Lesson 17: Marine Resources and Fisheries

Amy DurayEVPP 490 003April 12, 2010

Introduction

• Importance of fish as a component of Asian diets. In many areas, it is the only source of protein some consume.

• Incredible sensitivity of fish populations (both marine and freshwater) frustrates management regimens

• “Global commons” behavior of marine resources and those that harvest them

• Southeast Asia is the most important biological reserve of coral, finfish, and seagrass species

Large Marine Ecosystems of East and Southeast Asia and Associated Watersheds

34 – Bay of Bengal35 – Gulf of Thailand36 – South China Sea37 – Sulu-Celebes Sea38 – Indonesian Sea47 – East China Sea48 – Yellow Sea49 – Kuroshio Current50 – Sea of Japan51 – Oyashio Current52 – Sea of Okhotsk

Drivers• Social and Economic Trends

– Poverty– Increasing population (60% of the world population, 4 billion people)– Over consumption of resources and the drive to advance the economy

using those resources– Inadequate governance of resources (lack of monitoring, enforcement,

effective management and corruption)– Lack of public participation (lack of incentives, understanding of

environmental issues by the local people)• Natural Hazards: Increased vulnerability or occurrences

– Tsunami– Cyclones– Floods

Understanding the Role of Climate Change

• Sea Surface Temperatures– Threatens food security (wild catch and

aquaculture)– Bleaches corals, reduces biodiversity, changes

species distribution• Sea Level rises– Submerges fragile coastal systems, seagrasses

• Ocean acidification– Biocalcifying organisms, including reef corals

Primary and Secondary Drivers of Biomass Yields in LMEs of Asia

Large Marine Ecosystem Primary Driver Secondary Driver

South China Sea Fishing Climate

East China Sea Fishing Climate

Bay of Bengal Fishing Climate

Okhotsk Sea Climate Fishing

Gulf of Thailand Fishing Climate

Sea of Japan Climate Fishing

Yellow Sea Fishing Climate

Adapted from Sherman, K. (2006) The Large Marine Ecosystem network approachto WSSD targets. Ocean & Coastal Management 49: 640–648

Pressures

• Conversion of marine ecosystems to other uses,• Severe storms• Eutrophication and increased sediment• Over-fishing and destructive fishing techniques

(commercial drag nets and bottom trawling, artisanal poisoning and blasting)

• Increased sea temperature levels• Introduction of invasive species

Asia Coastal Populations

Broad Threats to Marine Ecosystems

• Fisheries • Ornamental trade (including aquarium fish and

coral and shell souvenirs)• Hunting of endangered species (mainly turtles,

also dugongs, whales and sharks)• Tourism (damage of habitats by tourists, anchors,

pollution, and constructions)• Environmental degradation (siltation, pollution,

coastal development, mining, dredging, etc.)

Southeast Asia

• Environmental degradation is largest factor in declining biodiversity in regional aggregate

• In Malaysia, this effect is the most pronounced• In Viet Nam and Indonesia, the effects of

overfishing and destructive fishing techniques have the largest effect

• Impacts from Tourism most pronounced in Thailand and Indonesia, but also critical in Malaysia as well

State and Trends

• Decreased mangrove coverage• Coral reef destruction• Decreased biomass and diversity from habit

loss (pollution)• Over-fishing• Loss of seagrasses• Increased coral bleaching from increased

water temperatures

Status of Coral Reefs, 2004 (GEO-4)

Impacts• Reducing mangrove and coral reef coverage leads to the loss of

coast-buffering service from severe storms--leading to a higher human death toll

• Loss of coral reefs and mangroves leads to a lack of nurseries and protected areas for young fish populations

• Conversion of mangroves swamps to a populated area increases the increases risk of malaria--leading to a higher human death toll

• A decreased biomass and bio-diversity threatens the region’s food security and livelihoods from depleted fish stocks

• Coral bleaching also leads to increased poverty with the decreased likelihood of tourism that provides economic basis of many of the coastal communities.

Responses• Response created via policy and management, economic markets,

technology and restoration:– Addressing climate change with international agreements– Cap and trade of emissions– Carbon sequestering,– Scrubbing away nitrogen and sulphur– Increasing protection for coastal populations– Coral reef and wetland restoration– Managed coastal retreats and land-use zoning– Fishing gear restrictions– Establishing marine protected areas (MPAs)– Using by-catch reduction methods– International agreements on fishing limits– Mariculture

Marine Protected Areas• Goal: Improve marine ecosystem conditions, while simultaneously

spurring community-level sustainable economic development.• Reality:

– Only 10-20% of MPAs in ASEAN Region are effectively managed– Terrestrial plan being applied to marine systems– Exploiters become managers– MPAs cover coral ecosystems, but seagrass ecosystems are largely

unprotected– Large Gaps (Myanmar, Western Philippines, Sumatra)– Economic losers create community tension – need to equitably spread

the economic benefit as well as the loss– Social factors are tremendously important in continuing success of

MPAs

Coral Triangle Initiative (1 of 2)• August 2007 – President Yudhoyono of Indonesia. Compact

signed in May 2009• Six Nations:

– Philippines– Indonesia– Timor Leste– Malaysia– Papua New Guinea– Solomon Islands

• NGO Partners:– GEF– WWF– CI– Nature Conservancy– US Dept of State

Coral Triangle Initiative (2 of 2)

• Key program components:– Lobby for international agreement on Climate Change– National Plans and Targets– Integrated Coastal Zone Management– Socio-economic programs

• Video (WWF) – good footage of destructive fishing techniques.

• WWF Interactive Map: http://wwfmaps.org/?zone=coral

Mangrove Destruction (1 of 3)

• Primary Pressure – Agricultural expansion, secondary is shrimp aquaculture (conversion and shrimp seed harvesting)

Mangrove Destruction (3 of 3)

USGS ecologists produced this map of mangrove deforestation in Burma’s (Myanmar’s) Irrawaddy Delta using an older version of the Global Land Survey dataset. Recent improvements are allowing them to map mangrove deforestation worldwide. (Map adapted by Robert Simmon from Giri et al., 2008.)

Mangrove Destruction (3 of 3)

• Impacts:– Erosion impacts coastal residents – exacerbated by

sea level rise– Water quality and ecosystem diversity– Increase in water-borne diseases

Sea Grass Destruction

• Sea grass beds are declining throughout Asia: Indonesia has lost 40%; Philippines about 50%

• The destruction of the sea grasses is linked to the loss of mangrove forests.

• The grass beds serve as a link from the swamp to the reefs and are valuable on a global scale for carbon storage (Fortes, 2004)

Aquaculture and Mariculture

• Alternative to capture fisheries• Human consumption and fishmeal production for

agricultural uses • Implications for food security• Impacts:– Mangrove destruction– Invasive species– Changing pathogenic and parasitic relationships

• Integrated rice paddy aquaculture

Spratly Archipelago

• Disputed territory claimed by six nations: China, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam

• Highly biodiverse• Pelagic larval movements indicate that a reserve

in this area could help biodiversity in adjacent ecosystems, such as the South China Sea

• International community wants to make an MPA to protect from oil exploration