abstract.—</em> A need exists to scientifically determine optimal fish habitats to support decision making for management of essential fish habitat. Scientists have been collaborating to conduct habitat suitability index (HSI) modeling to spatially delineate fish habitats for estuarine fish and invertebrate species in Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor, Florida. Results from HSI modeling of juvenile spotted seatrout <em>Cynoscion nebulosus </em> in Charlotte Harbor are presented. Data obtained from 1989–1997 by fisheries-independent monitoring in the two estuaries were used along with environmental data from other sources. Standardized catch-per-unit-effort (catch rates) were calculated across gear types using fisheries-monitoring data from Charlotte Harbor and Tampa Bay. Suitability index functions were determined using three methods: (1) frequency of occurrence, (2) mean catch rates within ranges, and (3) smooth-mean catch rates determined by polynomial regression. Mean catch rates were estimated within biologically relevant ranges and, where sufficient data were available, for finer intervals across environmental gradients. Suitability index functions across environmental gradients were then derived by scaling catch rates. Gridded habitat layers for temperature, salinity, depth, and bottom type in Charlotte Harbor were also created using a geographic information system. Habitat suitability index modeling was conducted using the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service geometric mean method linked to the ArcView Spatial Analyst module. The model integrated suitability indices associated with the habitat layers for Charlotte Harbor to create a map of the predicted distribution for juvenile spotted seatrout during the fall season. Suitability indices developed for Tampa Bay were used with Charlotte Harbor habitat layers to test transfer of the indices to another estuary. Predicted HSI maps depicted low to optimum habitat suitability zones in Charlotte Harbor. Model performance was evaluated by statistically comparing the relative ranking of mean catch rates with mean suitability indices for corresponding zones. Suitability indices obtained using polynomial regression methods yielded morereliable HSI maps for juvenile spotted seatrout than those derived using mean catch rates within biologically relevant ranges. The observed map, derived using smooth-mean suitability indices transferred from Tampa Bay, was not significantly different (Chi-square goodness-of-fit test) from the expected map derived using smooth-mean indices from Charlotte Harbor. Our modeling efforts using transferred indices indicate that it is possible to predict the geographic distributions of fish species by life stage in estuaries lacking fisheries monitoring.

<em>Abstract.—</em> A need exists to scientifically determine optimal fish habitats to support decision making for management of essential fish habitat. Scientists have been collaborating to conduct habitat suitability index (HSI) modeling to spatially delineate fish habitats for estuarine fish and invertebrate species in Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor, Florida. Results from HSI modeling of juvenile spotted seatrout <em>Cynoscion nebulosus </em> in Charlotte Harbor are presented. Data obtained from 1989–1997 by fisheries-independent monitoring in the two estuaries were used along with environmental data from other sources. Standardized catch-per-unit-effort (catch rates) were calculated across gear types using fisheries-monitoring data from Charlotte Harbor and Tampa Bay. Suitability index functions were determined using three methods: (1) frequency of occurrence, (2) mean catch rates within ranges, and (3) smooth-mean catch rates determined by polynomial regression. Mean catch rates were estimated within biologically relevant ranges and, where sufficient data were available, for finer intervals across environmental gradients. Suitability index functions across environmental gradients were then derived by scaling catch rates. Gridded habitat layers for temperature, salinity, depth, and bottom type in Charlotte Harbor were also created using a geographic information system. Habitat suitability index modeling was conducted using the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service geometric mean method linked to the ArcView Spatial Analyst module. The model integrated suitability indices associated with the habitat layers for Charlotte Harbor to create a map of the predicted distribution for juvenile spotted seatrout during the fall season. Suitability indices developed for Tampa Bay were used with Charlotte Harbor habitat layers to test transfer of the indices to another estuary. Predicted HSI maps depicted low to optimum habitat suitability zones in Charlotte Harbor. Model performance was evaluated by statistically comparing the relative ranking of mean catch rates with mean suitability indices for corresponding zones. Suitability indices obtained using polynomial regression methods yielded morereliable HSI maps for juvenile spotted seatrout than those derived using mean catch rates within biologically relevant ranges. The observed map, derived using smooth-mean suitability indices transferred from Tampa Bay, was not significantly different (Chi-square goodness-of-fit test) from the expected map derived using smooth-mean indices from Charlotte Harbor. Our modeling efforts using transferred indices indicate that it is possible to predict the geographic distributions of fish species by life stage in estuaries lacking fisheries monitoring.

