Fishermen's interests and cooperation: preconditions for joint management of Swedish coastal fisheries

The participation of fishermen in fisheries management is discussed with varying ideas under the notions of "co-management", "participatory management" or "local management". Empirical studies within Swedish fishery have thrown new light on the preconditions for fishermen's participation in fisheries management. Among the important factors influencing failure or success are the two which we discuss here: the question of articulation, organization and representation of interests of fishermen and the question of trust between the groups that are usually cooperating in resource management, fishermen, governmental administrators and researchers. The research summarized has addressed the interests of fishermen with regard to resource management, local fisheries management, and participation of fishermen. The overarching question connecting the three themes is: How can the interests of fishermen be represented better within fisheries management? Interests and trust, "soft facts", can be as important for the success or failure of fisheries management and participation as can "hard facts" such as ownership rights, quantity and quality of resources or monetary value of resources.     

Linking gender,climate change and security in the Pacific Islands Region: A systematic review

This systematic review aims to address gaps in understanding how concepts of gender, climate change and security are given meaning and linked in empirical scholarship within the Pacific Islands Region. The review assesses the 53 articles returned through Web of Science, SCOPUS and ProQuest databases that are derived from empirical research and refer to gender, climate change and security. The findings indicate that this is an emerging topic in a region that is one of the most vulnerable to climate change across the globe. Most frequently gender analysis is given superficial treatment; there is limited literature that connects gendered vulnerabilities to historical legacies and structural inequalities; and women’s critical roles that create security are often overlooked and devalued. The review indicates that greater work is needed to question perceived threats to security and to reveal how climate change, gendered institutions, systems and spaces, historical legacies and politics interact to construct security in the Pacific Islands Region.     

Abundance,distribution, and characteristics of microplastics in coastal surface waters of the Colombian Caribbean and Pacific

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Microplastic pollution has become a global concern due to its distribution, high abundance, and negative impacts on aquatic ecosystems. These...     

Effect of atmospheric N deposition on surface water chemistry and the implications for fisheries

In this paper the relative importance of NO3- and SO4(2-) as anions in oligotrophic surface waters and evidence that NO3 concentrations have been increasing in recent decades in reviewed. The relationship between NO3- and the concentrations of cations (H+ and Al3+) known to be harmful to aquatic biota is also discussed. It is generally concluded that although direct proof of an association is lacking, circumstantial evidence suggests that atmospheric input of nitrogen to soils on certain 'sensitive' geologies may be having consequences for surface waters and the biota living in them, especially at certain times of the year, e.g. snowmelt.     

Spatial distribution of organochlorine contaminants in soil, sediment, and fish in Bikini and Enewetak Atolls of the Marshall Islands, Pacific Ocean

Several nuclear tests were performed at Enewetak and Bikini Atolls in the Marshall Islands between 1946 and 1958. The events at Bikini Atoll involved several ships that were tested for durability during nuclear explosions, and 24 vessels now rest on the bottom of the Bikini lagoon. Nine soil samples were collected from different areas on the two islands of the atoll, and eighteen sediment, nine fish, and one lobster were collected in the vicinity of the sunken ships. Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and polychlorinated terphenyls (PCTs) in these samples were analyzed using gas chromatography/ion trap mass spectrometry (GC/ITMS). The average recoveries ranged from 78% to 104% for the different PCB congeners. The limits of detection (LOD) for PCBs, PCTs, DDE, DDT, and dieldrin ranged 10-50 pg g⁻¹. Some fish from Enewetak contained PCBs at a concentration range of 37-137 ng g⁻¹, dry weight (dw), and most of the soils from Enewetak showed evidence of PCBs (22-392 ng g⁻¹ dw). Most of the Bikini lagoon sediment samples contained PCBs, and the highest was the one collected from around the Saratoga, an aircraft carrier (1555 ng g⁻¹ dw). Some of the fish samples, most of the soil samples, and only one of the sediment samples contained 2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)-1,1-dichloroethylene (DDE) and PCBs. In addition to PCBs, the soils from Enewetak Atoll contained PCTs. PCTs were not detected in the sediment samples from Bikini Atoll. The results suggest local pollution sources of PCBs, PCTs, and OCPs.     

Coastal water quality in the Kihei and Lahaina districts of the island of Maui, Hawaiian Islands. Impacts from physical habitat and groundwater seepage: implications for water quality standards

Water quality in terms of nutrient concentrations, turbidity, suspended solids, and chlorophyll a, was studied during 2000–2001 at a total of 27 beaches in the Kihei and West Maui–Lahaina districts of Maui, Hawaiian Islands. Nitrate concentrations varied widely and averaged as much as 15–20 μM at some beaches. Most turbidities fell in the range 1–10 nephelometric turbidity units. Resuspension of bottom sediments on shallow reef flats appeared to be a cause of some of the highest turbidity. Onshore-offshore transect studies showed that turbidity and concentrations of nitrate and chlorophyll a declined dramatically with distance from the shoreline. The dramatic gradients in water quality within the first 100 m from the shoreline and the fact that some violations of water quality criteria within that zone appear to be the result of natural phenomena, underscore the difficulty of assessing the quality of coastal waters based on traditional parameters.     

