scholarly journals Getting to the bottom of bycatch: a GIS-based toolbox to assess the risk of marine mammal bycatch

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
pp. 37-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
E Hines ◽  
LS Ponnampalam ◽  
C Junchompoo ◽  
C Peter ◽  
L Vu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Marine Mammal ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Biosphere Reserve ◽  
Peninsular Malaysia ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Official Journal ◽  
Similar Species ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Irrawaddy Dolphin

Marine mammal bycatch poses a particular challenge in developing countries, where data to document bycatch and its effects are often lacking. Using the Bycatch Risk Assessment (ByRA) toolkit, based on InVEST open-source models, we chose 4 field sites in Southeast Asia with varying amounts of data on marine mammals and fishing occurrence: Trat province in the eastern Gulf of Thailand, the Sibu-Tinggi Islands and Kuching Bay, Malaysia, and Kien Giang Biosphere Reserve in southwestern Vietnam. These field sites have similar species of coastal marine mammals, small-scale and commercial fisheries, and support for research from universities and/or management. In Thailand and Kuching, results showed changing patterns of fishing and Irrawaddy dolphin Orcaella brevirostris habitat use across seasons, showing how bycatch risk could change throughout the year. Risk maps for dugongs Dugong dugon in peninsular Malaysia highlighted patterns of bycatch risk concentrated around a mainland fishing pier, and revealed high risk in a northern subregion. In Vietnam, first maps of bycatch risk for the Irrawaddy dolphin showed the highest risk driven by intensive use of gillnets and trawling gear. ByRA pinpointed areas of spatial and seasonal bycatch exposure, and estimated the consequence of bycatch on local species, providing managers with critical information on where to focus bycatch mitigation and meet new global standards for US Marine Mammal Protection Act and other international regulation (e.g. Official Journal of the European Union 2019; Regulation 2019/1241) compliance. The toolbox, a transferable open-source tool, can be used to guide fisheries management, marine mammal conservation, spatial planning, and further research.

scholarly journals Disconnects in global discourses—the unintended consequences of marine mammal protection on small-scale fishers

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrina J. Davis ◽  
Joanna Alfaro-Shigueto ◽  
William N.S. Arlidge ◽  
Michael Burton ◽  
Jeffrey C. Mangel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Marine Mammal ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
South American ◽  
Global Policy ◽  
Small Scale Fisheries ◽  
Gill Net ◽  
Large Scope ◽  
Mammal Conservation

AbstractGlobally, the populations of many marine mammals remain of critical concern after centuries of exploitation and hunting. However, some marine mammal populations (e.g. pinnipeds) have largely recovered from exploitation, and interactions between these species and fisheries—particularly small-scale fisheries—is once again of concern globally. The large scope and widespread scale of interactions highlights the local disconnect between two global policies: marine mammal conservation and small-scale fisheries protection. In this research, we explore these conflicting global policies by assessing the perceptions of coastal small-scale fishers in Peru and Chile regarding their interactions with pinnipeds, including the South American sea lion (Otaria flavescens) and South American fur seal (Arctocephalus australis). We surveyed 301 gill net fishers and assess perceptions using a best-worst scaling methodology. We find that fishers are chiefly concerned with the increase in pinniped populations, perceive that their interactions with pinnipeds have significantly increased over the past 80 years, and report pinniped-driven catch and income losses ≥ 26 per cent. Surprisingly, fishers do not believe that compensation schemes will resolve this issue—instead they overwhelmingly call for pinniped population culls. The reported number of pinnipeds illegally killed by fishers suggests the potential for large negative impacts on these protected species, and a loss of legitimacy in marine regulation. Collectively, our results portray a sense of marginalisation from fishers’—that global policy treats them as less “important” than marine mammals. Our results highlight the increasing disconnect in global policy, which on one hand seeks to protect threatened marine mammal populations, and on the other seeks to promote the welfare of small-scale fishers.

scholarly journals Is Banning Enough? The Intricacy Inherent to Marine Mammal Conservation

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (05) ◽  
pp. 587-613
Author(s):  
Ilja Richard Pavone
Keyword(s):  
Marine Mammal ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Marine Species ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Fish Welfare ◽  
Declining Populations ◽  
Over Exploitation ◽  
Specific Species ◽  
Fisheries Law ◽  
Indirect Protection