This Chapter draws on the cumulative effect of the research and analysis in the book in order to address the overall enquiry concerning the nature and extent of coastal State jurisdiction over living resources in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC). First, it proposes a general statement or ‘jurisdictional test’ regarding the nature of coastal State jurisdiction over the living resources of the EEZ. It suggests that this jurisdiction is flexible but functional, consisting of a broad discretion exercisable within functional limits that are determined on the basis of reasonableness and by reference to the balance of rights and interests reflected in the EEZ regime. Second, it outlines some more thematic conclusions about the extent of coastal State jurisdiction, considering the effect that State practice has had on the interpretation or development of relevant aspects of the LOSC, and the extent to which it justifies assertions that the ‘creeping jurisdiction’ of coastal States will upset the balance of rights and interests established in the LOSC. The Chapter concludes the book with some brief reflections on the critical importance of striking the right balance between the rights and duties of coastal States and other States in the EEZ, in order to maintain the sui generis regime established in the LOSC and effectively and innovatively address the current and future challenges of international fisheries governance.

This Chapter considers the enforcement of coastal State fisheries laws and regulations beyond the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) following a hot pursuit. While the general framework for hot pursuit established in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is clear, its substantive content and operation—particularly in situations that do not fall neatly within the black and white terms of the framework—is less clear. This Chapter considers the key challenges to this framework, and the extent to which—and the ways in which—coastal States have implemented, developed, or departed from it in practice, focusing in particular on the domestic legal basis for conducting hot pursuit, the use of technology in the conduct of hot pursuit, and cooperative approaches to hot pursuit. While recognizing that the hot pursuit doctrine must strike an appropriate balance between the sovereign rights of the coastal State to enforce its laws and the exclusive jurisdiction of the flag State over its vessels on the high seas, the Chapter argues that there is also a broader community interest to be balanced on both sides of this equation: to ensure the effective conservation and management of living resources, and preserve the freedom of navigation on the high seas. This is reflected in the Chapter’s examination of practice, which reveals that States have adopted and implemented a functional, contemporary approach to hot pursuit within the framework of the existing doctrine, which itself has proved to be at once flexible and remarkably enduring.

The vast majority of the seafloor is covered not in rocky or biogenic reefs but in unconsolidated sediments and, consequently, the majority of marine biodiversity consists of invertebrates either residing in (infauna) or on (epifauna) sediments (Snelgrove 1999). The biodiversity within these sediments is a result of complex interactions between the underlying environmental conditions (e.g. depth, temperature, organic supply, and granulometry) and the biological interactions operating between organisms (e.g. predation and competition). Not only are sediments important depositories of biodiversity but they are also critical components in many key ecosystem functions. Nowhere is this more apparent than in shallow coastal seas and oceans which, despite covering less than 10% of the earth’s surface, deliver up to 30% of marine production and 90% of marine fisheries (Gattuso et al. 1998). These areas are also the site for 80% of organic matter burial and 90% of sedimentary mineralization and nutrient–sediment biogeochemical processes. They also act as the sink for up to 90% of the suspended load in the world’s rivers and the many associated contaminants this material contains (Gattuso et al. 1998). Human beings depend heavily on the goods and services provided, for free, by the marine realm (Hassan et al. 2005 ) and it is no coincidence that nearly 70% of all humans live within 60 km of the sea or that 75% of all cities with more than 10 million inhabitants are in the coastal zone (Small and Nicholls 2003; McGranahan et al. 2007) Given these facts, it is clear that any broad-scale environmental impact that affects the diversity, structure, and function of sediment ecosystems could have a considerable impact on human health and well-being. It is therefore essential that the impacts of ocean acidification on sediment fauna, and the ecosystem functions they support, are adequately considered. This chapter will first describe the geochemical environment within which sediment organisms live. It will then explore the role that sediment organisms play as ecosystem engineers and how they alter the environment in which they live and the overall biodiversity of sediment communities.

