Why does this matter? Nearly two-thirds of historic mangrove loss can be attributed to human activity, while half of the world’s mangroves are at risk of collapse, primarily due to human behaviour such as coastal development and shrimp farming.

Forming in intertidal zones, these coastal woodlands are crucial from an ecological perspective as they reduce flood and erosion risk, protect water quality, sequester disproportionate amounts of carbon – drawing in three times the volume of carbon stored by tropical forests of the same size – and house unique biodiversity systems.

Additionally, mangroves provide essential services and economic benefits for coastal communities. The Paulson Institute, a US-based think tank, estimates that restoring degraded mangrove habitats would deliver between $27 billion-$37 billion in annual economic benefits to coastal communities.

Flood damages in a world without mangroves would rise an estimated 16% – roughly equivalent to $82 billion. Research has also revealed the mitigative role mangroves played in protecting coastal communities during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

The global community is beginning to take action against mangrove degradation. Studies suggest global mangrove loss is slowing as tightening regulation curbs mangrove destruction following its peak in the late 20th century.

Today, more than 42% of the world’s mangroves are protected, and some countries, such as Brazil and Bangladesh, designate over 80% of their mangrove cover with protected status. In Pakistan, mangroves have bucked the global trend and expanded almost three-fold over the last 30 years.

The Mangrove Breakthrough is perhaps the most significant global collective effort to protect these unique environments. Launched at COP27 in 2022, the initiative aims to mobilise $4bn of investment and protect 15 million hectares globally by 2030 via cooperation between national governments, NGOs and financiers.

The Global Mangrove Alliance is another international conservation project, which aims to halt mangrove loss, restore half of mangrove losses since 2018 and double formal protection of mangroves from 40% to 80% globally.

Conservation efforts will be strengthened by industry initiatives, such as the Climate Smart Shrimp nature-based project, led by the non-profit environmental organisation Conservation International.

Increased adoption of nature-based solutions in shrimp farming will be key as the sector grapples with a 10,000% increase in production since 1980, which has led to environmentally degrading high-intensity shrimp aquaculture practices. Conservation International’s initiative aims to couple intensification of shrimp aquaculture with mangrove conservation.

Improved accessibility for companies to seamlessly access and contribute towards mangrove restoration projects is also growing with the launch of platforms, such as Goodcarbon.

The platform leverages a proprietary AI-powered Nature Analytics Framework to design, assess and analyse Nature-based Solution projects based on more than 150 data points, allowing companies to build and manage trustworthy, impactful carbon credit portfolios.

Mangrove restoration is just one project classification of many offered on the platform. Improving connectivity between climate-conscious companies and mangrove restoration project owners will be crucial to continuing the world’s promising progress in reversing decades of mangrove degradation.

Some of the world’s most valuable and fragile ecosystems are found on islands, which are home to a large variety of plants, land and marine species and communities rarely found elsewhere. Understanding the interconnectedness of ecosystems could launch a “new era of conservation”, bringing knock-on benefits to neighbouring ecosystems, such as surrounding marine environments.

The study found that carefully planned actions such as removing invasive species and supporting coastal “connector” species could go some way in supporting island ecosystems. Beyond this, they can also address biodiversity loss, declining ocean health and climate change.

Connector species such as seals, seabirds and land crabs play a key role in ensuring healthy land-sea ecosystems and facilitating the exchange of nutrients between oceans and islands. However, important connector species are increasingly threatened and driven toward extinction by invasive mammals such as rats, which eat young hatchlings or bird eggs. This is aided by the fact that endemic island species do not have evolutionary defence mechanisms against non-native species. The decline of such valuable connector species carries direct consequences to both land and marine ecosystems, such as coral reefs, seagrass meadows and mangroves.

Seabirds, for example, feed in open ocean areas and bring high quantities of nutrients to both island and ocean ecosystems through guano deposits – accumulated excrements which contain natural mineral deposits and high levels of nitrogen, phosphate and potassium that support plant and vegetation growth. Islands with high seabird populations have been linked to higher fish populations, increased coral recovery rates and faster-growing coral reefs.

The isolated nature of islands means their ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to ecosystem changes, including overfishing or the introduction of invasive species. On the other hand, island ecosystems can recover rapidly and bounce back when supported by restoration measures.

The study highlighted six environmental factors, which can inform the selection of locations that would benefit most from the removal of invasive species – rainfall, vegetation cover, soil hydrology, elevation, oceanographic productivity and wave energy. The most significant marine co-benefits are expected to be seen on islands with calmer tides, high rainfall and other conditions associated with high land-sea connectivity.