AbstractDeclining populations of marine mammals have led to growing concern about their conservation. As a result, a series of specific conservation measures have been put in place (bans on hunting and trading, establishment of protected marine areas). Such rules, although restoring the populations of some species of marine mammals, have nevertheless failed to protect them from the most challenging threat to their survival: the bycatch of non-target species. Accordingly, this Article highlights gaps within fisheries law, clarifying the efficacy of existing norms on the protection of the most endangered marine species of marine mammals, with a particular focus on cetaceans, from over-exploitation.To this aim, the Article explores the peculiar norms developed by treaties of global and regional scope and the European Union (EU) with reference to specific species, including whales, seals, small cetaceans—referred to as direct protection. The Article then proceeds to an analysis of fisheries law that addresses, in an incidental manner, marine mammal protection—referred to as indirect protection.The Article is based on the assumption that measures simply banning hunting or fishing, as envisaged by wildlife law, must necessarily be complemented by fisheries law—that is, Inter-regime linkages. Paradoxically, indirect protection can have a major impact in terms of improvement of both fish welfare and conservation; the problem lies in the fact that current fisheries law fails to provide an adequate response to bycatch. This Article proposes methods to improve fisheries law and also discusses whether the emerging concept of fish welfare can be an asset if included in fisheries rules; the Article ultimately contends that welfare issues must necessarily be part of future legal developments.

scholarly journals Introducing NMMF WAMS, an open-source PAMGuard plug-in, and some pilot data for its use as a welfare acoustic monitoring system

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brittany L Jones ◽  
Michael Oswald ◽  
Samantha Tufano ◽  
Mark Baird ◽  
Sam H. Ridgway
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Monitoring System ◽  
Marine Mammal ◽  
Early Identification ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
False Positive Rate ◽  
Bottlenose Dolphins ◽  
Acoustic Monitoring ◽  
Discrete Population

Abstract BackgroundThe National Marine Mammal Foundation presents a new veterinary and animal welfare monitoring tool, WAMS (i.e., Welfare Acoustic Monitoring System) for open-source use in PAMGuard. While the use of passive acoustic monitoring systems has been invaluable in wild conservation efforts, vocal behavior is a vastly underutilized welfare biomarker for both terrestrial and aquatic species in zoos and aquaria. We describe one successful use for WAMS at the Navy Marine Mammal Program for monitoring a discrete population of dolphins’ acoustic behavior. By constantly recording both five minute and hourly counts of acoustic detections and providing an automated comparison to historical data, WAMS can alert us to rare instances of high vocal rates relative to their typical output. Having a validated acoustic indicator for events such as agnostic social interactions and/or an instance of distress in bottlenose dolphins provides a unique opportunity for acoustic monitoring to be used as a tool for the early identification and possible prevention of rare and unexpected instances of an illness or injury.ResultsWe identified a high success rate (82%) and low false positive rate (1%) for WAMS identification of whistle occurrence. Further, we identified time and money saving applications for use in conservation settings such as marine mammal mitigation surveys and long-term hydrophone deployments. When running in real-time, WAMS used in conjunction with other PAMGuard features saved almost 6.5 days in manual labor for every month processing data (almost 78.5 work days a year). ConclusionsWe propose that this tool could be considered for implementation at any facility that houses marine mammals and wishes to include acoustic monitoring into their preventative healthcare plans. Early identification of atypical social interactions and/or distress calls in both aquatic and terrestrial species can lead to early intervention, better management of social groupings, and better overall health and welfare for all animals.

Recommendations for Sustainable Cetacean-Based Tourism in French Territories: A Review on the Industry and Current Management Actions

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 211-235
Author(s):  
Josephine Chazot ◽  
Ludovic Hoarau ◽  
Pamela Carzon ◽  
Jeanne Wagner ◽  
Stéphanie Sorby ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Marine Mammal ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
French Polynesia ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Whale Watching ◽  
Cetacean Species ◽  
Commercial Activities ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Overseas Territories ◽  
Socioeconomic Benefits

Whale-watching activities provide important socioeconomic benefits for local communities and constitute powerful platform incentives for marine mammals' protection or more broadly marine environments. However, these activities can cause adverse effects on targeted populations, with considerable downside associated risks of injuries and fatality for whale watchers during inwater interactions. France with its overseas territories has the second largest exclusive economic zone (EEZ), in which more than half of existing cetacean species are encountered. In these territories, recreational and commercial whale watching, including swim-with cetacean activities, have recently developed. Yet few studies focused on these activities and their associated impacts across French territories, leading to an unclear assessment of the situation. To address this issue, we reviewed cetaceans' occurrence within the French EEZ, whale-watching industry, targeted species, local management of marine mammal-based tourism activities, and regulations in France mainland and some overseas territories (Reunion Island, Mayotte, and French Polynesia). Fortyeight species are encountered in the French EEZ, and 15 are targeted by whale-watching activities. A total of 185 operators, including 34% offering swim-with-cetaceans tours, offered trips in France and overseas in 2019. While several more or less restrictive regulations exist locally, our results indicate that French's national legal framework for marine mammals' protection remains inadequate and insufficient to cope with the recent development of this activity. As conservation biologists, managers, and stakeholders from these French territories, we cooperated to provide general guidelines for a sustainable development of whale watching at a national scale. We urge (1) to legally acknowledge and regulate whale-watching commercial activities; (2) to create a national legal framework regarding whale watching and swim-with marine mammals practices, while accounting for local distinctiveness and disparities across regions; (3) to conduct more research to evaluate local short- and long-term impacts on targeted marine mammal populations as well as the socioeconomic benefits; and (4) to reinforce synergetic relations between the different stakeholders.