<i>Abstract</i>.—Zooplankton communities perform a critical role as secondary producers in marine ecosystems. They are vulnerable to climate-induced changes in the marine environment, including temperature, stratification, and circulation, but the effects of these changes are difficult to discern without sustained ocean monitoring. The physical, chemical, and biological environment of the Gulf of Maine, including Georges Bank, is strongly influenced by inflow from the Scotian Shelf and through the Northeast Channel, and thus observations both in the Gulf of Maine and in upstream regions are necessary to understand plankton variability and change in the Gulf of Maine. Large-scale, quasi synoptic plankton surveys have been performed in the Gulf of Maine since Bigelow’s work at the beginning of the 20th century. More recently, ongoing plankton monitoring efforts include Continuous Plankton Recorder sampling in the Gulf of Maine and on the Scotian Shelf, U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service’s MARMAP (Marine Resources Monitoring, Assessment, and Prediction) and EcoMon (Ecosystem Monitoring) programs sampling the northeast U.S. Continental Shelf, including the Gulf of Maine, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s Atlantic Zone Monitoring Program on the Scotian Shelf and in the eastern Gulf of Maine. Here, we review and compare past and ongoing zooplankton monitoring programs in the Gulf of Maine region, including Georges Bank and the western Scotian Shelf, to facilitate retrospective analysis and broadscale synthesis of zooplankton dynamics in the Gulf of Maine. Additional sustained sampling at greater-than-monthly frequency at selected sites in the Gulf of Maine would be necessary to detect changes in phenology (i.e. seasonal timing of biological events). Sustained zooplankton sampling in critical nearshore fish habitats and in key feeding areas for upper trophic level organisms, such as marine mammals and seabirds, would yield significant insights into their dynamics. The ecosystem dynamics of the Gulf of Maine are strongly influenced by large-scale forcing and variability in upstream inflow. Improved coordination of sampling and data analysis among monitoring programs, effective data management, and use of multiple modeling approaches will all enhance the mechanistic understanding of the structure and function of the Gulf of Maine pelagic ecosystem.

<em>Abstract.</em>—Three phases of myogenesis have been identified in the myotomal muscles of larval teleosts. The commitment of embryonic slow and fast muscle lineages is determined prior to segmentation (embryonic myogenesis) and involves notochord and floorplate derived signaling pathways, which drive the adaxial cells to a slow muscle fate. The adaxial cells elongate to span the entire somite width and subsequently migrate through the myotome to form a superficial layer of slow muscle fibers. The remaining cells of the lateral mesoderm adopt the default fast muscle phenotype. The second phase of fiber expansion in the myotomes involves recruitment from discrete germinal zones for both slow and fast muscle fibers (stratified hyperplasia). Finally, myogenic precursor cells are activated throughout the myotome (mosaic hyperplasia). The progeny of these cells either fuse to form additional fibers on the surface of existing muscle fibers or are absorbed by fibers as they expand in diameter (hypertrophic growth). There is considerable species diversity with respect to the timing of innervation of the embryonic muscle fibers in relation to other developmental events, the degree of maturation of the muscle fibers at hatching, and the onset and relative importance of stratified and mosaic hyperplasia to growth during larval life. A subset of myogenic cells specified by their position in the anterior myotomes are thought to migrate out and populate the pectoral fin buds leading to the differentiation of the pectoral fin muscles. Little is known about the mechanism of formation of the unpaired fin muscles, which occurs after the differentiation of the myotomes and is often delayed until relatively late in larval life. During ontogeny, embryonic isoforms of the myofibrillar proteins are replaced by larval and adult isoforms, and the adult multiterminal pattern of slow muscle innervation gradually develops, reflecting changes in swimming style and performance as body size increases. The body length at which particular protein isoforms are switched on varies for each myofibrillar component and with temperature. In general, early larval stages show a greater reliance on aerobic metabolic pathways and a lower capacity for anaerobic glycolysis than later larval and juvenile stages. Temperature has a marked effect on the ultrastructure, number, and phenotype of larval muscle fibers. Recent evidence suggests that egg incubation temperature can influence myogenic cell commitment, producing long-term consequences for fiber recruitment and growth performance during subsequent stages of the life cycle. The ecological significance of the phenotypic plasticity of muscle growth and some potential applications to fisheries science are briefly discussed.

