Pub Date : 2026-01-05DOI: 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.108076
Sarah Lindley Smith , Rachel Zuercher , Nygiel B. Armada , Joan L. Castro , Recamar Guiñares , Enrique G. Oracion , Andre Jon Uychiaoco , Elin Torell
Compliance is a critical element of sustainable fisheries management, and particularly for small-scale fisheries, where enforcement capabilities may be limited. Improving fisheries management outcomes requires an understanding of how to promote compliance with fisheries management laws and regulations. The USAID-funded Fish Right program (2018–2025) was designed to increase compliance with fisheries management, as well as to implement sustainable fisheries management in three regions of the Philippines. This study reports on small-scale fishers' support for fisheries management activities in the Philippines, as well as their reported compliance with a registration requirement, collected from household surveys conducted in three regions of the Philippines during two time periods (2019 and 2023), at the start of and five years into the Fish Right program. An increase in survey respondents’ support for requiring fishing permits and fishing closed seasons was observed between two time periods, suggesting Fish Right activities were successful in increasing management support. Households also reported moderate-to-high compliance with a vessel registration requirement. However, both support for management and compliance differed among the three regions, suggesting that differences in target fisheries, culture, and the specifics of the Fish Right interventions all play a role in determining compliance. Overall, the regions with higher community-level engagement saw greater an increase in management support and compliance. Fish Right community engagement innovations including the use of community champions may provide a successful model for intervention to increase compliance in SSF elsewhere in the world.
{"title":"Community interventions drive support for fisheries regulations and influence compliance: Lessons from the Philippines","authors":"Sarah Lindley Smith , Rachel Zuercher , Nygiel B. Armada , Joan L. Castro , Recamar Guiñares , Enrique G. Oracion , Andre Jon Uychiaoco , Elin Torell","doi":"10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.108076","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.108076","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Compliance is a critical element of sustainable fisheries management, and particularly for small-scale fisheries, where enforcement capabilities may be limited. Improving fisheries management outcomes requires an understanding of how to promote compliance with fisheries management laws and regulations. The USAID-funded Fish Right program (2018–2025) was designed to increase compliance with fisheries management, as well as to implement sustainable fisheries management in three regions of the Philippines. This study reports on small-scale fishers' support for fisheries management activities in the Philippines, as well as their reported compliance with a registration requirement, collected from household surveys conducted in three regions of the Philippines during two time periods (2019 and 2023), at the start of and five years into the Fish Right program. An increase in survey respondents’ support for requiring fishing permits and fishing closed seasons was observed between two time periods, suggesting Fish Right activities were successful in increasing management support. Households also reported moderate-to-high compliance with a vessel registration requirement. However, both support for management and compliance differed among the three regions, suggesting that differences in target fisheries, culture, and the specifics of the Fish Right interventions all play a role in determining compliance. Overall, the regions with higher community-level engagement saw greater an increase in management support and compliance. Fish Right community engagement innovations including the use of community champions may provide a successful model for intervention to increase compliance in SSF elsewhere in the world.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54698,"journal":{"name":"Ocean & Coastal Management","volume":"274 ","pages":"Article 108076"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145928091","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-03DOI: 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.108074
Saiya Xu , Yanping Li , Qi Yue , Dahai Liu , Heng Hu , Shuo Wang , Yuqing Chen , Yilin Liu
With the continuous growth of global demand for marine spatial resources, three-dimensional layered utilization of sea areas is important to understand in order to resolve conflicts in marine development and support the growth of the blue economy. However, current research on this topic has primarily focused on theoretical and policy discussions, and there is no systematic method for assessing the vertical compatibility of sea use activities. To address this issue, we adopt a research approach that combines theoretical construction and expert evaluation. First, the theoretical foundation of three-dimensional marine development is analyzed across three dimensions – spatial, elemental (functional elements such as ships and marine infrastructure), and temporal. This is done to clarify the spatial usage characteristics of sea use activities and their mechanisms of interaction across different dimensions. Then, we construct an analytical framework to assess the vertical compatibility of marine activities. Using expert scoring results, this framework follows a stepwise process that sequentially evaluates spatial dependency, the nature of functional components, and temporal conflicts. We also incorporate environmental factors for supplementary adjustments, which enable the derivation of a vertical compatibility matrix for marine activities. The results indicate: (1) Regarding the spatial dimension, based on the degree of spatial dependence of sea use activities on the water surface, water column, seabed, and subsoil, their occupied space can be divided into main space and ancillary space. Sea use activities sharing the same main space are vertically incompatible. (2) From the elemental dimension, the stronger the rigidity of an activity's functional components, the lower its compatibility potential. (3) In terms of the temporal dimension, even short-term occupation of marine space for construction or maintenance can cause spatial conflicts. (4) From an environmental perspective, some activities can affect vertical compatibility with other activities by damaging the environment and/or reducing safety. (5) The vertical compatibility between sea use activities can be categorized into three types: fully compatible, conditionally compatible, and incompatible. This study provides a logical micro-level description of the characteristics of sea use activities in marine space, presenting a vertical compatibility matrix that covers many current types of sea use activities. It also analyzes application objectives, application pathways, and potential implications for public policy. The findings may act as reference material for international marine spatial planning, use regulation, multi-use ocean management, and related policymaking, thereby contributing to modern marine spatial governance systems.
