The Salient Dynamics of Cross-Border Ocean Governance in a Regional Setting: An Evaluation of Ocean Governance Systems and Institutional Frameworks in the Guinea Current Large Marine Ecosystem

This article contributes to a growing body of research on the Large Marine Ecosystems Concept. It particularly shines the light on the Guinea Current Large Marine Ecosystem (GCLME), a biodiverse maritime domain providing essential ecosystem services for the survival of a large population while at the same time under intense pressure from both anthropogenic and natural factors. With the need for coordination and cross-border ocean management and governance becoming imperative due to the magnitude of challenges and maritime domain, we examine the factors that underpin ocean governance and those key elements necessary for cross-border ocean governance cooperation in the region. The research draws on qualitative data collected from peer-reviewed literature and documents sourced from different official portals. Three countries in the region (Benin, Nigeria, and Cameroon) are selected as the descriptive and comparative case studies to examine: (i) the factors that drive ocean governance (including geographical features, maritime jurisdictions, political framework, maritime activities, and associated pressures), and (ii) key enabling factors for cross-border ocean governance and cooperation in the GCLME (including marine and coastal related policy and legal framework convergence from international to national including, and shared experiences, common issues and joint solutions). We show that the biophysical maritime features, the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), otherwise known as the Law of the Sea (LOS), inherent political characteristics and the relics of colonization, and increasing ocean use and pressure on the ecosystem make ocean governance challenging in the region. Our analysis also reveals a varying level of convergence on international, regional and national legal, policy and institutional frameworks between the case studies on ocean-related aspects. Significant convergence is observed in maritime security, ocean research, and energy aspects, mostly from countries adopting international, regional and sub-regional frameworks. National level convergence is not well established as administrative and political arrangement differs from country to country in the region. These different levels of convergence help reveal procedural and operational shortcomings, strengths, weaknesses, and functional capability of countries within a cooperative ocean governance system in the region. However, experience from joint-implementation of projects, pre- and post-colonial relations between countries and the availability of transboundary organizations that have mainly emerged due to sectoral ocean challenges would play a crucial role in fostering cross-border ocean governance cooperation in the region.

Diverse integrated ecosystem approach overcomes pandemic-related fisheries monitoring challenges

The COVID-19 pandemic caused unprecedented cancellations of fisheries and ecosystem-assessment surveys, resulting in a recession of observations needed for management and conservation globally. This unavoidable reduction of survey data poses challenges for informing biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, developing future stock assessments of harvested species, and providing strategic advice for ecosystem-based management. We present a diversified framework involving integration of monitoring data with empirical models and simulations to inform ecosystem status within the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem. We augment trawl observations collected from a limited fisheries survey with survey effort reduction simulations, use of seabird diets as indicators of fish abundance, and krill species distribution modeling trained on past observations. This diversified approach allows for evaluation of ecosystem status during data-poor situations, especially during the COVID-19 era. The challenges to ecosystem monitoring imposed by the pandemic may be overcome by preparing for unexpected effort reduction, linking disparate ecosystem indicators, and applying new species modeling techniques.

Polycentric Regional Ocean Governance Opportunity in the Benguela Current Convention

The Benguela Current Convention (BCC) has been operational for a decade and has emerged from the precursor natural and fisheries science large marine ecosystem programs. This regional ocean governance institution emerged indigenously as an intergovernmental working arrangement across the Republics of Angola, Namibia, and South Africa. The Convention has been described as a Centralized Authority mode of regional ocean governance. This paper explores this description with reference to the ecosystem-based approach to marine management. The study is focused on the level of working arrangements within the Convention and its Commission across the national and regional scales. It finds that the BCC does meet the theoretical criteria of a polycentric governance mechanism at the resolution of its operations. Polycentric ocean governance mechanisms are valued in regional ocean governance as they potentially offer greater impact through higher levels of coordination, codesign, and integration. Polycentric governance systems incorporate multiple centers of authority that operate at different scales. Existing instances and further opportunities for polycentric governance mechanisms within the working arrangements of the Convention are identified for the Southeast Atlantic.

