Sustaining the World's Large Marine Ecosystems

M. Walton and Y. Jiang detail the emergence of the adaptive ecosystem-based
management strategy applications adopted by China and the Republic of Korea
based on operationalization of the agreed-upon YSLME project TDA and SAP
ecosystem recovery and sustainability targets. They describe actions underway
by both countries to reduce fishing effort by 33% for restoring seriously depleted
capture fisheries. Using carrying capacity models based on primary productivity
values (gCm 2 ), they argue that the estimated annual one million metric tons of
lost fisheries catches from reduced fishing effort will be replaced annually by one
to two million metric tons of polyculture production of fish, bivalve mollusks and
shrimp, while the capture fishery stocks are recovering. An important by-product
of the massive coastal polyculture (China) and coastal fish ranching (R. Korea) is
the expected improvement in coastal water quality from advancements in
mariculture technology.
LMEs and MPAs
The chapter by J. Oliver et al. addresses IUCN’s global efforts to expand the
number of marine protected areas (MPAs) in LMEs. To aid the marine resources
science and management communities, they provide a world map of the areas
within LMEs that have been designated as MPAs. Activities of IUCN’s World
Commission on MPAs are highlighted, and MPAs of the Canary Current LME,
Guinea Current LME, South China Sea LME, Mediterranean Sea LME, Agulhas
Current LME and Somal;i Current LME are described
Training and Outreach
At present, 2,500 scientists, technicians and resource managers are involved in
GEF supported LME project activities. By 2015 it is estimated that the LME
movement for marine resources assessment and management will require up to
10,000 trained and educated LME project practitioners. Future LME education
and training needs are addressed by Professor Gotthilf Hempel in his contribution
to the volume. As a former President of ICES and Professor and Director of
marine institutes in Kiel, Bremerhaven, and Bremen, Professor Hempel stresses
the need for increased interaction between pragmatic LME science and more
basic marine science underway in academia to initiate a new generation of
marine ecosystem experts in specialty areas of ichthyology, planktology,
sociology, economics and international law, and more general ecological subjects
focused on application of science to management. The volume concludes with a
chapter by M.C. Aquarone describing efforts underway to reach beyond the
marine community with LME volumes, reports, and multimedia DVDs, websites
and portals. A listing of the authors and titles of LME publications of 14 peerreviewed
published volumes is given in the Annex.
We are pleased to acknowledge the financial assistance of IUCN, NOAA,
UNDP, UNEP, UNIDO, IOC-UNESCO and FAO in the printing and
distribution of the volume.
The Editors
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