{"title":"A three-dimensional layered model for sea area usage across dimensions of space, functional elements, and time","authors":"Saiya Xu , Yanping Li , Qi Yue , Dahai Liu , Heng Hu , Shuo Wang , Yuqing Chen , Yilin Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.108074","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.108074","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>With the continuous growth of global demand for marine spatial resources, three-dimensional layered utilization of sea areas is important to understand in order to resolve conflicts in marine development and support the growth of the blue economy. However, current research on this topic has primarily focused on theoretical and policy discussions, and there is no systematic method for assessing the vertical compatibility of sea use activities. To address this issue, we adopt a research approach that combines theoretical construction and expert evaluation. First, the theoretical foundation of three-dimensional marine development is analyzed across three dimensions – spatial, elemental (functional elements such as ships and marine infrastructure), and temporal. This is done to clarify the spatial usage characteristics of sea use activities and their mechanisms of interaction across different dimensions. Then, we construct an analytical framework to assess the vertical compatibility of marine activities. Using expert scoring results, this framework follows a stepwise process that sequentially evaluates spatial dependency, the nature of functional components, and temporal conflicts. We also incorporate environmental factors for supplementary adjustments, which enable the derivation of a vertical compatibility matrix for marine activities. The results indicate: (1) Regarding the spatial dimension, based on the degree of spatial dependence of sea use activities on the water surface, water column, seabed, and subsoil, their occupied space can be divided into main space and ancillary space. Sea use activities sharing the same main space are vertically incompatible. (2) From the elemental dimension, the stronger the rigidity of an activity's functional components, the lower its compatibility potential. (3) In terms of the temporal dimension, even short-term occupation of marine space for construction or maintenance can cause spatial conflicts. (4) From an environmental perspective, some activities can affect vertical compatibility with other activities by damaging the environment and/or reducing safety. (5) The vertical compatibility between sea use activities can be categorized into three types: fully compatible, conditionally compatible, and incompatible. This study provides a logical micro-level description of the characteristics of sea use activities in marine space, presenting a vertical compatibility matrix that covers many current types of sea use activities. It also analyzes application objectives, application pathways, and potential implications for public policy. The findings may act as reference material for international marine spatial planning, use regulation, multi-use ocean management, and related policymaking, thereby contributing to modern marine spatial governance systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54698,"journal":{"name":"Ocean & Coastal Management","volume":"274 ","pages":"Article 108074"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145886401","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-02DOI: 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2026.108092
Andrea Mattia Pacifico, Sina Ahmadi Kaliji, Luca Mulazzani, Giulio Malorgio
Marine Protected Areas are central to Marine Spatial Planning strategies aimed at protecting biodiversity and sustaining ecosystem services, but their effectiveness ultimately depends on public support. This study investigates Italian citizens’ preferences for Marine Protected Areas expansion through a Discrete Choice Experiment conducted across three coastal zones, the Northern Adriatic Sea, the Northern Tyrrhenian Sea, and the Strait of Sicily, selected for their distinct ecological and socio-economic profiles. Data were collected from 1961 valid respondents via an online survey stratified by age, gender, and income. The choice tasks presented respondents with policy alternatives defined by three attributes, Marine Protected Areas coverage, restriction levels, and an annual eco-tax. Responses were analysed using a mixed logit model to capture random preference heterogeneity and derive willingness to pay estimates. Findings provide novel quantitative evidence by linking household preferences to ecosystem service attributes and by examining regional differences. Results show that citizens strongly favour moderate restrictions over minimal or complete bans, with willingness to pay values up to €10.07 per household annually, and express positive but more modest support for expanding protected areas to 5–10 % coverage (willingness to pay up to €7.08). Regional heterogeneity emerged, with stronger support in northern zones compared to the more fisheries-dependent south, and pro-environmental attitudes were positively associated with preferences for stricter and larger Marine Protected Areas. Overall, the results offer quantitative economic evidence to support the design of socially acceptable conservation policies that align biodiversity targets with public priorities within the framework of sustainable Marine Spatial Planning.
