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Agenda Item 4 / IMPACT98/4/NGO.2-EOriginal: English
English only
OSPAR CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT OF THE NORTH-EAST ATLANTIC
WORKING GROUP ON IMPACTS ON THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT (IMPACT)
LONDON (SECRETARIAT): 22 – 25 SEPTEMBER 1998
"What can be gained from an ecosystem approach *)
to environmental protection"
submitted by
World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF)
Background
1. The first version of this paper was presented by WWF to the Workshop on Ecosystem Approach, held in Bergen, 15-17 June 1998.
2. WWF have embarked on this process of developing a practical solution to ecosystem management of the North Sea which is in its preliminary stages. As the concept is under development, an updated paper is submitted to IMPACT 1998.
Action requested
3. IMPACT is invited to take note of the attached document when making arrangements for addressing an ecosystem approach and other fisheries related topics.
*) by Sarah Jones, WWF UK
"What can be gained from an ecosystem approach
to environmental protection"
INTRODUCTION
This presentation identifies how the marine environment is inadequately protected by the management approaches that are currently applied and offers a preliminary outline of a solution which WWFs NE Atlantic Programme is currently developing, with specific application of the ecosystem approach to the North Sea. The presentation is illustrated by a cross sectional diagram of the North Sea and its European catchment area and illustrates intense fishing, spawning and juvenile areas of eleven commercial species and the gear with which they are fished, the locations of mineral extraction operations, a selection regularly located species and habitats in the North Sea and the range of key ecosystem parameters such as temperature and nutrient ratios. The diagram is divided into seven sections. A fisheries perspective is offered with full belief that if the ecosystem approach was afforded to the management of the marine environment, it would not only work towards protecting the environment but also enhance its fisheries.
MAIN TEXT
From the diagram the potential effects of activities and natural phenomena are considered on a section by section basis. Complex scientific appraisals of complex processes are avoided and an emphasis is placed on simple synopses based on examples. Components and interactions considered include nutrient and toxic inputs, aggregate dredging, bottom trawling, incidental catch of non-target species in fishing gear, oil and gas development, fishing capacity and species targeted. The section by section approach is built into a "full picture" by considering the effects of one section on the rest in order to address synergy thought the whole of the North Sea Large Marine Ecosystem.
WWF's North East Atlantic Programme have embarked on the process of developing a practical solution to ecosystem management in the North Sea (in its preliminary stages) due to grave concerns that the "ecosystem approach" is seen theoretical. It has little direction for a realistic and practical application, has no concrete objective which is practical, realistic and of upmost worth to afford environmental protection and is being developed with far too much emphasis on complex models. WWF do not believe, certainly with current level of understanding, human beings can fully understand, predict and therefore manage the complex interactions within natural ecosystems. This does not mean that current knowledge should not be utilised to its utmost, but while ecosystem management is likely to involve comprehensive monitoring of key ecosystem indicators, areas are required which are closed to selected activities (control areas) and are allowed to self regulate to the greatest extent possible. An overall summary is that the ecosystem approach should be one of regulation by natural processes to the greatest extent possible whilst recognising and incorporating key and essential requirements of human infrastructure.
In identifying the need for specific control areas (here defined as zones from which activities are selectively excluded) it must be recognised that there are specific components which have either to be managed from source and/ or move throughout the marine environment. Control sites may not be appropriate to monitor the direct effect of these components but will certainly provide an indication of the effects of these components on habitats and species within the sites. To avoid confusion with other site designations, the control areas may be zones within a marine protected area. If all extraction activities are excluded the zone would be called a no-take zone.
Components (habitats, species, effects of activities, ecosystem parameters) may be conveniently banded into:
A. Those which can be directly protected/ protected from, partially protected/protected from or excluded.
1. Bottom habitats
2. Concentrated behaviour of all or part of the life cycles of marine species
3. Aggregate dredging
4. Bottom trawling
5. Oil and Gas platforms
6. Shipping
7. Recreation
B. Those which cannot be directly protected/ protected from, partially protected/protected from or excluded.
1. Highly migratory lifecycle stages of marine species (particularly pelagic fish, cetaceans, turtles, sharks etc. and phytoplankton and zooplankton).