scholarly journals Explaining participation in undeclared work in France: lessons for policy evaluation

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 203-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Windebank ◽  
Ioana Alexandra Horodnic
Keyword(s):  
Policy Framework ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
French Population ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Social Actor ◽  
Tax Morale ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Economic Actor ◽  
Undeclared Work

Purpose France is a model of best practice in the European Union as regards policy to combat undeclared work. The purpose of this paper is to take the country as a case study to evaluate the competing explanations of why people engage in undeclared work which underpin such policy, namely, the dominant rational-economic-actor approach and the more recent social-actor approach. Design/methodology/approach To evaluate these approaches, the results of 1,027 interviews undertaken in 2013 with a representative sample of the French population are analysed. Findings The finding is that higher perceived penalties and risks of detection have no significant impact on the likelihood of conducting undeclared work in France. In contrast, the level of tax morale has a significant impact on engagement in the activity: the higher the tax morale, the lower is the likelihood of participation in the undeclared economy. Higher penalties and risks of detection only decrease the likelihood of participation in undeclared work amongst the small minority of the French population with very low tax morale. Practical implications Current policy in France to counter undeclared work is informed principally by the rational-economic-actor approach based on a highly developed infrastructure for detection and significant penalties alongside incentives to declare small-scale own-account work. The present analysis suggests that this approach needs to be supplemented with measures to improve citizens’ commitment to compliance by enhancing tax morale. Originality/value This case study of a country with a well-developed policy framework to combat undeclared work provides evidence to support the social-actor approach for informing policy change.

Monitoring of small rock pools reveals differential effects of chronic anthropogenic disturbance on birds and mammals in the Calakmul region, southern Mexico

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Carlos M. Delgado-Martínez ◽  
Fredy Alvarado ◽  
Melanie Kolb ◽  
Eduardo Mendoza
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Anthropogenic Disturbance ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Biosphere Reserve ◽  
Bird Diversity ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Rock Pools ◽  
Southern Mexico ◽  
Wildlife Species ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Great attention has been drawn to the impacts of habitat deforestation and fragmentation on wildlife species richness. In contrast, much less attention has been paid to assessing the impacts of chronic anthropogenic disturbance on wildlife species composition and behaviour. We focused on natural small rock pools (sartenejas), which concentrate vertebrate activity due to habitat’s water limitation, to assess the impact of chronic anthropogenic disturbance on the species richness, diversity, composition, and behaviour of medium and large-sized birds and mammals in the highly biodiverse forests of Calakmul, southern Mexico. Camera trapping records of fauna using sartenejas within and outside the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve (CBR) showed that there were no effects on species richness, but contrasts emerged when comparing species diversity, composition, and behaviour. These effects differed between birds and mammals and between species: (1) bird diversity was greater outside the CBR, but mammal diversity was greater within and (2) the daily activity patterns of birds differed slightly within and outside the CBR but strongly contrasted in mammals. Our study highlights that even in areas supporting extensive forest cover, small-scale chronic anthropogenic disturbances can have pervasive negative effects on wildlife and that these effects contrast between animal groups.

Benchmark of a Novel Aero-Elastic Simulation Code for Small Scale VAWT Analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 141 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Marten ◽  
Matthew Lennie ◽  
George Pechlivanoglou ◽  
Christian Oliver Paschereit ◽  
Alessandro Bianchini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Structural Model ◽  
Element Model ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Elastic Model ◽  
Element Analysis ◽  
Simulation Code ◽  
Highly Nonlinear

After almost 20 years of absence from research agendas, interest in the vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) technology is presently increasing again, after the research stalled in the mid 90's in favor of horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs). However, due to the lack of research in past years, there are a significantly lower number of design and certification tools available, many of which are underdeveloped if compared to the corresponding tools for HAWTs. To partially fulfill this gap, a structural finite element analysis (FEA) model, based on the Open Source multiphysics library PROJECT::CHRONO, was recently integrated with the lifting line free vortex wake (LLFVW) method inside the Open Source wind turbine simulation code QBlade and validated against numerical and experimental data of the SANDIA 34 m rotor. In this work, some details about the newly implemented nonlinear structural model and its coupling to the aerodynamic solver are first given. Then, in a continuous effort to assess its accuracy, the code capabilities were here tested on a small-scale, fast-spinning (up to 450 rpm) VAWT. The study turbine is a helix shaped, 1 kW Darrieus turbine, for which other numerical analyses were available from a previous study, including the results coming from both a one-dimensional beam element model and a more sophisticated shell element model. The resulting data represented an excellent basis for comparison and validation of the new aero-elastic coupling in QBlade. Based on the structural and aerodynamic data of the study turbine, an aero-elastic model was then constructed. A purely aerodynamic comparison to experimental data and a blade element momentum (BEM) simulation represented the benchmark for QBlade aerodynamic performance. Then, a purely structural analysis was carried out and compared to the numerical results from the former. After the code validation, an aero-elastically coupled simulation of a rotor self-start has been performed to demonstrate the capabilities of the newly developed model to predict the highly nonlinear transient aerodynamic and structural rotor response.

