policy report - Census of Marine Life

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A DECADE OF DISCOVERYmicrobe. As new tools in taxonomists’ toolboxes, thesewill become increasingly important if the current shortageof taxonomists persists.Complementing the genetic advances, a project oncoral reefs developed Autonomous Reef MonitoringStructures, 500 of which are now deployed in the Pacificand Indian oceans and the Caribbean. These structurescollect specimens and ecological data that are used tomonitor tropical coral reef biodiversity. Collected specimensare analyzed using DNA barcoding techniques,which gives an overall picture of the biodiversity in an area[Figure 8].The Census has contributed much to advancing thebiological components of the incipient Global OceanObserving System, from serving as a prototype for theOcean Tracking Network , a growing global network ofseafloor-mounted microphones to track salmon andother migrant animals, to developing new sonar devicesthat make it possible to observe how marine lifeassembles over huge areas, forming shoals in a matterof seconds, to creating a legion of “bio-logger” animalsthat transmit data about oceanographic conditions inwhich they travel. In addition, the Census has workedto standardize the way global data is collected, allowingfor comparisons between regions.• Piloting ecosystem-based management. The Censushelped pioneer work on the ecosystem approach tomanagement through a pilot study making use of thewell-researched Gulf of Maine ecosystem. The projectused new technologies and an ecosystem approach to gobeyond species information to learn about populations,their habitats, and animal interactions with one anotherand their environment. The findings have enhancedthe capacity to track the abundance of the populationof commercial species and provide improved indicatorsof ecosystem health.2. Information for Marine Protection Decisionsat the Ecosystem LevelAlready, Census of Marine Life technology, tools, anddata have been used in governance and managementfor protecting marine life. In the future, such uses willincrease.•Deep-sea ecosystems. The Global Biodiversity Outlook3, published in 2010 by the Convention on BiologicalDiversity, noted increasing concern for deep-waterhabitats, such as seamounts and cold-water corals. Theseslow-growing marine life communities can be vulnerableas new fisheries resources are discovered, then exploited.Providing for precautionary protection before exploitationis a challenge, especially in areas beyond nationaljurisdictions, such as beyond the 200 nautical mile limitsof countries or outside jurisdictional areas of regionalfisheries management organizations. Several Censusprojects have been at the forefront of working with industry,policy makers, and conservationists to help providedata upon which decisions can be based.Even where data are scarce, indicator species of certainecological assemblages can be used as proxies to suggestwhich areas to protect. Through modeling, Censusscientists have predicted the likely distribution of deep-seacorals that not only are indicator species, but also highlyvulnerable to impacts from fishing and mining.Regional fisheries management organizations, suchas the South Pacific Regional Fisheries ManagementOrganization, have used Census information on indicatorspecies to predict where habitats sensitive to fishingmight occur.SAMUDRI JEEVAN KA GANAN7. The Harte Research Institute, a Census affiliate, published the firstbaseline of marine life in the Gulf of Mexico in 2009 and made itavailable online shortly thereafter. The assessment listed 15,419 species,8,342 of which were recorded in the area of the BP oil discharge.Source: Harte Research Institute8. Artificial Reef Monitoring Structures are small boxes made out ofPVC with many tiny holes for invertebrates such as crabs, and mollusksto inhabit. They are designed to mimic the reef environment, and aftera year or two the boxes are removed from the reef and studied to seewhat organisms settled inside and on top of them. Source: AndyCollins, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration8