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are increasingly established worldwide to protect and restore degraded ecosystems. However, the level of protection varies among MPAs and has been found to affect the outcome of the closure. In no-take zones (NTZs), no fishing or extraction of marine organisms is allowed. The EU Commission recently committed to protect 30% of European waters by 2030 through the updated Biodiversity Strategy. Importantly, one third of these 30% should be of strict protection. Exactly what is meant by strict protection is not entirely clear, but fishing would likely have to be fully or largely prohibited in these areas. This new target for strictly protected areas highlights the need to evaluate the ecological effects of NTZs, particularly in regions like northern Europe where such evaluations are scarce. The Swedish NTZs made up approximately two thirds of the total areal extent of NTZs in Europe a decade ago. Given that these areas have been closed for at least 10 years and can provide insights into long-term effects of NTZs on fish and ecosystems, they are of broad interest in light of the new 10% strict protection by 2030 commitment by EU member states. In total, eight NTZs in Swedish coastal and offshore waters were evaluated in the current report, with respect to primarily the responses of focal species for the conservation measure, but in some of the areas also ecosystem responses. Five of the NTZs were established in 2009-2011, as part of a government commission, while the other three had been established earlier. The results of the evaluations are presented in a synthesis and also in separate, more detailed chapters for each of the eight NTZs. Overall, the results suggest that NTZs can increase abundances and biomasses of fish and decapod crustaceans, given that the closed areas are strategically placed and of an appropriate size in relation to the life cycle of the focal species. A meta-regression of the effects on focal species of the NTZs showed that CPUE was on average 2.6 times higher after three years of protection, and 3.8 times higher than in the fished reference areas after six years of protection. The proportion of old and large individuals increased in most NTZs, and thereby also the reproductive potential of populations. The increase in abundance of large predatory fish also likely contributed to restoring ecosystem functions, such as top-down control. These effects appeared after a 5-year period and in many cases remained and continued to increase in the longer term (>10 years). In the two areas where cod was the focal species of the NTZs, positive responses were weak, likely as an effect of long-term past, and in the Kattegat still present, recruitment overfishing. In the Baltic Sea, predation by grey seal and cormorant was in some cases so high that it likely counteracted the positive effects of removing fisheries and led to stock declines in the NTZs. In most cases, the introduction of the NTZs has likely decreased the total fishing effort rather than displacing it to adjacent areas. In the Kattegat NTZ, however, the purpose was explicitly to displace an unselective coastal mixed bottom-trawl fishery targeting Norway lobster and flatfish to areas where the bycatches of mature cod were smaller. In two areas that were reopened to fishing after 5 years, the positive effects of the NTZs on fish stocks eroded quickly to pre-closure levels despite that the areas remained closed during the spawning period, highlighting that permanent closures may be necessary to maintain positive effects. We conclude from the Swedish case studies that NTZs may well function as a complement to other fisheries management measures, such as catch, effort and gear regulations. The experiences from the current evaluation show that NTZs can be an important tool for fisheries management especially for local coastal fish populations and areas with mixed fisheries, as well as in cases where there is a need to counteract adverse ecosystem effects of fishing. NTZs are also needed as reference for marine environmental management, and for understanding the effects of fishing on fish populations and other ecosystem components in relation to other pressures. MPAs where the protection of both fish and their habitats is combined may be an important instrument for ecosystembased management, where the recovery of large predatory fish may lead to a restoration of important ecosystem functions and contribute to improving decayed habitats. With the new Biodiversity Strategy, EUs level of ambition for marine conservation increases significantly, with the goal of 30% of coastal and marine waters protected by 2030, and, importantly, one third of these areas being strictly protected. From a conservation perspective, rare, sensitive and/or charismatic species or habitats are often in focus when designating MPAs, and displacement of fisheries is then considered an unwanted side effect. However, if the establishment of strictly protected areas also aims to rebuild fish stocks, these MPAs should be placed in heavily fished areas and designed to protect depleted populations by accounting for their home ranges to generate positive outcomes. Thus, extensive displacement of fisheries is required to reach benefits for depleted populations, and need to be accounted for e.g. by specific regulations outside the strictly protected areas. These new extensive EU goals for MPA establishment pose a challenge for management, but at the same time offer an opportunity to bridge the current gap between conservation and fisheries management.