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Editor’s note: In this series, The Skimmer is taking a look at the various ways that the pandemic is affecting marine ecosystems and their conservation and management. In April, we took an initial look at the impact of the pandemic on fisheries and aquaculture. In this issue, we cover how the pandemic is impacting coastal and marine tourism and the potential impacts of these changes on coastal and marine ecosystems. In future issues, we will examine the pandemic’s impact on plastic pollution, climate change, and more. We will update previous articles as we are able, so if you see critical aspects that we are missing from this and previous articles, please let us know at skimmer [at] octogroup.org.

In many ways, coastal and marine tourism has become a posterchild for the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of the earliest and highest-profile cases of the mass spread of the COVID-19 virus happened aboard passenger cruise ships (here, here). Photos of crowded beaches have become synonymous with inadequate social distancing to prevent the virus’s spread. And photos of empty beaches show the devastating impacts of the pandemic on local economies.

The Skimmer asked coastal and marine tourism operators and experts from around the world (Indonesia, Brazil, the Mediterranean, the United States, and more) about the diverse ways that the COVID-19 pandemic is currently affecting coastal and marine tourism, how it is likely to change coastal and marine tourism in the future, and what impacts this is likely to have on coastal and marine ecosystems. Their responses (below) give reasons for both hope and concern.

• New marine planning and management trainings added to Skimmer database
• New tools compilations added to Skimmer database
• New resource available for finding ocean webinars
• One-fifth of ocean floor now mapped (while less than one-fifth of deep sea life is identifiable)
• New study assesses vulnerability of shellfish aquaculture to climate change and ocean acidification
• Loss of endangered charismatic marine megafauna could have catastrophic impacts on marine ecosystems
• Experts call for a rethinking of how ocean data are collected, shared, and accessed
• Free smart buoys available to monitor reef temperature, wind, and waves in real time
• Step-by-step guide to ecosystem services valuation available
• New toolkit available for developing a coastal restoration project
• New model predicts ocean acidity up to five years in advance
• Study identifies coastal regions that would benefit most from ecosystem-based adaptation
• New report highlights value of seagrasses to environment and people
• Study finds existing mangroves provide US$65 billion in flood protection globally
• European Commission commits to protecting 30% of the EU’s land and oceans by 2030
• EU countries have overfished 8.78 million tons over last 20 years
• Finland releases draft national marine spatial plan
• Construction finished on US’s second offshore wind farm
• Responses requested to survey to improve understanding of the use of marine data

Editor’s note: Jon Fisher is currently a conservation science officer at The Pew Charitable Trusts where he provides scientific expertise to inform and improve research projects and helps to increase the impact of scientific research. He was formerly a senior conservation scientist at The Nature Conservancy where he led and conducted research as a principal investigator and conducted internal theory of change work. He and co-authors recently published a paper “Improving scientific impact: how to practice science that influences environmental policy and management” in the journal Conservation Science and Practice. Fisher presented a webinar on this research to the OCTO networks (including the EBM Tools Network) in December 2019, and we highly recommend reading the paper and watching the webinar recording.

Skimmer: As you describe in your paper, a lot of scientific research that is intended to be applied isn’t ever used - because decision-makers are unaware of it, aren’t able to access it, don’t understand it, or don’t see it as relevant. Your recent paper outlines practical steps for improving the impact of science on decision making. Could you give us a summary of those steps?

Fisher: Sure, at a high level we recommend four steps:

1. Identify and understand the audience (e.g., a decision-maker with whom you can partner)
2. Clarify the need for evidence (i.e., how new information could lead to action)
3. Gather "just enough" evidence (i.e., so there is enough rigor to be credible without missing key decision-making deadlines or wasting resources on gathering extraneous information)
4. Share and discuss the evidence (i.e., help people learn about your results and motivate them to act on them).

These are guidelines rather than a strict recipe for success because there are many factors that determine the impact that research has. But following these steps improves the odds of research being influential. In fact, we ourselves have found that not following these steps in past projects has led to disappointing outcomes.