SUMMARY FOR DECISION MAKERSThe deep-sea projects of the Census that investigatedvents and seeps, seamounts, and abyssal plainsgave definition to previously hinted-at links betweenbiodiversity and the occurrence of valuable living andnon-living resources. The Census greatly expanded theknowledge of (1) cold water corals along margins andseamounts associated with commercial fish stocks, (2)luxuriant chemosynthetic communities of large worms,mussels and clams, as well as bacterial mats associatedwith cold seeps on continental margins that are richin methane and are linked to oil reservoirs and gashydrates, and (3) highly productive ecosystems, rich inlife due to chemosynthetic bacteria living in symbiosiswith large organisms (e.g., worms and molluscs), andfound on oceanic ridges associated with hot vents richin sulphides, methane, and minerals like copper, gold,silver, and zinc.Based in part on Census work on deep-sea coralassociations with seamounts, the North East AtlanticFisheries Commission in 2009 voted to close morethan 330,000 sq km to bottom fisheries on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, an area larger than the United Kingdomand Ireland combined. At the Oslo-Paris Commission,several proposals for high-sea marine protected areaswere submitted and endorsed at the ministerial level,again using Census information from the mid-Atlantic.In late 2008, the Commission for the Conservation ofAntarctic Living Resources protected two VulnerableMarine Ecosystems from long-line fishing, based on imagesand samples of large red seaweed assemblages fromCensus Antarctic researchers.The Census chemosynthetic vents project helpedconduct an environmental impact assessment ofpossible biodiversity impacts of deepwater mineralextraction for deep-sea mining companies in PapuaNew Guinea and worked with the International SeabedAuthority to develop Codes for the EnvironmentalManagement of Marine Minerals. Census data fed intodesigning a Preservation Reference Area networkof the International Seabed Authority to managepotential mining for polymetallic nodules in the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone of the central Pacific Ocean.•Identification of ecologically or biologically significantareas and vulnerable marine ecosystems. Censusinformation was pivotal in helping parties to theConvention on Biological Diversity (CBD) identifyareas of potential future value that should be protecteduntil they can be properly managed. The Censusassisted the CBD in defining potential ecologically orbiologically significant areas (EBSAs) in areas beyondnational jurisdiction. In 2008, the CBD agreed onscientific criteria for EBSAs. These criteria were thentested by pilot illustrations for 15 different areas orspecies. Working with members of the Global OceanBiodiversity Initiative (GOBI) and other researchers,Census researchers demonstrated the importance oforganized, publically accessible data portals, such asOBIS, that could deliver the results of over 800 existingquality-controlled data collections, including all datagathered by Census projects.This information was then used in a decision by theCBD at its 10th Conference of the Parties to effectivelyestablish a repository and a process for identifyingcandidate EBSAs, emphasizing the use of the Censusdata through OBIS and GOBI. Once candidate EBSAsare identified, the United Nations General Assemblyor other competent governing body could use them toimplement management measures helping to conservebiodiversity, including the establishment of marine protectedareas.Input from Census researchers was also important inthe United Nation’s Food and Agricultural Organizationdiscussions on management of deep-sea fisheries on thehigh seas, providing background information to nationaldelegates formulating the final set of international guidelinesfor these vulnerable marine ecosystems.• Tracking trans-boundary fisheries species. Many marineecosystems are connected by ocean currents andshared stocks, thus trans-boundary issues are critical todecision makers in conservation, industry, and government.The Census used advanced tagging technologieson iconic trans-boundary fished species. For Pacificsalmon, for example, individual fish were trackedfrom their home rivers in Canada along the BritishColumbia coast to Alaska. Atlantic bluefin tuna weretracked from the Gulf of Mexico to the Mediterraneanand back again. These data reveal previously unknowninformation about species habitat such as natalhoming of the tuna or ecosystem connectivity throughthe long-distance movement of animals. Taggingand tracking technology also documented that, in someparts of the ocean, species congregate, pointing to hotspotsand migration corridors.The Ocean Tracking Network, a Census legacyproject supported by the Government of Canada andcovering 14 ocean regions off all seven continents, isnow applying advanced acoustic and tagging technologies.The project tags a wide range of marine speciesand records their location as they swim over “listeninglines,” lines of acoustic receivers situated on the oceanfloor. Through the network, thousands of commercialand endangered marine animals will be tagged toincrease understanding of what lives where and whenin the oceans. Knowing where fish actually travel makesit easier to designate new marine protected areas, setshipping routes, and site oil and gas exploration.CENSUS OF MARINE LIFE9
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