Marine Resource Management

Marine Reserves and Marine Protected Areas: A Case Study in Oregon and a Proposed National Model for Design and Implementation

2013-01-30T00:23:03Z

Marine Reserves and Marine Protected Areas: A Case Study in Oregon and a Proposed National Model for Design and Implementation Perry, Alex In this report, I examine the process of establishing marine reserves and marine protected areas both from a national and a state perspective. In order to do so, I have investigated the implementation process currently underway in Oregon. Specifically, I have chosen to perform a case study of the process at Redfish Rocks Marine Reserve and Marine Protected Area. I chose this example because of the commendable approach taken by the community of Port Orford in proposing their site and performing extensive baseline data collection in submitting their proposal. The Port Orford community demonstrated great marine resource stewardship and a forward‐minded approach to conservation and sustainability for their living marine resources in putting together their submission. Finally, the goal of this paper is to present the lessons learned in the form of a proposed template for communities and fisheries managers to follow in the proposal and implementation process of designating and establishing marine reserves and marine protected areas both locally and nationally. It is my hope that such a proposal could be used to standardize a national approach to designation and implementation across Regional Fishery Management Councils (RFMCs) and their associated regional marine ecosystems within the United States.

Video on the rocks : use of a video lander platform as a survey tool for a high-relief nearshore temperate rocky reef

2013-02-14T18:06:35Z

Video on the rocks : use of a video lander platform as a survey tool for a high-relief nearshore temperate rocky reef Easton, Ryan Reid The nearshore waters off the Oregon coast (< 73 meters) are a region of high productivity and economic value, with a variety of habitats that include rock outcrops. Temperate reef habitats are important to many commercially important fishes inhabiting the Pacific coast, including canary rockfish (Sebastes pinniger) and yelloweye rockfish (Sebastes ruberrimus), which are currently listed as "overfished" by the Pacific Fishery Management Council. Along the Pacific coast of North America, nearshore rocky reefs have been designated as essential fish habitat (EFH), while comprising approximately just seven percent of Oregon's territorial sea. Despite this EFH designation, the use of visual (SCUBA, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), human occupied vehicles (HOVs)) and non-visual (bottom trawl) survey methods within this region has been infrequent and scattered, providing limited information on species-habitat associations and species assemblages within nearshore waters. It is logistically difficult and costly to survey nearshore reefs. The factors that have led to the paucity of surveys include the depth (too deep for SCUBA surveys but too shallow for larger survey vessels), high seas limiting available days for field work, and the high-relief nature of the habitat (precluding the use of bottom trawls). In an effort to better understand species-habitat associations and community structure of Oregon's nearshore reefs, an autonomous underwater drop-camera termed the "video lander" was employed at the Three Arch Rocks reef, a nearshore reef off of Oceanside, Oregon. Video lander footage was used to identify and groundtruth habitat types, as well as species assemblages over two distinct seasons: spring/summer (n=272) and winter (n=108). Many species-habitat associations were statistically significant: yelloweye rockfish (large boulder p<0.0073), canary rockfish (small boulder p<0.0006), kelp greenling (Hexagrammos decagrammus) (bedrock outcrop p<0.0162), and quillback rockfish (Sebastes maliger) (large boulder p<0.0016). Summer and winter surveys revealed similar habitat associations and distributions for these species. I found no significant difference in species composition between the northern and southern regions of the reef (Bray-Curtis dissimilarity index (BCDI) = 71.71, ANOSIM p>0.1447), but a significant difference between spring/summer and winter seasons was identified on the outer section of the reef, due to the presence of spotted ratfish (Hydrolagus colliei) in the winter (BCDI =76.41, ANOSIM p < 0.0155). My study shows that data provided by the video lander can fill existing gaps in our understanding of nearshore distribution and habitat associations of temperate rocky-reef fishes off the Oregon coast. Graduation date: 2013