Global water crisis: the major issue of the 21st century,a growing and explosive problem

The authors explore what is considered to be the emerging issue of the 21st century, shortages of water. It is expected that the Netherlands, which is entirely dependent on water from other countries, will be in an extremely vulnerable position. The quantity of fresh water is limited. Contamination of water reduces water quality and availability. Many World Bank projects focus on management of the water supply for sanitation, irrigation, hydroelectric power, and construction of dikes in order to prevent flooding. The World Bank concludes that everyone worldwide must acknowledge that fresh water is a scarce natural resource. The Action Plan, Agenda 21, of the UN Rio Conference emphasized the importance of the widespread shortage, gradual destruction, and increased pollution of fresh water reserves. The four major world problems with fresh water are 1) shortages of renewable supplies, 2) unequal distribution of supplies, 3) problems of water quality and health, and 4) disastrous effects of unrestrained construction of dams and reservoirs. Only 2.5% of the total amount of water on earth is fresh water, of which 69.4% is in the form of ice, snow, or permafrost and most of the remainder is ground water. Fresh water in lakes and rivers is only about 1% of fresh water available on earth. Most of the precipitation that falls on land every year is lost through evaporation. 45,000 sq. km is the absolute maximum available annually. Distribution of water among industry, agriculture, and households varies by country. Arid regions constitute about 33% of Europe, 60% of Asia, 85% of Africa, and most of Australia and western North America. 14% of countries are at or under the poverty line of water availability, 37% have dangerously dry conditions, 14% have average levels, and 35% have ample supplies. Examples of water management are given for the Amazon River, the Euphrates and Tigris, the Aral Sea, and the Rhine River Basin. It is estimated that the world supply of fresh water would meet the needs of 4.5-9.0 billion people.     

On-site rainwater harvesting and treatment for drinking water supply: assessment of cost and technical issues

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This study assessed the performance of rainwater-harvesting systems installed for selected public utilities in the northern provinces of Vietnam where...     

Occurrence and distribution of antibiotics in coastal water of the Bohai Bay, China: impacts of river discharge and aquaculture activities

The presence of 21 antibiotics in six different groups was investigated in coastal water of the Bohai Bay. Meantime, to illuminate the potential effects caused by the river discharge and aquaculture activities, wastewater from three breeding plants and surface water from six rivers flowing into the Bohai Bay were also analyzed for the selected antibiotics. The result revealed that measured antibiotics in the North Bobai Bay were generally higher than those in the South, highlighting the remarkable effects of high density of human activities on the exposure of antibiotics in environment. The antibiotics found in the six rivers were generally higher than those in the Bohai Bay reflecting the important antibiotics source of river discharge. This study reveals that the high consumption of some antibiotics in aquaculture activities may pose high ecological risk to the bay.     

Occurrence and distribution of antibiotics in coastal water of the Taizhou Bay,China: impacts of industrial activities and marine aquaculture

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The occurrence, spatial distribution, and source analysis of antibiotics in global coastal waters and estuaries are not well documented or understood....     

Distribution of organochlorine compounds in the sea-surface microlayer, water column and sediment of Singapore's coastal environment

Hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs), dichlorodiphenylethanes (DDTs) and 38 PCB congeners were determined in the water column (sea-surface microlayer, subsurface, mid-depth and bottom water) and sediments from Singapore's coastal environment. The concentration ranges for summationHCHs, summationDDTs and summationPCBs in the seawater dissolved phase (DP) were 101-6110 (mean 1833), <5-405 (mean 76) and 60-6979 (mean 1611)pg/l, respectively. The concentration ranges for summationHCHs, summationDDTs and summationPCBs in the suspended particulate matter (SPM) were 26-2395 (mean 243), <5-124 (mean 19) and 38-3793 (mean 715) pg/l, respectively. Concentration levels in sediments ranged between 521 and 1758 (mean 1094), 50 and 290 (mean 88) and 339 and 1356 (mean 858) pg/g for summationHCHs, summationDDTs and summationPCBs, respectively. It was shown that the interfaces of the sea-surface microlayer (SML) and near bottom water are important compartments for the distribution of organochlorine compounds (OCs) in the water column. In comparison with data from China, the concentration levels in the water column and sediments of Singapore can be considered as low, but the reported levels were higher compared to available data from Europe.     

Small-scale fisheries,population dynamics,and resource use in Africa: the case of Moree,Ghana

We consider population dynamics and sustainable use and development of fishery resources in Moree, a small-scale fishing and coastal community of 20,000 people in the Central Region of Ghana near Cape Coast. Moree suggests that relationships between population dynamics and fishery resources are more complex than the concept of Malthusian overfishing implies. Reasons include changing biophysical characteristics of the upwelling system along the coast of West Africa; qualitative as well as quantitative changes in fishing activity throughout the year; the market nature of fishing activity and nonlocal demands for fish; regular fishery migration; and institutions regulating fishery resource access at home and at migration destinations. Population and resource relationships in Moree may be the effects of fishery resource and economic changes on migration rather than population pressure on fishery resources. Fisheries management policies must take into account processes that lie beyond the influence of local fishermen.     

Assessment on the distributions and exchange of anionic surfactants in the coastal environment of Peninsular Malaysia: A review

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Terrestrial anionic surfactants (AS) enter the marine environment through coastal region. Despite that, in general limited knowledge is available on...     

Biodegradability of plastics: the issues,recent advances,and future perspectives

Environmental Science and Pollution Research -     

A coupling methodology of the analytic hierarchy process and entropy weight theory for assessing coastal water quality

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Rapid economic development in coastal areas has gradually increased the risk of coastal water quality deterioration. The assessment methods of coastal...     

Hydrogeochemical investigations to assess groundwater and saline water interaction in coastal aquifers of the southeast coast,Tamil Nadu,India

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Groundwater and saline water interaction is the most common processes in the coastal aquifers that alters the quality of aquifer waters. The...