{"title":"Valuing public preferences by eliciting ecosystem services trade-offs for the extension and management of marine protected areas in Italy","authors":"Andrea Mattia Pacifico, Sina Ahmadi Kaliji, Luca Mulazzani, Giulio Malorgio","doi":"10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2026.108092","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2026.108092","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Marine Protected Areas are central to Marine Spatial Planning strategies aimed at protecting biodiversity and sustaining ecosystem services, but their effectiveness ultimately depends on public support. This study investigates Italian citizens’ preferences for Marine Protected Areas expansion through a Discrete Choice Experiment conducted across three coastal zones, the Northern Adriatic Sea, the Northern Tyrrhenian Sea, and the Strait of Sicily, selected for their distinct ecological and socio-economic profiles. Data were collected from 1961 valid respondents via an online survey stratified by age, gender, and income. The choice tasks presented respondents with policy alternatives defined by three attributes, Marine Protected Areas coverage, restriction levels, and an annual eco-tax. Responses were analysed using a mixed logit model to capture random preference heterogeneity and derive willingness to pay estimates. Findings provide novel quantitative evidence by linking household preferences to ecosystem service attributes and by examining regional differences. Results show that citizens strongly favour moderate restrictions over minimal or complete bans, with willingness to pay values up to €10.07 per household annually, and express positive but more modest support for expanding protected areas to 5–10 % coverage (willingness to pay up to €7.08). Regional heterogeneity emerged, with stronger support in northern zones compared to the more fisheries-dependent south, and pro-environmental attitudes were positively associated with preferences for stricter and larger Marine Protected Areas. Overall, the results offer quantitative economic evidence to support the design of socially acceptable conservation policies that align biodiversity targets with public priorities within the framework of sustainable Marine Spatial Planning.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54698,"journal":{"name":"Ocean & Coastal Management","volume":"274 ","pages":"Article 108092"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145886400","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-02DOI: 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.108067
Bruno Oliveira , Julie Bremner , Angel Borja , Christos Arvanitidis , Berthe M.J. Vastenhoud , David Lusseau
The complexity of social-ecological systems poses significant challenges to achieving global sustainability goals. Decision-makers can develop management interventions acting across political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental domains, but these interventions have the potential to interact and conflict in complex ways. Importantly, worldviews have the potential to influence how we perceive these interactions will occur and alter our engagement with them. This can lead to paralysis in deliberations about intervention implementation. By taking a coupled sociological-mathematical approach, we demonstrate that integrating qualitative socio-ecological system maps with quantitative analyses of the relationships within these maps can be useful to identify points of leverage to achieve sustainability. Using fuzzy cognitive mapping, we capture perspectives regarding the relatonships between political, economic, social, technological, and environmental (PESTLE) elements of a social-ecological system both now and into the future, from people with different worldviews. Qualitative Boolean analysis of the fuzzy cognitive maps showed that sustainability can be achieved for all worldviews when considering the presence of positive and negative interactions among the PESTLE elements of social-ecological systems. In contrast, using quantitative projections of the PESTLE networks that bring in data on the strengths of the relationships between the PESTLE elements, we show that not all worldviews expect sustainable outcomes, under which circumstances achieving sustainability could be challenging. However, simulating changes to the strengths of the relationships between a few of the PESTLE elements can lead to a sustainable transition in those failing cases, signalling that interventions in key parts of the system can allow the whole social-ecological system to approach a sustainable future with engagement across worldviews. We show that a pluralistic approach, increasing the positive influence of economies on environmental outcomes, can offer viable pathways to sustainability for people coming from different worldviews. This is particularly important in marine systems that, by their nature, are cross-boundary and require inter-cultural solutions.
