OpenChannels Literature Update Archives

For the week of 29 January 2018

Greetings OpenChannels Community Members,

Marine Policy has published, A vision for marine fisheries in a global blue economy. "A brief history of marine fisheries is presented which emphasizes the expansion of industrial fleets in the 20th century, and their inherent lack of sustainability. In contrast, small scale fisheries, i.e. artisanal, subsistence and recreational fisheries could become part of a blue economy, given that care is taken to reduce incentives for building up fishing effort. However, they usually receive little attention from policy makers, as reflected by the almost complete absence from the catch data submitted by member countries to the FAO. While industrial fisheries tend to lack the features that would make them compatible with a blue economy, small-scale fisheries possess most of these features, and thus may represent the future of sustainable fisheries."

As always, if we've missed anything, please feel free to let us know. You may simply reply to this message, or you may email Allie directly at abrown [at] openchannels.org (.)

You can read everything (not just the free stuff) we have found this week at https://www.openchannels.org/literature-update/2018-01-31. Additionally, you can browse literature by the week we've added it at https://www.openchannels.org/literature-by-week.

-Allie Brown and Raye Evrard

For the week of 22 January 2018

Greetings OpenChannels Community Members,

Sustainability has published, How Marine Protected Areas Are Governed: A Cultural Theory Perspective. "Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have become recognized as important management tools for marine and coastal ecosystems in the last few decades. However, the theoretical underpinnings of MPA regimes have arguably not yet received sufficient attention. This paper attempts to remedy this by exploring how the Cultural Theory initiated by Dame Mary Douglas can provide a theoretical foundation for the current debates about the design of MPA regimes. It does so by firstly noting that the various types of MPA governance discussed in the literature correspond to the ways of organizing, perceiving and justifying social relations recognized in Cultural Theory. The article continues by setting out how Cultural Theory helps to explain when and why MPA regimes succeed or fail to reach their goals. In particular, the article highlights the practical importance of accommodating all ways of organizing and perceiving social relations in any MPA management plan. Finally, the paper suggests that further systematic, empirical work for assessing MPAs needs to be undertaken so as to corroborate the arguments advanced in this paper."

As always, if we've missed anything, please feel free to let us know. You may simply reply to this message, or you may email Allie directly at abrown [at] openchannels.org (.)

You can read everything (not just the free stuff) we have found this week at https://www.openchannels.org/literature-update/2018-01-24. Additionally, you can browse literature by the week we've added it at https://www.openchannels.org/literature-by-week.

-Allie Brown and Raye Evrard

For the week of 15 January 2018

Greetings OpenChannels Community Members,

Scientific Reports has published, Hydroacoustics as a tool to examine the effects of Marine Protected Areas and habitat type on marine fish communities. "Hydroacoustic technologies are widely used in fisheries research but few studies have used them to examine the effects of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). We evaluate the efficacy of hydroacoustics to examine the effects of closure to fishing and habitat type on fish populations in the Cabo Pulmo National Park (CPNP), Mexico, and compare these methods to Underwater Visual Censuses (UVC). Fish density, biomass and size were all significantly higher inside the CPNP (299%, 144% and 52% respectively) than outside in non-MPA control areas. These values were much higher when only accounting for the reefs within the CPNP (4715%, 6970% and 97% respectively) highlighting the importance of both habitat complexity and protection from fishing for fish populations. Acoustic estimates of fish biomass over reef-specific sites did not differ significantly from those estimated using UVC data, although acoustic densities were less due to higher numbers of small fish recorded by UVC. There is thus considerable merit in nesting UVC surveys, also providing species information, within hydroacoustic surveys. This study is a valuable starting point in demonstrating the utility of hydroacoustics to assess the effects of coastal MPAs on fish populations, something that has been underutilised in MPA design, formation and management."

As always, if we've missed anything, please feel free to let us know. You may simply reply to this message, or you may email Allie directly at abrown [at] openchannels.org (.)

You can read everything (not just the free stuff) we have found this week at https://www.openchannels.org/literature-update/2018-01-17. Additionally, you can browse literature by the week we've added it at https://www.openchannels.org/literature-by-week.