scholarly journals Efficiency of Estonian grain farms in 2000 2004

2008 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 31 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. VASILIEV ◽  
A. ASTOVER ◽  
M. MÕTTE
Keyword(s):  
Parametric Method ◽  
Returns To Scale ◽  
Scale Efficiency ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Data Envelopment ◽  
The European Union ◽  
New Member States ◽  
Farm Scale ◽  
Grain Farms ◽  
The Eu

The aim of this study is to analyse the efficiency of Estonian grain farms after Estonia’s transition to a market economy and during the accession period to the European Union (EU). The non-parametric method Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was used to estimate the total technical, pure technical and scale efficiency of Estonian grain farms in 2000–2004. Mean total technical efficiency varied from 0.70 to 0.78. Of the grain farms 62% are operating under increasing returns to scale. Solely based on the DEA model it is not possible to determine optimum farm scale and the range of Estonian farm sizes operating efficiently is extensive. The most pure technically efficient farms were the smallest and the largest but the productivity of small farms is low compared to larger farms because of their small scale. Therefore, they are the least competitive. Since pre-accession period to the EU, large input slacks of capital have replaced the former excessive use of labour and land. This raises the question about the effects on efficiency of the EU’s investment support schemes in new member states.;

scholarly journals XML (almost) all the way

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Flynn
Keyword(s):  
Human Factors ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Support Group ◽  
Open Source Software ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
It Support ◽  
Source Journal ◽  
Almost All

In 2006 my university academic IT support group was approached by an academic colleague wanting to start a new journal, which would be available in electronic form only. There were restrictions imposed by the technical capabilities of the pool of authors, the requirements of the discipline, and — unsurprisingly — the lack of financial resources. The decision was made to implement a system using only open source software, and building largely from scratch, as the existing open source journal publishing systems at the time, although comprehensive and well-established, were seen as far too large and complex for the task. This paper is a case study describing the process and explaining the background to the decisions made. It attempts to draw some conclusions about the technical viability of creating a small-scale publishing system which attempted to retain XML throughout the workflow, and about the human factors which influenced the decisions.

scholarly journals Cetacean Research and Citizen Science in Kenya

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Gilbert Mwango’mbe ◽  
Jane Spilsbury ◽  
Steve Trott ◽  
Judith Nyunja ◽  
Nina Wambiji ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Science ◽  
Marine Mammal ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Bottlenose Dolphins ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Science Data ◽  
Pilot Whale ◽  
Area Of Interest ◽  
Mammal Conservation ◽  
Kenyan Coast

In 2011, several non-governmental and government agencies established the Kenya Marine Mammal Network (KMMN) to provide a platform for the consistent collection of data on marine mammals along the Kenyan coast, identify areas of importance and engage marine users and the general public in marine mammal conservation. Prior to the KMMN, relatively little was known about marine mammals in Kenya, limiting conservation strategies. The KMMN collects data nationwide through dedicated surveys, opportunistic sightings and participative citizen science, currently involving more than 100 contributors. This paper reviews data on sightings and strandings for small cetaceans in Kenya collated by the KMMN. From 2011 to 2019, 792 records of 11 species of small cetaceans were documented. The most frequently reported inshore species were the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin and Indian Ocean humpback dolphin. Offshore species, included killer whales, short-finned pilot whale and long-snouted spinner dolphin. Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins, long-snouted spinner dolphins, striped dolphins and Risso’s dolphins were recorded through stranding reports. The efforts of the KMMN were disseminated through international meetings (International Whaling Commission, World Marine Mammal Conference), national status reports, outreach and social media. Data has also supported the identification of three IUCN Important Marine Mammal Areas and one Area of Interest in Kenya. Further research is needed to improve estimates of cetacean abundance and distribution, particularly in unstudied coastal areas, and to assess the extent of anthropogenic threats associated with fisheries, coastal and port development, seismic exercises and unregulated tourism. The expansion of the network should benefit from the participation of remote coastal fishing communities, government research agencies, tourism and seismic operations, among others. The KMMN demonstrated the value of dedicated and citizen science data to enhance marine mammal conservation strategies to boost awareness and eco-tourism and to bring the public and science closer together, promoting research and effective conservation efforts.

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