{"title":"Can recognising pluralistic worldviews in marine social-ecological systems help achieve sustainable scenarios?","authors":"Bruno Oliveira , Julie Bremner , Angel Borja , Christos Arvanitidis , Berthe M.J. Vastenhoud , David Lusseau","doi":"10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.108067","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.108067","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The complexity of social-ecological systems poses significant challenges to achieving global sustainability goals. Decision-makers can develop management interventions acting across political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental domains, but these interventions have the potential to interact and conflict in complex ways. Importantly, worldviews have the potential to influence how we perceive these interactions will occur and alter our engagement with them. This can lead to paralysis in deliberations about intervention implementation. By taking a coupled sociological-mathematical approach, we demonstrate that integrating qualitative socio-ecological system maps with quantitative analyses of the relationships within these maps can be useful to identify points of leverage to achieve sustainability. Using fuzzy cognitive mapping, we capture perspectives regarding the relatonships between political, economic, social, technological, and environmental (PESTLE) elements of a social-ecological system both now and into the future, from people with different worldviews. Qualitative Boolean analysis of the fuzzy cognitive maps showed that sustainability can be achieved for all worldviews when considering the presence of positive and negative interactions among the PESTLE elements of social-ecological systems. In contrast, using quantitative projections of the PESTLE networks that bring in data on the strengths of the relationships between the PESTLE elements, we show that not all worldviews expect sustainable outcomes, under which circumstances achieving sustainability could be challenging. However, simulating changes to the strengths of the relationships between a few of the PESTLE elements can lead to a sustainable transition in those failing cases, signalling that interventions in key parts of the system can allow the whole social-ecological system to approach a sustainable future with engagement across worldviews. We show that a pluralistic approach, increasing the positive influence of economies on environmental outcomes, can offer viable pathways to sustainability for people coming from different worldviews. This is particularly important in marine systems that, by their nature, are cross-boundary and require inter-cultural solutions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54698,"journal":{"name":"Ocean & Coastal Management","volume":"274 ","pages":"Article 108067"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145886473","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-31DOI: 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.108078
Yueming Wu , Danqing Sun , Shan Jiang , Beiyun Xu , Jing Liu , Jian Li , Yiyun Wang , Ying Wu
Mowing is widely employed in coastal wetland management to control invasive plants and resource utilization. Although its effects on greenhouse gas emissions are well studied, impact on sediment organic carbon (OC) dynamics remains incomplete. This study investigated a temperate estuarine wetland by analyzing sediments from Spartina alterniflora, Phragmites australis, and mudflats. Sediment total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), labile OC (water extractable OC, WEOC), relatively stable OC (Fe-bound OC, OC-Fe), inorganic nutrients, and lignin phenols were measured to assess mowing effects across vegetation types. Mowing induced distinct impacts on vegetated sediments. In S. alterniflora sediments, frequent mowing (three times in one year with biomass removal) weakened plant activities, led to reductions in clay content and total Fe, decreased but more recalcitrant WEOC pool, fluctuating nutrient levels, and declines in OC-Fe fractions, indicating ongoing OC consumption without fresh inputs. Conversely, P. australis sediments exhibited increased TOC and TN post-mowing, associated with root mortality and litter input, reflected by shifted δ13C and δ15N, elevated C/N ratios, enhanced microbial signals in the dissolved organic matter, and further confirmed by lignin phenols. Notably, OC-FePP (co-precipitated OC-Fe) increased after mowing in P. australis, likely due to the association of plant-derived lignin- and phenolic-rich OC with Fe (hydr)oxides. Overall, mowing reduced the relative contribution of OC-Fe in both species but promoted short-term OC accumulation in P. australis sediments. These findings highlight vegetation-dependent mowing effects on sediment OC pools and underscore the need for careful coastal wetland management to balance blue carbon preservation with ecological sustainability.
{"title":"Distinct mowing effects on organic carbon storage and dynamics in Spartina alterniflora and Phragmites australis sediments","authors":"Yueming Wu , Danqing Sun , Shan Jiang , Beiyun Xu , Jing Liu , Jian Li , Yiyun Wang , Ying Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.108078","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.108078","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Mowing is widely employed in coastal wetland management to control invasive plants and resource utilization. Although its effects on greenhouse gas emissions are well studied, impact on sediment organic carbon (OC) dynamics remains incomplete. This study investigated a temperate estuarine wetland by analyzing sediments from <em>Spartina alterniflora</em>, <em>Phragmites australis</em>, and mudflats. Sediment total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), labile OC (water extractable OC, WEOC), relatively stable OC (Fe-bound OC, OC-Fe), inorganic nutrients, and lignin phenols were measured to assess mowing effects across vegetation types. Mowing induced distinct impacts on vegetated sediments. In <em>S. alterniflora</em> sediments, frequent mowing (three times in one year with biomass removal) weakened plant activities, led to reductions in clay content and total Fe, decreased but more recalcitrant WEOC pool, fluctuating nutrient levels, and declines in OC-Fe fractions, indicating ongoing OC consumption without fresh inputs. Conversely, <em>P. australis</em> sediments exhibited increased TOC and TN post-mowing, associated with root mortality and litter input, reflected by shifted δ<sup>13</sup>C and δ<sup>15</sup>N, elevated C/N ratios, enhanced microbial signals in the dissolved organic matter, and further confirmed by lignin phenols. Notably, OC-Fe<sub>PP</sub> (co-precipitated OC-Fe) increased after mowing in <em>P. australis</em>, likely due to the association of plant-derived lignin- and phenolic-rich OC with Fe (hydr)oxides. Overall, mowing reduced the relative contribution of OC-Fe in both species but promoted short-term OC accumulation in <em>P. australis</em> sediments. These findings highlight vegetation-dependent mowing effects on sediment OC pools and underscore the need for careful coastal wetland management to balance blue carbon preservation with ecological sustainability.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54698,"journal":{"name":"Ocean & Coastal Management","volume":"274 ","pages":"Article 108078"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2025-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145860439","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-27DOI: 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.108069
Xifeng Gao , Yingxu Zhao , Qian Ma , Jijian Lian , Mengmeng Liu
Offshore floating photovoltaic structures are subjected to long-term exposure in complex and harsh marine environments, characterized by multi-factor coupling, hidden failure paths, and high uncertainty, making it difficult for conventional analytical methods to effectively reveal the causes of systemic failures. This study establishes a four-dimensional causality system covering design, construction, environment, and management, and proposes a directed hierarchical causality analysis framework that integrates triangular fuzzy numbers, converting fuzzy data into crisp scores defuzzification, and interpretive structural modeling to decode multi-factor interaction paths. The framework identifies a three-layer damage evolution mechanism through a case study of the offshore floating photovoltaic project independently developed by the author's team in China. The results indicate that management factors serve as the underlying drivers, design and environmental factors act as risk transmitters, while connector defects and extreme loads function as direct manifest causes. Based on these findings, a full life-cycle structural management strategy is proposed. This research provides a systematic theoretical framework and empirical evidence that can enhance risk awareness and inform the design of prevention strategies for offshore floating photovoltaic systems throughout their life-cycle.