Two recent articles we read really struck home about why it benefits EVERYONE to make marine conservation and management anti-racist and anti-colonial. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson is a American marine biologist, policy expert, and strategist; founder and CEO of Ocean Collectiv, a consulting firm for conservation solutions grounded in social justice; and founder of Urban Ocean Lab, a think tank for coastal cities. In a Washington Post perspective piece “I’m a black climate expert. Racism derails our efforts to save the planet”, she writes:

“[B]lack Americans are disproportionately more likely than whites to be concerned about — and affected by — the climate crisis. But the many manifestations of structural racism, mass incarceration and state violence mean environmental issues are only a few lines on a long tally of threats. How can we expect black Americans to focus on climate when we are so at risk on our streets, in our communities, and even within our own homes? How can people of color effectively lead their communities on climate solutions when faced with pervasive and life-shortening racism?

“If we want to successfully address climate change, we need people of color. Not just because pursuing diversity is a good thing to do, and not even because diversity leads to better decision-making and more effective strategies, but because black people are significantly more concerned about climate change than white people (57 percent vs. 49 percent), and Latinx people are even more concerned (70 percent). To put that in perspective, it means that more than 23 million black Americans already care deeply about the environment and could make a huge contribution to the massive amount of climate work that needs doing.”

Similarly Asha De Vos is a marine biologist and ocean educator from Sri Lanka. She is founder of Oceanswell and a National Geographic Explorer, Pew Fellow, and TED Fellow. In a Scientific American opinion piece “The Problem of ‘Colonial Science’”, she writes:

“Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and the world shut down. I saw researchers and conservationists panicking that they could not get to their field sites across the world; that their multiyear data sets would have a gaping hole; and, finally, that if they had ensured that they trained local partners on the ground to do the work, then their data collection would have continued. Did it really take a pandemic for us to realize this?

“[Colonial science is] the conservation model where researchers from the developed world come to countries like mine, do research and leave without any investment in human capacity or infrastructure. It creates a dependency on external expertise and cripples local conservation efforts. The work is driven by the outsiders’ assumptions, motives and personal needs, leading to an unfavorable power imbalance between those from outside and those on the ground.”

Editor’s note: The COVID-19 pandemic is dramatically affecting the lives of many, if not most, of Skimmer readers right now, and it may herald some broad societal changes in the coming years. For the next few months, The Skimmer will take a look at the various ways that the pandemic is affecting marine ecosystems and their conservation and management. We will do this in installments published every 1-2 weeks. In this issue, we take a look at how fisheries and aquaculture are being affected by the pandemic. We will update previous installments of our coverage, so if you see critical aspects that we are missing, please let us know at skimmer [at] octogroup.org (). Many thanks to the EBM Tools Network for some early tips on what was happening at the docks.

“The biggest crisis to hit the fishing industry ever”

• Fisheries and their attendant industries and communities across the globe – ranging from European to UK to South African to Indonesian to North American – are being devastated by problems starting fishing voyages, decreases in demand from large-scale buyers – particularly restaurants, and the shutdown of exports to Asia – particularly China. The head of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations called the COVID-19 pandemic “the biggest crisis to hit the fishing industry ever.”
   
  • In some countries, fishing vessels are stuck in port due to measures intended to decrease the spread of COVID-19, while in others countries, lack of demand for product, border closings, and trouble gathering crews and supplies are keeping fishers at home. Satellite data suggest that fishing activity has decreased dramatically – as much as 80 percent – in China and West Africa. Offshore fleets that can spend extended periods of time at sea because they can process and freeze fish at sea and/or offload catch to transshipment vessels seem to be maintaining effort, however.
     
  • Sales and prices for premium seafood products that are generally sold to restaurants – such as lobster, crabs, scallops, and wild salmon – have been hit particularly hard. US Maine lobster, which would normally sell for $10 a pound (boat price) at this time of year, is currently selling for under $3 a pound.
     
  • Many grocery stores have shut down their fish counters and are only selling the most popular, prepackaged seafood items to make restocking easier and satisfy demand for less perishable products. Fishing groups are starting to explore ways to increase direct sales of fresh seafood to consumers, but current direct-sale markets and supply lines are insufficient to deal with the mass quantities of fresh seafood that are now available.
     
  • Pandemic stories from the fisheries sector highlight the intense globalization and complexity of the seafood trade. Many countries, such as the UK, Canada, and the US export most of the catch from their domestic fisheries while importing most of the seafood that their residents eat. (Some catch is exported to take advantage of lower labor costs for processing fish and then reimported.) These complicated trade patterns are a massive liability to the industry as the pandemic shuts down normal trade routes.
     
  • Even as nations start to relax measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and open businesses and industries, safety concerns may continue to dog the seafood sector. Fishing vessels and crowded seafood processing facilities do not easily allow for physical distancing, and both commercial and recreational fisheries are potential vectors of COVID-19 to remote communities.
     