Critical In-Water Habitats for Post-Nesting Sea Turtles from the Southern Gulf of Mexico

Marine turtles are globally endangered species that spend more than 95% of their life cycle in in-water habitats. Nevertheless, most of the conservation, recovery and research efforts have targeted the on-land habitats, due to their easier access, where adult females lay their eggs. Targeting the large knowledge gaps on the in-water critical habitats of turtles, particularly in the Large Marine Ecosystem Gulf of Mexico, is crucial for their conservation and recovery in the long term. We used satellite telemetry to track 85 nesting females from their beaches after they nested to identify their feeding and residency habitats, their migratory corridors and to describe the context for those areas. We delimited major migratory corridors in the southern Gulf of Mexico and West Caribbean and described physical features of internesting and feeding home ranges located mainly around the Yucatan Peninsula and Veracruz, Mexico. We also contributed by describing general aggregation and movement patterns for the four marine turtle species in the Atlantic, expanding the knowledge of the studied species. Several tracked individuals emigrated from the Gulf of Mexico to as far as Nicaragua, Honduras, and the Bahamas. This information is critical for identifying gaps in marine protection and for deciphering the spatial connectivity in large ocean basins, and it provides an opportunity to assess potential impacts on marine turtle populations and their habitats.

TEMPERATURE, SALINITY AND OXYGEN CLIMATOLOGY OF AFRICAN CONTINENTAL SHELF WATER, SOUTH OF THE EQUATOR, AND CHANGES SINCE 1945

The first temperature, salinity and oxygen climatologies for waters of the continuous southern African continental shelf is presented. It is based on oceanographic data collected since 1945, sub-sampled at depths of 5, 50 and 100 m on a mixed-spatial grid with 0.25° to 0.5° resolution. The climatologies capture spatial heterogeneities and seasonal variability in key ocean variables for the southern African shelf in unique detail. The results correspond relatively well with biogeographic boundaries informed by classification schemes grounded in taxonomy, but questions the value of the Large Marine Ecosystem approach. Analysis of decadal trends demonstrates the inherent complexity and spatial heterogeneity associated with environmental variability, and suggest the possibility that decadal periodicities are in the process of being disrupted by a longer-term trend. The overall pattern is that southern African West and South coast shelf waters are becoming warmer, except for some upwelling areas, where cooling is evident. Benguela and Agulhas Bank shelf water are also becoming more oxygen depleted.

Integrating Biodiversity and Environmental Observations in Support of National Marine Sanctuary and Large Marine Ecosystem Assessments

Species and habitats are the subjects of legislation that mandates reporting of information on ecosystem conditions. Improvements in sensors, sampling platforms, information systems, and collaborations among experts and information users now enables more effective and up-to-date information to meet regional and national needs. Specifically, advances in environmental DNA (eDNA)-based assessments of biodiversity, community science data, various underwater imaging devices, and environmental, behavioral, and physiology observations from animal telemetry provide new opportunities to address multiple requirements for reporting status and trends, including insights into life in the deep ocean. Passive and active acoustic sensors help monitor marine life, boat traffic, and noise pollution. Satellites provide repeated, frequent, and long-term records of many relevant variables from global to local scales and, when combined with numerical computer simulations, allow planning for future scenarios. Metadata standards facilitate the transfer of data from machine to machine, thus streamlining assessments and forecasting and providing knowledge directly to the public. The Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON) facilitates this exchange of information on life in the sea. The collaborative efforts of the Central and Northern California Ocean Observing System (CeNCOOS) of the US Integrated Ocean Observing System and its partners provide an example of a regional MBON process for information delivery. This includes linking policy and management needs, prioritizing observing data from various platforms and methods, streamlining data handling practices, and delivery of information for management such as for the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem, with iterative process adaptation.