{"title":"Directed hierarchical causality analysis framework for structural damage in offshore floating photovoltaics","authors":"Xifeng Gao , Yingxu Zhao , Qian Ma , Jijian Lian , Mengmeng Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.108069","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.108069","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Offshore floating photovoltaic structures are subjected to long-term exposure in complex and harsh marine environments, characterized by multi-factor coupling, hidden failure paths, and high uncertainty, making it difficult for conventional analytical methods to effectively reveal the causes of systemic failures. This study establishes a four-dimensional causality system covering design, construction, environment, and management, and proposes a directed hierarchical causality analysis framework that integrates triangular fuzzy numbers, converting fuzzy data into crisp scores defuzzification, and interpretive structural modeling to decode multi-factor interaction paths. The framework identifies a three-layer damage evolution mechanism through a case study of the offshore floating photovoltaic project independently developed by the author's team in China. The results indicate that management factors serve as the underlying drivers, design and environmental factors act as risk transmitters, while connector defects and extreme loads function as direct manifest causes. Based on these findings, a full life-cycle structural management strategy is proposed. This research provides a systematic theoretical framework and empirical evidence that can enhance risk awareness and inform the design of prevention strategies for offshore floating photovoltaic systems throughout their life-cycle.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54698,"journal":{"name":"Ocean & Coastal Management","volume":"273 ","pages":"Article 108069"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2025-12-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145839885","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-27DOI: 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.108072
Camilla Roveta , Torcuato Pulido Mantas , Simone Berardone , Federico Betti , Martina Coppari , Valentina Cappanera , Cristina Gioia Di Camillo , Francesco Enrichetti , Lorenzo Merotto , Giorgia Sanna , Alessia Bacchi , Carlo Cerrano
Abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gears (ALDFGs) represent a major threat to marine biodiversity, yet their removal remains controversial when entangled with sensitive benthic communities. This study presents a standardized marine citizen science (MCS) protocol and a novel decision-making index, the Gear Removal-Biological (GRaB) index, designed to assess the ecological risks of ALDFG removal. Experienced volunteer divers applied the “Reef Alert Network (RAN) - Assessment of lost fishing gear” protocol to survey ALDFGs at coralligenous sites between 29 and 51 m depth in the Portofino Marine Protected Area (Italy), recording site characteristics, gear type, colonization levels, and taxa affected. A total of 91 ALDFGs were documented across 350 m2, impacting nearly 1000 organisms, with the red gorgonian Paramuricea clavata being the most affected. The GRaB index integrates five indicators (Entangled Organisms, Surrounding Diversity, Biofouling Colonization, Habitat Complexity, and ALDFG Characteristics) to produce a simple traffic-light classification of low, medium, or high ecological risk. Tested on over 200 surveys, the index provided reliable estimates of potential harm, supporting informed decisions on whether removal should proceed and whether expert consultation is required. Beyond its scientific utility, the approach enhances MCS initiatives by empowering divers and stakeholders, raising awareness of fishing and ALDFG impacts, and providing managers with an adaptive tool transferable across Mediterranean habitats. Ultimately, this integrative framework promotes responsible retrieval practices while fostering collaborative governance, contributing to marine conservation, biodiversity restoration, and the sustainability goals of the UN Ocean Decade.