• As with other environmental issues, the impacts of the pandemic on fisheries depend on local circumstances. Some Kenyan fishers are experiencing a temporary boost in sales and prices as local buyers switch from frozen Chinese fillet imports to local catch from Lake Victoria. This boom is unlikely to be long-term, however, because Kenya typically only produces a third of the fish that it consumes, relying on China for much of the difference. Restrictions on imports from China may soon lead to more widespread protein shortages for the country.
   
  • Similar shortages of aquatic foods and increases in prices are likely to occur in many other areas, harming poor consumers who depend on seafood for protein and essential micronutrients.
     
  • And, in general, already vulnerable and marginalized small-scale fishers and the industries and communities that depend on them (e.g., fish vendors and fish processors) are likely be devastated by the pandemic as their access to coastal areas is restricted and fish markets are affected by shutdowns. There is relatively little news coverage of the impact of the pandemic on small-scale fishers, and Too Big To Ignore (a global research partnership) and the Ocean Frontier Institute are currently working to document how the pandemic is affecting small-scale fishers.
     
• The extent of the COVID-19 pandemic on recreational fisheries is not yet clear, but some recreational fisheries, including all recreational fisheries in the Mediterranean, have been closed.
   
• For some fisheries, decreases in fishing effort from commercial and recreational fisheries for an extended period of time could allow marine stocks to recover. If fishing effort stopped for a full spawning cycle, the biomass of some species, such as herring, could nearly double. However, the pandemic is also having some negative impacts on fisheries sustainability and management.
   
  • In some areas, fishing pressure is increasing on species that are commonly canned or frozen, e.g., small pelagics and tuna.
    
  • There are currently mass migrations of city dwellers to rural areas in some countries (e.g., in India and Kenya) due to urban shutdowns to slow the spread of COVID-19. These migrations may place further pressure on marine stocks and coastal ecosystems that are already stressed. Fishing is often an “occupation of last resort” when other employment opportunities and sources of income and food are limited.
     
  • Some countries are extending their fishing seasons, halting stock assessment surveys, and decreasing fisheries monitoring, both from onboard observers and fishing patrols. NOAA Fisheries in the US recently issued an emergency action allowing it to waive requirements for fisheries observers onboard vessels and at fish processing plants for the next six months if it is deemed necessary to protect public health and safety (e.g., of fishers and observers) and maintain fish supply to markets.
     
  • Many fisheries science and management meetings are being cancelled.
     
  • Leading seafood sustainability rating organization Seafood Watch has had to substantially reduce its workforce through layoffs and furloughs.
     
• Marine aquaculture is being affected by many of the same factors as fisheries, including lack of demand for fresh seafood and trade restrictions. In addition, fish farmers are incurring expenses to continue feeding stocks that they are not harvesting, and they are running into problems importing brood stock.
   
• What else might the future hold for fisheries? A thought piece from the Center for Strategic and International Studies suggests some possibilities:
   
  • The reshoring of fisheries processing to avoid trade restrictions associated with the pandemic
  • Upticks in IUU fishing due to decreased monitoring
  • Increased transshipments at sea to enable longer trips to deal with restricted access to ports and decrease the likelihood of COVID-19 transmission to crews
  • Increases in human rights violations, including possible marooning of crew members displaying symptoms of disease.
     
• The UN Food and Agricultural Organization has a host of recommendations for mitigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the fisheries and aquaculture sectors and seafood consumers. Some recommendations include:
   
  • Government purchases of excess seafood supply for institutions such as prisons
  • Restricting fishing to levels that match demand to keep prices level
  • Direct financial assistance to fishing vessel owners and crews
  • Increased access to credit programs and loan forgiveness for seafood industry businesses
  • Reducing trade restrictions on food items
  • Increasing remote monitoring and surveillance of fishing activity.
     

