The introduction of Marine Non-Indigenous Species (NIS) poses a significant threat to global marine biodiversity and ecosystems. To mitigate this risk, the Ballast Water Management Convention (BWMC) was adopted by the UN International Maritime Organisation (IMO), setting strict criteria for discharges of ballast water. However, the BWMC permits exemptions for shipping routes operating within a geographical area, known as a Same-Risk-Area (SRA). An SRA can be established in areas where a risk assessment (RA) can conclude that the spread of NIS via ballast water is low relative to the predicted natural dispersal. Despite the BWMC's requirement for RAs to be based on modelling of the natural dispersal of NIS, no standard procedures have been established. This paper presents a methodology utilizing biophysical modelling and marine connectivity analyses to conduct SRA RA and delineation. Focusing on the Kattegat and Øresund connecting the North Sea and Baltic Sea, we examine two SRA candidates spanning Danish and Swedish waters. We provide an example on how to conduct an RA including an RA summary, and addressing findings, challenges, and prospects. Our study aims to advance the development and adoption of consistent, transparent, and scientifically robust SRA assessments for effective ballast water management.
The BBNJ Agreement will affect legal frameworks for the conservation of marine biological diversity in various regions of the world ocean and the marine Arctic is no exception. As biological diversity in the marine Arctic is particularly vulnerable, the implications of the BBNJ Agreement for the conservation of biological diversity in the marine Arctic deserves serious consideration. Of particular note is the procedure for an environmental impact assessment (EIA). Given that damage to the environment may be irreversible, it is a prerequisite to conduct an EIA before authorizing planned activities, with a view to preventing environmental harm. An EIA constitutes a crucial element in the conservation of the marine environment, including biological diversity. Hence, this article examines the potential implications of the procedure for an EIA as set out under the BBNJ Agreement for the conservation of biological diversity in the marine Arctic beyond national jurisdiction.
Gathering real-world high-quality data from underwater environments is cost-intensive, as is labeling this data for machine learning. Given this, synthetic data represents a possible solution that delivers ground-truth training data. Nevertheless, rendering and modeling of underwater environments are challenging due to several factors, including attenuation, scattering, and turbidity. The focus of this study is on the creation of a simulated underwater environment constructed for the purposes of simulating marine growth on offshore structures. The main requirement is the creation of renderings of sufficient quality and quantity with respect to the representation of marine-species distribution and intra-class variation, and sufficiently accurate recreation of lighting and turbidity (Jerlov water type) conditions underwater. Underwater rendering has been implemented using Blender, with marine growth from 2D/3D scanned and hand-modelled entities combined with a CAD model of an actual offshore installation. The proposed approach provides for the generation of synthetic images usable for training computer vision models in marine-growth inspection applications as well as other related underwater applications. This has been demonstrated in a case study, wherein the utility of the rendered dataset has been briefly demonstrated in a neural network marine-growth segmentation task. The produced renderings are available as a dataset of 1038 scene renders, using varying poses and randomized representative marine growth; each render includes RGB images, ground-truth segmentation masks, water-free RGB images, and depth information. In future work, the expansion with additional species and objects in other oceanic and coastal environments is envisioned.
A tension between two opposing forces, that is, the force of division and that of unity, is increasingly sharpened in the law of the sea today. An essential question that arises is how one can protect community interests in the divided ocean. The law of dédoublement fonctionnel advocated by Georges Scelle provides an insight into this question. According to Scelle’s theory of the law of dédoublement fonctionnel, State organs perform a dual function: the national function of protecting State interests and the public service function of safeguarding community interests. The law of dédoublement fonctionnel seeks to reconcile these functions. Scelle’s harmonistic vision of international law is well worth reconsidering in the law of the sea and beyond. This article examines the relevance of Scelle’s theory in the context of the law of the sea and explores two models for the protection of community interests at sea.
Despite the relatively rich literature on the omnipresence of microplastics in marine environments, the current status and ecological impacts of microplastics on global Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are still unknown. Their ubiquitous occurrence, increasing volume, and ecotoxicological effects have made microplastic an emerging marine pollutant. Given the critical conservation roles of MPAs that aim to protect vulnerable marine species, biodiversity, and resources, it is essential to have a comprehensive overview of the occurrence, abundance, distribution, and characteristics of microplastics in MPAs including their buffer zones. Here, extensive data were collected and screened based on 1565 peer-reviewed literature from 2017 to 2020, and a GIS-based approach was applied to improve the outcomes by considering boundary limits. Microplastics in seawater samples were verified within the boundaries of 52 MPAs; after including the buffer zones, 1/3 more (68 MPAs) were identified as contaminated by microplastics. A large range of microplastic levels in MPAs was summarized based on water volume (0–809,000 items/m 3) or surface water area (21.3–1,650,000,000 items/km 2), which was likely due to discrepancy in sampling and analytical methods. Fragment was the most frequently observed shape and fiber was the most abundant shape. PE and PP were the most common and also most abundant polymer types. Overall, 2/3 of available data reported that seawater microplastic levels in MPAs were higher than 12,429 items/km 2, indicating that global MPAs alone cannot protect against microplastic pollution. The current limitations and future directions were also discussed toward the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework goals.
The aim of this article is to examine the implications of environmental norms for fishing by analysing the South China Sea and Chagos Marine Protected Area cases. In so doing, the article considers the link between the regulation of fishing and the protection of marine biological diversity. Specifically, three issues are to be examined: (1) the implications of Articles 192 and 194(5) of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea for the regulation of environmentally harmful fishing, (2) the implications of Article 194 of the Convention for the fishing rights of a state, and (3) balance between environmental considerations and the fishing rights of a state. In this connection, the article argues that environmentally harmful fishing can be regarded as a key concept when considering the regulation of fishing from the viewpoints of marine environmental protection.