{"title":"To GRaB or not to GRaB: a citizen science-based, decision-making index to assess the biological implications of lost fishing gears retrieval","authors":"Camilla Roveta , Torcuato Pulido Mantas , Simone Berardone , Federico Betti , Martina Coppari , Valentina Cappanera , Cristina Gioia Di Camillo , Francesco Enrichetti , Lorenzo Merotto , Giorgia Sanna , Alessia Bacchi , Carlo Cerrano","doi":"10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.108072","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.108072","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gears (ALDFGs) represent a major threat to marine biodiversity, yet their removal remains controversial when entangled with sensitive benthic communities. This study presents a standardized marine citizen science (MCS) protocol and a novel decision-making index, the Gear Removal-Biological (GRaB) index, designed to assess the ecological risks of ALDFG removal. Experienced volunteer divers applied the “Reef Alert Network (RAN) - Assessment of lost fishing gear” protocol to survey ALDFGs at coralligenous sites between 29 and 51 m depth in the Portofino Marine Protected Area (Italy), recording site characteristics, gear type, colonization levels, and taxa affected. A total of 91 ALDFGs were documented across 350 m<sup>2</sup>, impacting nearly 1000 organisms, with the red gorgonian <em>Paramuricea clavata</em> being the most affected. The GRaB index integrates five indicators (Entangled Organisms, Surrounding Diversity, Biofouling Colonization, Habitat Complexity, and ALDFG Characteristics) to produce a simple traffic-light classification of low, medium, or high ecological risk. Tested on over 200 surveys, the index provided reliable estimates of potential harm, supporting informed decisions on whether removal should proceed and whether expert consultation is required. Beyond its scientific utility, the approach enhances MCS initiatives by empowering divers and stakeholders, raising awareness of fishing and ALDFG impacts, and providing managers with an adaptive tool transferable across Mediterranean habitats. Ultimately, this integrative framework promotes responsible retrieval practices while fostering collaborative governance, contributing to marine conservation, biodiversity restoration, and the sustainability goals of the UN Ocean Decade.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54698,"journal":{"name":"Ocean & Coastal Management","volume":"273 ","pages":"Article 108072"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2025-12-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145840400","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-26DOI: 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.108065
Sean T. Fennessy , Christi Linardich , Kevin Rhodes , Joao P. Barreiros , David Pollard , Eloy Sosa-Cordero , Felicia Coleman , Alfonso Aguilar-Perera , Christopher R. Malinowski , Thierry Brulé , Pedro Afonso , Kayan Ma , Min Liu , Muktha Menon , Colin Wen , Stanley K.H. Shea , Sean N. Porter , Matthew Craig , Yvonne Sadovy de Mitcheson
Worldwide, groupers (Epinephelidae) are commercially valued fishes, which also play key ecological roles on tropical and subtropical reefs. In 2007 and 2016, the IUCN's Groupers and Wrasses Specialist Group assessed all 160+ grouper species, with 17 of these being identified as threatened in 2016 and the major threat factor being overexploitation. Our present study aimed to identify whether management measures (MMs) for previously assessed groupers were established, whether these measures aligned with IUCN's Red List categories, and whether they effectively protect grouper populations. Experts in grouper biology and management assigned scores per grouper species based on the extent to which MMs were in place and effective throughout these species' geographic ranges. Simple 4-level scores (0–3) were used to indicate the extent to which a MM was in place and how effective it was considered to be over the global distribution of each species. Of the 50 species scored, which included almost all threatened species, 97 % showed no/extremely limited/limited use of MMs, while only 3 % showed widespread/extensive use of MMs. Only 2 % of species showed highly/very effective scores for management, while 98 % showed limited/extremely limited/ineffective scores or no MMs in place. The MMs and their effectiveness were not commensurate with IUCN extinction risk levels. Overall, fishery management implemented for groupers by governments needs to be substantially improved, basic biological studies on many species are urgently required, fishing effort needs to be reduced, and regular biological and fishery monitoring conducted to evaluate the need for, and outcomes of, management. Although not all grouper species form spawning aggregations, recommendations are given to increase the protection of aggregating grouper species, in combination with well-placed Marine Protected Areas.