• Seychelles finalizes plan to protect 30% of its EEZ, ~400,000 sq. km
• Great Barrier Reef suffers most widespread mass bleaching to date
• Silt and nutrient runoff from Australian wildfires likely to impact coastal ecosystems
• Study identifies 10 priority sites for protecting biodiversity in ABNJ
• Climate change may shift where marine aquaculture can take place
• Many highly mobile species cannot keep up with climate change in hotspots
• New tool for mapping shallow seafloor discovered
• Floating solar technology for coastal ocean taking big steps forward
• Paper examines inequities in distribution of ocean goods and services
• International fisheries agreements do not consider stock shifts
• Scientists find evidence for seasonal migrations on deep seafloor
• Current 50-year floods may occur annually for most of coastal US before 2050
• Study suggests marine ecosystems could largely recover by 2050 if major pressures mitigated (read publication)
• Tropical ocean ecosystems may collapse within decade without greenhouse gas emission reductions (read publication)
• Experts estimate $175 billion a year needed to achieve SDG 14
• New taxonomy of conservation finance strategies and mechanisms available
• Overview and recommendations for resilience-based management available
• Coral atlases for Western Micronesia now available
• And, of course, the Trump administration continues to roll back environmental regulations in the US

In April, the Mulago Foundation, which funds organizations that fight poverty, pooled advice from leaders in its network who have steered their institutions through Ebola, the 2008 recession, and other crises. The advice is pithy, insightful, and provocative. It is highly relevant to small-to-mid-size NGOs, and many others will find it useful as well. The advice is available in English, Spanish, French and Portuguese.

In addition, Mulago also hosted a wonderful webinar on this topic – full of useful advice on how to ensure the survival of an institution, maintain its progress, and respond to opportunities that will arise during the crisis. You can watch a recording of the webinar here.

Editor’s note: Every month, I skim dozens of newsletters, reports, and articles for material relevant to managing and conserving marine ecosystems. And every month, I’m a little shellshocked by the onslaught of bad news. People ask me how I like my job, and I tell them that I love the oceans, I love the work, and I love the people I work with, but it is profoundly sad to chronicle the decline of ocean ecosystems. I know many Skimmer readers have these same – and perhaps even more intense – feelings and experiences. Several recent studies and a body of recent reporting are now providing a framework for recognizing and legitimizing these feelings and experiences as well as highlighting the need to develop systems to deal with them. This Skimmer provides a brief summary of recent research and news in the hopes it can help marine conservation and management practitioners move forward with their vital work studying, managing, and protecting marine ecosystems.

What is ecological grief?

• As professionals in the marine conservation and management field, Skimmer readers are hyperaware of large scale and global changes to marine ecosystems – changes including loss of biodiversity, top predators, iconic species, and biomass and the degradation of habitats. These changes are due to climate change, overfishing, coastal development, and other human activities.
   
• New research is now examining the emotional and psychological toll that these changes are having on people, especially:

• Marine planning and management trainings added to Skimmer database
• Final session to negotiate new UN Law of the Sea high seas biodiversity treaty to begin in March (read analysis of draft treaty)
• Ireland publishes draft national marine planning framework
• Experts identify priority deep-sea areas for monitoring and conservation
• New paper examines the future of global food provision from the ocean
• Policy brief assesses 18 opportunities to increase ocean-based climate strategies
• Decarbonization and implementing adaptation measures can substantially reduce losses to global GDP from sea level rise
• Climate change and Brexit upsetting European fisheries
• US NOAA releases 2019 Arctic Report Card
• International coalition forms to advance ocean-based renewable energy
• New research shows that fisheries that are managed doing better than fisheries that are not
• Study reviews progress in integrating climate change adaptation into MPA design and management
• China phasing out single-use plastics – bans plastic bags in major cities by end of 2020
• New accounting method suggests far more microplastics in ocean than previously thought

Some more climate change-related news and resources:

Editor’s note: The EBM Tools Network got started in 2005-2006 under the leadership of Patrick Crist, then the director of conservation planning and ecosystem management at NatureServe. Over the past 14 years, the Network has grown to over 11,000 coastal and marine conservation and management practitioners worldwide, and is now run by OCTO, which also publishes this newsletter. For this issue of the Skimmer, we catch up with Crist, now principal at the consultancy PlanIt Forward, to see how conservation planning tools have changed over this time.

Skimmer: What changes have you seen in the use of conservation planning tools since the EBM Tools Network got started in 2005-2006? Are more conservation projects and groups using them? If so, why do you think this change has occurred?

Crist: It is really hard to quantify the use of tools – I haven’t seen any polling or studies on this although it would be really informative. Given that most conservation software is free, it is hard to tease apart casual downloads from actual application. For example, when the NatureServe Vista decision support system became free, there were about 2000 downloads worldwide almost immediately and there have typically been a few hundred every year since then. Periodic polling of the registrants, however, suggests single-digit percentages of actual use.