Integrating climate adaptation and biodiversity conservation in the global ocean

The impacts of climate change and the socioecological challenges they present are ubiquitous and increasingly severe. Practical efforts to operationalize climate-responsive design and management in the global network of marine protected areas (MPAs) are required to ensure long-term effectiveness for safeguarding marine biodiversity and ecosystem services. Here, we review progress in integrating climate change adaptation into MPA design and management and provide eight recommendations to expedite this process. Climate-smart management objectives should become the default for all protected areas, and made into an explicit international policy target. Furthermore, incentives to use more dynamic management tools would increase the climate change responsiveness of the MPA network as a whole. Given ongoing negotiations on international conservation targets, now is the ideal time to proactively reform management of the global seascape for the dynamic climate-biodiversity reality

Elasmobranch Bycatch in the Canadian Northwest Atlantic and Arctic Adjacent Seas: Composition, Biogeography, and Mitigation

BACKGROUND: Industrial fishing has profoundly changed the biological state of oceans and seas. While the direct impacts of overfishing on target stocks are being increasingly addressed, unwanted bycatch and discarding of non-target species remains a key challenge of contemporary fisheries management. Excess bycatch mortality is particularly threatening for intrinsically vulnerable species, such as sharks, skates, and rays (Class Chondrichthyes). QUESTION: In order to address these pressing concerns we ought to know where bycatch occurs in time and space, and how it can be solved through spatial-temporal management and modification of fishing technique. METHOD: These questions were addressed by developing novel geostatistical methods to track and quantify bycatch "hotspots" in the Northwest Atlantic and adjacent Arctic seas. These tools were applied to analyse (i) bycatch patterns of Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus), an emerging species of concern in expanding Arctic fisheries; (ii) bycatch of large sharks in pelagic longline fisheries; and, (iii) to estimate total discards of all elasmobranch species in Eastern Canadian fisheries. Additional research also clarified the role of circle hooks in reducing post-release mortality for sharks and field-tested electropositive metals as bycatch deterrents in longline fisheries. RESULTS: Areas of high bycatch were concentrated in southern Canadian waters bordering the United States: upper Bay of Fundy, Georges Bank, Browns Bank, and Emerald Basin, however northern latitudes were associated with bycatch of deep-water species - which are in need of greater attention. These patterns were driven by both species' abundance and fishing intensity. In 2012, total discard amounts were estimated at 3250 mt (2722-3849, 95% credible intervals) for sharks and 1772 mt (1642-1911) for skates and rays. Total bycatch of large sharks was higher than previously assumed in pelagic longline fisheries. For bycatch mitigation circle hooks reduced post-release mortality, but electropositive shark repellents were not effective in reducing bycatch in pelagic longline fisheries. CONCLUSION: This dissertation clearly demonstrates the high spatiotemporal variability and inherent complexity of bycatch and supports the use of geostatistical models and fine-scale spatial management for elasmobranch conservation

Keeping the lead: How to strengthen shark conservation and management policies in Canada

Internationally, shark conservation is now being recognized as a major environmental challenge, but management efforts to halt the overexploitation of sharks have lagged behind. This review examines the state of knowledge for shark species in Canadian waters and analyzes the role of existing management and legislation in ensuring shark conservation. Despite Canada's early leadership, the present management framework reveals major shortcomings with regard to legal protection, bycatch and finning regulations. These problems are not unique to Canada but illustrate broader issues pertaining to the global management of endangered fish species. To strengthen the conservation and management of sharks, this paper recommends a set of key policies and management priorities, which exemplify proper precautionary management of endangered shark species in Canada and could serve as a blueprint for improving conservation efforts internationally. A structured approach for grading progress in shark conservation efforts against best practices is also presented and could be used as a goalpost elsewhere.Biodiversity conservation Bycatch Canada Fisheries management Sharks Threatened species