{"title":"Does fishery management for groupers (Teleostei: Epinephelidae) protect them effectively? Context from the IUCN's Red list of threatened species","authors":"Sean T. Fennessy , Christi Linardich , Kevin Rhodes , Joao P. Barreiros , David Pollard , Eloy Sosa-Cordero , Felicia Coleman , Alfonso Aguilar-Perera , Christopher R. Malinowski , Thierry Brulé , Pedro Afonso , Kayan Ma , Min Liu , Muktha Menon , Colin Wen , Stanley K.H. Shea , Sean N. Porter , Matthew Craig , Yvonne Sadovy de Mitcheson","doi":"10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.108065","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.108065","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Worldwide, groupers (Epinephelidae) are commercially valued fishes, which also play key ecological roles on tropical and subtropical reefs. In 2007 and 2016, the IUCN's Groupers and Wrasses Specialist Group assessed all 160+ grouper species, with 17 of these being identified as threatened in 2016 and the major threat factor being overexploitation. Our present study aimed to identify whether management measures (MMs) for previously assessed groupers were established, whether these measures aligned with IUCN's Red List categories, and whether they effectively protect grouper populations. Experts in grouper biology and management assigned scores per grouper species based on the extent to which MMs were in place and effective throughout these species' geographic ranges. Simple 4-level scores (0–3) were used to indicate the extent to which a MM was in place and how effective it was considered to be over the global distribution of each species. Of the 50 species scored, which included almost all threatened species, 97 % showed no/extremely limited/limited use of MMs, while only 3 % showed widespread/extensive use of MMs. Only 2 % of species showed highly/very effective scores for management, while 98 % showed limited/extremely limited/ineffective scores or no MMs in place. The MMs and their effectiveness were not commensurate with IUCN extinction risk levels. Overall, fishery management implemented for groupers by governments needs to be substantially improved, basic biological studies on many species are urgently required, fishing effort needs to be reduced, and regular biological and fishery monitoring conducted to evaluate the need for, and outcomes of, management. Although not all grouper species form spawning aggregations, recommendations are given to increase the protection of aggregating grouper species, in combination with well-placed Marine Protected Areas.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54698,"journal":{"name":"Ocean & Coastal Management","volume":"273 ","pages":"Article 108065"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2025-12-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145839882","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-26DOI: 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.108073
Wenzhen Zhao , Shiwei Lin , Xiaolu Yan , Jingqiu Zhong , Lin Su , Shupu Wu , Lv Gong , Yang Hu , Xiuzhen Li
Invasive species eradication, while necessary for biodiversity conservation, frequently triggers loss of ecosystem functions previously provided by the invader, creating management dilemmas for large-scale restoration. China’s Spartina alterniflora removal program (68,000 ha, 2023–2025) exemplifies this challenge: despite degrading biodiversity, the S. alterniflora delivers substantial coastal protection and carbon sequestration services. Strategic post-eradication restoration requires explicit evaluation of which ecosystem functions to prioritize at which locations. We developed a spatially explicit framework integrating species distribution modeling with scenario-based optimization to identify optimal native vegetation allocation strategies for ecosystem function recovery following S. alterniflora eradication in the Yangtze Estuary. We modeled habitat suitability for functionally distinct native species (Phragmites australis and Scirpus mariqueter) and designed four restoration scenarios: Environmental Suitability (ES, baseline) and three optimization scenarios targeting Carbon Stock (CS), Coastal Protection (CP), and Biodiversity Protection (BP). Optimization scenarios achieved target ecosystem function improvements (CS: +15 % carbon stock; CP: +71 % wave attenuation; BP: +15 % biodiversity indices), incurred 7–14 % reductions in non-target functions. Carbon storage and coastal protection exhibited synergies through shared biomass dependence: the CS scenario achieved +43 % wave attenuation despite prioritizing carbon, while the CP scenario co-delivered +7 % carbon stock gains. In contrast, biodiversity enhancement through habitat heterogeneity traded off both biomass-dependent functions: the BP scenario reduced carbon stock by 7 % and wave attenuation by 14 % relative to the ES baseline. Given these trade-offs, we recommend spatially differentiated implementation: CP along erosion-prone shorelines, CS in rapidly accreting zones, and BP in areas adjacent to protected habitats. This framework provides a transferable approach for balancing multiple ecosystem functions in S. alterniflora post-eradication coastal restoration worldwide.