2. Nutrients and toxic chemicals from land, atmosphere and marine environment.
3. Toxic substances from e.g oil exploration and shipping.
4. Physical and chemical parameters such as temperature, salinity, ocean currents, pH.
5. Introduced species.
All these components can however be monitored from specific stations inside and outside control areas working towards managment and to the greatest extent possible natural regulation where appropriate the "full picture". Excluding selected activities in A, from a proportion of the North Sea Area will allow their impacts to be assessed will also facilitate greater understanding.
ON A SECTION BY SECTION BASIS
From Fig.1 the potential effects of activities and natural phenomena can be considered on a section by section basis to work towards integrated management of ecosystem components. For example:
Section one - Spawning grounds for sole and plaice; fishing for cod, sole and plaice; heavy dissolved contamination from river input; well stratified, potential aggregate dredging, high nitrate and highest North Sea temperature range.
Section two - Intensive gas exploration; cod and mackerel spawning, plaice and cod juvenile grounds; sole, plaice and cod fishing grounds; nutrients still relatively high.
Section three - Dogger Bank - rich benthic communities at the boundary of those representative of the southern North Sea and the northern North Sea; year round plankton production; frontal area; mackerel, sprat and cod spawning; plaice, sprat, cod and haddock fishing; auks and other seabirds; gas pipelines, drilling holes; west to east current.
Section four - including Devils Hole - saithe, Norway pout, sandeel, cod and haddock fishing; cod and haddock juvenile grounds; minke whale, harbour porpoise, white beaked dolphin and white sided dolphin.
Section five - Norway pout and cod spawning grounds; nephrops, saithe, Norway pout, cod and haddock fishing grounds; drill holes and pipelines.
Section six - Orkney Isles north of Scotland - saithe, Norway pout, cod, haddock and sprat fishing; herring juvenile and spawning grounds; divers and auks; Braer oil spill; near to radioactive discharge from Dounraey; minke whales, harbour porpoise, white beaked dolphin, white sided dolphins, Risso' dolphin, Killer whales.
Section seven - Edge of continental shelf and associated shelf edge benthic communities - concentrated mackerel migration to and from wintering grounds; five species of cetaceans; lowest temperature range.
From a fisheries perspective, each of the sections is currently managed on a single species basis with no significant integration of other components. Any one or combination of these different components could have a catastrophic effect on a single commercial species, habitat, the whole section or whole of the North Sea from which there is currently no significant protection. Enhanced environmental protection an health will be afforded by monitoring, integrating, managing and safeguarding as appropriate, components in each section (utilising monitoring stations and control areas as described above).
This section by section approach can be built into a "full picture" by considering the effects of one section on the rest in order to address synergy through the whole of the North Sea Large Marine Ecosystem.
CONCLUSION
- The ecosystem approach WWF is advocating has the objective of regulation by natural processes to the greatest extent possible while recognising, considering and incorporating where appropriate key and essential requirements of human infrastructure.
- While WWF recognise the complexities of ecosystem process these do not have to be fully understood and modelled to apply an ecosystem approach to marine management and afford increased environmental protection.
- This presentation gives an insight into what WWF suggest could be achieved by applying simple principles of the ecosystem approach to integrated marine management (excluding activities from a proportion of the North Sea Area combined with fully monitoring the outside influences on these areas from within the areas and from external monitoring stations and reducing/eliminating these effect from source).
- By applying these principles greater environmental protection can be afforded to benthic communities their associated habitats and processes, juvenile and spawning grounds of commercial species, effects from toxic pollutants.
- By applying these principles a vision for the future would be to undertake the same monitoring, risk assessment, research, management and control and development of no-take zones for all activities instead of having the ridiculous situation where separate data is financed, collected and interpreted largely for separate activities and access to this data often severely restricted.
OSPAR CommissionIMPACT98/4/NGO.2-E