A cooperative effort to track Humboldt squid invasions in Oregon

2012-12-26T18:59:32Z

A cooperative effort to track Humboldt squid invasions in Oregon Chesney, Tanya A. Interannual variability of Humboldt squid (Dosidicus gigas) occurrence in the northern California Current System is largely unknown. In Oregon, the distribution of this versatile predator and what is influencing their range expansion from Mexico is poorly understood due to the recent nature of their "invasion" and a lack of monitoring. Humboldt squid are large predators that have the potential to affect ecosystem structure and fisheries because of their high-energy demands and ability to exploit a variety of oceanographic conditions and prey sources. Developing baseline distribution information is a critical first step to assess their potential ecological, social, and economic impacts, and to develop models to predict future range expansion. This study has two main objectives: (1) to document where and when Humboldt squid have been present in Oregon through cooperative fisheries research, and (2) to correlate the sightings with oceanographic conditions using a geographic information system (GIS) and species distribution modeling (SDM). I conducted 54 interviews with local fishermen and aggregated their squid sightings with available fishery-independent survey and fishery-dependent observer data from the National Marine Fisheries Service. I compiled a total of 339 Humboldt squid sightings, reported for the years 2002-2011 from the Oregon coast to 131° west longitude. Correlation analyses were performed for Humboldt squid sightings and sea surface temperature (SST), chlorophyll a content (chla), sea surface height anomalies (SSH), dissolved oxygen at 30 m depth (30 m DO), and sea surface salinity (SSS) using a GIS, nonparametric multiplicative regression (NPMR) habitat modeling, and maximum entropy modeling (Maxent). Results indicate that oceanographic conditions have the potential to influence Humboldt squid occurrence, and in Oregon, sightings vary temporally and spatially. Combining the sightings from fishermen and scientific surveys greatly enhanced the spatial extent of the data. Humboldt squid were most frequently observed between 124.4°W and 125°W in proximity to the shelf-break at the 200 m isobath, with peak sightings (116) recorded in 2009 and the fewest (6) reported in 2003 and 2011. The highest occurrence of Humboldt squid were observed at a SST of 10.5-13.0°C, 0.26-3.0 mg m⁻³ chla content, -4.0-1.0 m SSH anomalies, 32.2-32.8 psu SSS, and at 3-4.5 ml L⁻¹ and 6-7 ml L⁻¹ 30 m depth DO. Maps of estimated likelihood of occurrence generated by NPMR were consistent with overlayed observations from fishermen, which were not used in the model because they were limited to presence-only information. An interdisciplinary approach that incorporates cooperative fisheries research and ecosystem-based management is necessary for monitoring Humboldt squid in Oregon. Traditional methods are insufficient because Humboldt squid are data-poor, highly migratory, and are main predators of many commercially important fisheries in Oregon. Based on my findings, sightings recorded by fishermen covered a much larger area over a longer time frame than the scientific survey and observer data, and excluding their knowledge would have led to a different interpretation of Humboldt squid distribution and environmental tolerances. Although there is uncertainty in the data from potential map bias or misidentification of smaller Humboldt squid, incorporating sightings from fishermen with traditional fisheries research increases the quantity and quality of information. Cooperative monitoring for Humboldt squid could include training in species identification and sea condition reporting in logbooks. Future "invasions" are likely, and more eyes on the water will improve our understanding of the behavior and impacts of Humboldt squid on coastal resources. Graduation date: 2013

A community-based approach for evaluating tradeoffs across marine ecosystem services in Oregon

2012-11-13T19:38:58Z

A community-based approach for evaluating tradeoffs across marine ecosystem services in Oregon Freeman, Peter M. As competing uses of our coastlines increase, natural resource agencies are employing marine spatial planning (MSP) to designate areas for different uses or activities in order to reduce conflicts while achieving ecological, economic and social objectives. A central challenge of implementing MSP is development of a rigorous approach for analyzing tradeoffs across the provision of ecosystem services (i.e., the benefits humans receive from nature). This study develops an operational approach to this problem that is founded on community-based methods, ecological production theory, and multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA). The approach merges ecological models with surveys to identify marine ecosystem services for use in tradeoff analysis. The approach allows for a single set of marine ecosystem services to at once be valued by local stakeholders and measured by biologists, thus connecting social and biological monitoring efforts. To develop the approach in a real-world context, I examined ecosystem services associated with nearshore marine ecosystems in Oregon, where marine reserves are being introduced for biodiversity conservation. I worked with stakeholder focus groups in three Oregon communities to identify 24 marine ecosystem services. I then linked the ecosystem services with ecological indicators, which I then consolidated to derive 11 items for use in a survey-based tradeoff analysis exercise. I administered the survey to a nonrandom sample of stakeholders in Oregon (n=31), from which their relative preferences and preference weights for ecosystem services were derived. The weights and preference measures may then be used in MSP decision-making. Furthermore, I grouped the stakeholder survey data in three ways: by location of residence (coastal vs. non-coastal), by eight categories of affiliation (e.g., business owners, conservationists, commercial and recreational fishers, etc.), and by resource use patterns. I then analyzed the various groupings of stakeholders for within- and between-group homogeneity of preferences. Results of the analyses showed that there are statistically significant variations in preferences within and between most groupings. Capturing the variations in stakeholder preferences is important when developing policies that affect different stakeholder groups. Thus, when implementing the survey instrument, I suggest random sampling of stakeholders stratified by location, affiliation, and resource use. This study provides one of the first examples of a systems-based approach to ecosystem service valuation operationalized to inform MSP, and novel features of the approach have a number of implications for advancing marine research and management. First, by using stakeholders to identify ecosystem services, the approach allows for a tailored implementation of ecosystem-based management at the community level. Second, by integrating ecological and economic information on the provision and value of ecosystem services, the approach provides relevant data for MSP decision-making during the siting, evaluation, and monitoring stages. And third, by applying both stated-preference and MCDA methods, the approach may capture the array of values represented by diverse stakeholder groups. Graduation date: 2013