-Allie Brown and Raye Evrard

For the weeks of 25 December - 08 January 2018

Greetings OpenChannels Community Members,

Sustainability has published, Sustainable Seafood Consumption in Action: Relevant Behaviors and their Predictors. "Within the discussion around sustainable diets, seafood consumption is still a relatively neglected field. This article discusses relevant behaviours consumers can perform to consume seafood sustainably. The predictive power of intention, descriptive social norms, trust, awareness and pro-environmental attitudes are theoretically discussed and statistically tested across two studies in regards to (a) using sustainable seafood labels, and (b) using sustainable seafood guides. Data analysis (N₁ = 309, N₂ = 881 Norwegian adults) shows that intentions, social norms and trust predict seafood label use across studies. The variables predicting seafood guide use are less stable which might be due to this behaviour being performed by a very small fraction of consumers only. Causal relationships have been identified in study 2 by applying cross-lagged panel analyses between intentions, trust and social norms and seafood label use. Further causal relationships were found between intentions, trust and awareness and seafood guide use. A bidirectional relationship was confirmed between descriptive social norms and seafood guide use. Potential strategies to promote seafood label- and seafood guide use, are discussed based on these results."

Check out our new MarXiv Summaries! Every week, the MarXiv Team selects papers shared in the MarXiv repository to summarize for managers and policymakers. Share your research in MarXiv now and we may summarize your paper, too!

As always, if we've missed anything, please feel free to let us know. You may simply reply to this message, or you may email Allie directly at abrown [at] openchannels.org (.)

You can read everything (not just the free stuff) we have found this week at https://www.openchannels.org/literature-update/2018-01-10. Additionally, you can browse literature by the week we've added it at https://www.openchannels.org/literature-by-week.

-Allie Brown and Raye Evrard

For the week of 18 December 2017

Greetings OpenChannels Community Members,

Marine Policy has published, The long-term impact of maritime piracy on seafarers’ behavioral health and work decisions. "More than 6000 seafarers have been held hostage by pirates in the last ten years. There is a small but developing body of research showing that these seafarers may face lasting challenges in recovery. However, current studies on this question have been limited by a lack of comparison groups, a lack of statistical power, and other methodological challenges. This study contributes to this body of research through a survey of 101 former hostages and 363 seafarers not known to be exposed to piracy from India, the Philippines, and Ukraine. Using clinically validated scales for tracking lasting impact, this research finds that 25.77% of former hostages show symptoms consistent with PTSD, and that hostage experiences and other maritime traumas can have impacts on seafarer wellbeing and decisions about their career through the impact these traumas have on post-traumatic stress symptoms."

As always, if we've missed anything, please feel free to let us know. You may simply reply to this message, or you may email Allie directly at abrown [at] openchannels.org.

You can read everything (not just the free stuff) we have found this week at https://www.openchannels.org/literature-update/2017-12-20. Additionally, you can browse literature by the week we've added it at https://www.openchannels.org/literature-by-week.

OCTO has recently launched MarXiv: the free repository for ocean and marine climate research, offering access to scientific preprints and postprints, legally! If you would like to make your research freely-accessible with MarXiv, see https://www.marxivinfo.org/submission for instructions. Questions? Contact Nick Wehner at nick [at] octogroup.org

-Allie Brown and Raye Evrard

P.S. We will be taking the next two weeks off from the Literature Update for the holiday season.  You will be seeing us in your inboxes beginning January 10th, 2018! Happy Holidays and have a wonderful New Year! 

For the week of 11 December 2017

Greetings OpenChannels Community Members,

Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia has published, How coral reef conservation and marine protected areas impact human well-being: A case study of a marine protected area and fishing communities in Central Vietnam. "This study evaluates the impacts of coral reef conservation and marine protected areas (MPAs) on the well-being of fishing communities in Central Vietnam. The Cu Lao Cham MPA is chosen as the case study. Coral reef health and four aspects of socioeconomic conditions (i.e., catch rate [also related to food security], access to the resource, employment, and income) are investigated. Data on the four different aspects were gathered from different sources. The results show that there is good evidence for how coral reef conservation can transfer the flow of benefits from the ecosystem to the local people. However, trade-offs also occur as a result of the development of tourism, including the degradation of fish resources and the environment. The managers of the MPA and the community should take into account trade-offs in resource management and should focus on appropriate MPA planning and fisheries management outside the MPA to achieve better outcomes for the local community from coral reef conservation."

As always, if we've missed anything, please feel free to let us know. You may simply reply to this message, or you may email Allie directly at abrown [at] openchannels.org.

You can read everything (not just the free stuff) we have found this week at https://www.openchannels.org/literature-update/2017-12-13. Additionally, you can browse literature by the week we've added it at https://www.openchannels.org/literature-by-week.