{"title":"Spatially differentiated restoration strategies optimize multiple ecosystem functions in tidal marshes after Spartina eradication","authors":"Wenzhen Zhao , Shiwei Lin , Xiaolu Yan , Jingqiu Zhong , Lin Su , Shupu Wu , Lv Gong , Yang Hu , Xiuzhen Li","doi":"10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.108073","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.108073","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Invasive species eradication, while necessary for biodiversity conservation, frequently triggers loss of ecosystem functions previously provided by the invader, creating management dilemmas for large-scale restoration. China’s <em>Spartina alterniflora</em> removal program (68,000 ha, 2023–2025) exemplifies this challenge: despite degrading biodiversity, the <em>S. alterniflora</em> delivers substantial coastal protection and carbon sequestration services. Strategic post-eradication restoration requires explicit evaluation of which ecosystem functions to prioritize at which locations. We developed a spatially explicit framework integrating species distribution modeling with scenario-based optimization to identify optimal native vegetation allocation strategies for ecosystem function recovery following <em>S. alterniflora</em> eradication in the Yangtze Estuary. We modeled habitat suitability for functionally distinct native species (<em>Phragmites australis</em> and <em>Scirpus mariqueter</em>) and designed four restoration scenarios: Environmental Suitability (ES, baseline) and three optimization scenarios targeting Carbon Stock (CS), Coastal Protection (CP), and Biodiversity Protection (BP). Optimization scenarios achieved target ecosystem function improvements (CS: +15 % carbon stock; CP: +71 % wave attenuation; BP: +15 % biodiversity indices), incurred 7–14 % reductions in non-target functions. Carbon storage and coastal protection exhibited synergies through shared biomass dependence: the CS scenario achieved +43 % wave attenuation despite prioritizing carbon, while the CP scenario co-delivered +7 % carbon stock gains. In contrast, biodiversity enhancement through habitat heterogeneity traded off both biomass-dependent functions: the BP scenario reduced carbon stock by 7 % and wave attenuation by 14 % relative to the ES baseline. Given these trade-offs, we recommend spatially differentiated implementation: CP along erosion-prone shorelines, CS in rapidly accreting zones, and BP in areas adjacent to protected habitats. This framework provides a transferable approach for balancing multiple ecosystem functions in <em>S. alterniflora</em> post-eradication coastal restoration worldwide.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54698,"journal":{"name":"Ocean & Coastal Management","volume":"273 ","pages":"Article 108073"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2025-12-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145839883","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-26DOI: 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.108062
Chunyan Zhu , Weiming Xie , Leicheng Guo , Dirk Sebastiaan van Maren , Wenting Wu , Fan Xu , Yuan Xu , Naiyu Zhang , Zheng Bing Wang , Qing He
Tidal flats provide essential ecosystem services but are increasingly threatened by reduced sediment supply and human activities, requiring close monitoring and understandings in estuaries. We focus on the four tidal flats with a total area of 1800 km2 in the Yangtze Estuary and systematically evaluate their morphodynamic evolution based on consistent bathymetry data over 60 years (1958–2022). While fluvial sediment supply has declined since the mid-1980s, all four tidal flats in the estuary sustained accretion until 2010, demonstrating a lag of 20–30 years in estuarine morphological response to sediment decline. However, note that accretion primarily occurs on higher parts of the shoals, whereas erosion dominates in the subtidal zones. This is mainly attributed to the combined impact of saltmarsh expansions, reclamation, and channel scour and dredging. It suggests that part of the eroded sediment from channels deposits on adjacent shoals, leading to a regional sediment budget balance, particularly in the central channel-shoal complex with the navigation channel. Moreover, the initiative of removing Spartina from the shoals, a fast-spreading invasive species that benefits shoal accretion but not native species, might disrupt the ongoing accretion of high shoals and induce overwhelming erosion and sediment loss. One management strategy to counteract these impacts and restore tidal flats is to make beneficial use of the dredged and trapped sediment from the North Passage, an annual amount of approximately 50 million m3, to the adjacent shoals, though how to sustainably manage the sediments remains another concern.
{"title":"The fate of tidal flats under reduced sediment supply and human activities in the bifurcated Yangtze Estuary","authors":"Chunyan Zhu , Weiming Xie , Leicheng Guo , Dirk Sebastiaan van Maren , Wenting Wu , Fan Xu , Yuan Xu , Naiyu Zhang , Zheng Bing Wang , Qing He","doi":"10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.108062","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.108062","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Tidal flats provide essential ecosystem services but are increasingly threatened by reduced sediment supply and human activities, requiring close monitoring and understandings in estuaries. We focus on the four tidal flats with a total area of 1800 km<sup>2</sup> in the Yangtze Estuary and systematically evaluate their morphodynamic evolution based on consistent bathymetry data over 60 years (1958–2022). While fluvial sediment supply has declined since the mid-1980s, all four tidal flats in the estuary sustained accretion until 2010, demonstrating a lag of 20–30 years in estuarine morphological response to sediment decline. However, note that accretion primarily occurs on higher parts of the shoals, whereas erosion dominates in the subtidal zones. This is mainly attributed to the combined impact of saltmarsh expansions, reclamation, and channel scour and dredging. It suggests that part of the eroded sediment from channels deposits on adjacent shoals, leading to a regional sediment budget balance, particularly in the central channel-shoal complex with the navigation channel. Moreover, the initiative of removing <em>Spartina</em> from the shoals, a fast-spreading invasive species that benefits shoal accretion but not native species, might disrupt the ongoing accretion of high shoals and induce overwhelming erosion and sediment loss. One management strategy to counteract these impacts and restore tidal flats is to make beneficial use of the dredged and trapped sediment from the North Passage, an annual amount of approximately 50 million m<sup>3</sup>, to the adjacent shoals, though how to sustainably manage the sediments remains another concern.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54698,"journal":{"name":"Ocean & Coastal Management","volume":"273 ","pages":"Article 108062"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2025-12-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145839884","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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