OCTO has recently launched MarXiv: the free repository for ocean and marine climate research, offering access to scientific preprints and postprints, legally! If you would like to make your research freely-accessible with MarXiv, see https://www.marxivinfo.org/submission for instructions. MarXiv is also searching for graduate student ambassadors. There's a $1000 award for students who wish to spread the MarXiv word, see https://www.marxivinfo.org/apply-marxiv-ambassador for more. Questions? Contact Nick Wehner at nick [at] octogroup.org

-Allie Brown and Raye Evrard

For the week of 4 December 2017

Greetings OpenChannels Community Members,

FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Proceedings has published, Improving our Knowledge on Small-Scale Fisheries: Data Needs and Methodologies. "This proceedings provides a summary of the presentations, discussions, conclusions and recommendations of the “Workshop on Improving our Knowledge on Small-Scale Fisheries: Data Needs and Methodologies,” held at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations headquarters in Rome, Italy, in June 2017. Through the workshop, it was determined that a comprehensive new study to illuminate the hidden contributions of small-scale fisheries to the three dimensions of sustainable development, as well as identification of key threats to these contributions was needed."

As always, if we've missed anything, please feel free to let us know. You may simply reply to this message, or you may email Allie directly at abrown [at] openchannels.org.

You can read everything (not just the free stuff) we have found this week at https://www.openchannels.org/literature-update/2017-12-06. Additionally, you can browse literature by the week we've added it at https://www.openchannels.org/literature-by-week.

OCTO has recently launched MarXiv: the free repository for ocean and marine climate research, offering access to scientific preprints and postprints, legally! If you would like to make your research freely-accessible with MarXiv, see https://www.marxiv.org/submission for instructions. MarXiv is also searching for graduate student ambassadors. There's a $1000 award for students who wish to spread the MarXiv word, see https://www.marxiv.org/apply-marxiv-ambassador for more. Questions? Contact Nick at nick [at] octogroup.org

-Allie Brown and Raye Evrard

For the week of 27 November 2017

Greetings OpenChannels Community Members,

Fish and Fisheries has published, Global significance of seagrass fishery activity. "In the coastal communities of developing countries, the importance of the nearshore seagrass fishery for livelihoods and well-being is irrefutable. In developed countries, the seagrass fishery is often recreational and/or more target species specific. Regardless of location, this study is the first to highlight collectively the indiscriminate nature and global scale of seagrass fisheries and the diversity of exploitative methods employed to extract seagrass-associated resources. Evidence presented emphasizes the need for targeted management to support continued viability of seagrass meadows as a global ecosystem service provider."

As always, if we've missed anything, please feel free to let us know. You may simply reply to this message, or you may email Allie directly at abrown [at] openchannels.org.

You can read everything (not just the free stuff) we have found this week at https://www.openchannels.org/literature-update/2017-11-29. Additionally, you can browse literature by the week we've added it at https://www.openchannels.org/literature-by-week.

OCTO has recently launched MarXiv: the free repository for ocean and marine climate research. MarXiv offers free access to scientific preprints and postprints, legally! If you would like to make your research freely-accessible with MarXiv, see https://www.marxiv.org/submission for instructions. MarXiv is also searching for graduate student ambassadors. There's a $1000 award for students who wish to spread the MarXiv word, see https://www.marxiv.org/apply-marxiv-ambassador to find out more. If you have any questions, contact Nick at nick [at] octogroup.org

-Allie Brown and Raye Evrard

For the week of 20 November 2017

Greetings OpenChannels Community Members,

The Nature Conservancy has published, Conservation Outreach Manual: Tips for Building Public Awareness. "This manual is intended to help marine resource managers, agencies and organizations plan impactful awareness activities. It provides an overview of key concepts in communications, with examples to guide the reader through the development and implementation of community outreach programs"

As always, if we've missed anything, please feel free to let us know. You may simply reply to this message, or you may email Allie directly at abrown [at] openchannels.org.

You can read everything (not just the free stuff) we have found this week at https://www.openchannels.org/literature-update/2017-11-22. Additionally, you can browse literature by the week we've added it at https://www.openchannels.org/literature-by-week.

Happy reading,
-Allie Brown and Raye Evrard

For the week of 13 November 2017

Greetings OpenChannels Community Members,

Environmental Conservation has published, Marine resource management and conservation in the Anthropocene. "Because the Anthropocene by definition is an epoch during which environmental change is largely anthropogenic and driven by social, economic, psychological and political forces, environmental social scientists can effectively analyse human behaviour and knowledge systems in this context. In this subject review, we summarize key ways in which the environmental social sciences can better inform fisheries management policy and practice and marine conservation in the Anthropocene."

As always, if we've missed anything, please feel free to let us know. You may simply reply to this message, or you may email Allie directly at abrown [at] openchannels.org.

You can read everything (not just the free stuff) we have found this week at https://www.openchannels.org/literature-update/2017-11-15. Additionally, you can browse literature by the week we've added it at https://www.openchannels.org/literature-by-week.

Happy reading,
-Allie Brown, Raye Evrard, and Nick Wehner