For instance, Floreana Island in Ecuador’s Galapagos Archipelago, and Sonsorol Island in Palau, are islands with high land-sea connectivity potential. Both islands have joined the environmental campaign Island-Ocean Connection Challenge. Launched earlier this year, the campaign aims to rewild and restore at least 40 island ecosystems of global significance by 2030 to benefit oceans, islands and communities. Achieving this goal could mean the protection of an estimated 600 populations of 250 threatened wildlife species.

“Ridge-to-reef” restoration efforts will prevent further biodiversity loss and restore populations of native and endemic wildlife, which has cascading impacts on marine ecosystems surrounding the island. Healthy island and marine ecosystems also have positive impacts on climate resilience. From a social perspective, these benefits will also support local communities, which can play a crucial role in implementing restoration efforts.

It’s worth highlighting the interlinkages between healthy land and ocean ecosystems have been understood and managed by Indigenous island communities for a long time, but Western conservation has largely overlooked this approach, according to study co-author Penny Becker. Indigenous Hawaiians, for example, use ancient ahapua’a (watershed) resource management systems to manage fishponds, ocean areas and farming zones to ensure sustainable natural resources and protection from flooding and storms.

Scripps Institution of Oceanography

The study’s findings show marine protected areas (MPAs) can achieve “win-win-win” results for the environment, local communities and fishing industries. This is the first time an MPA has demonstrated protection to highly mobile, migratory species on a large scale and shows their benefits travel beyond the boundaries of MPAs to support broader ocean biodiversity, strengthening the argument for introducing more no-fishing zones – particularly across migratory routes which can benefit species including tuna, sharks and turtles.

MPAs are known to be one of the most effective measures for improving marine conservation. Approximately 6.2% of the global ocean is currently protected through MPAs, but less than half of this – just 2.4% – are fully or highly protected from fishing activity and its associated impacts, according to the Marine Protection Atlas. While it is well understood that marine protected areas offer protection to some sedentary species including lobsters or coral, the spillover benefits of MPAs to marine life in nearby areas have previously been questioned.

The Papahanaumokuakea reserve is around four times the size of California’s land mass and was expanded six years ago. The area spans a cluster of atolls and small low-lying islands and contain a diverse range of coral reefs, submerged banks and lagoons. Hawaiian endemic species make up around 25% of the species found within the reserve. It is also a key breeding ground for the Hawaiian monk seal and a critically important nesting area for green sea turtles. Commercial fishing within the reserve is banned, while additional measures including officer patrols, surveillance flights and US coastguard vessel visits also deter illegal fishing activities.

Researchers from the University of Hawaii and the University of Wisconsin-Madison used a statistical technique known as “difference in difference” to compare catch rates of marine life from 2016 to 2019 with those recorded between 2010 to 2013 – prior to the reserve’s expansion – across the reserve’s central areas with areas located further away.

The biggest fish catch increases were located between 100 and 200 nautical miles away from the reserve’s borders. Alongside catch rate growth (the number of tuna caught per every 1,000 hooks deployed) for tuna species, catch rates for all fish species combined rose by 8%.

The researchers’ findings are a success for marine biodiversity alongside the broader fishing industry, of which tuna generates approximately $40bn in revenue each year and supports employment for millions globally. From a social perspective, yellowfin and bigeye tuna hold cultural significance for local Hawaii communities and represent a key part of their diet.

Marine reserves have delivered simultaneous positive environmental and socio-ecological impacts elsewhere. An MPA established off Mallorca’s coast, for instance, has generated a tenfold return on its investment and improved marine biodiversity, water quality, slowed coastal erosion, boosted tourism and local fishing catches.

From a climate change mitigation perspective, the establishment of MPAs can play a key role in enhancingblue carbon sinks and supporting carbon sequestration. Declaring MPAs protects important, carbon-rich marine habitats such as seagrass and salt marshes from physical disturbances such as bottom-trawling and other damaging fishing practices. Greater protection for marine life will further enable carbon sequestration, particularly from larger fish species such as sharks and tuna, which are known to be carbon stores, with each fish estimated to be 10% to 15% carbon.

However, it’s worth noting that the benefits of no-fishing zones can only be achieved if they are supported by sufficient regulations and enforcement. Governments, such as the UK government have been widely criticised by environmental groups for declaring MPAs but failing to implement the regulations necessary to ensure proper protection across the areas, describing them as “paper parks”. Earlier this year, data found over 90% of the UK’s offshore MPAs are still being bottom-trawled and dredged.

Source: The Guardian

Why does this matter? As the report outlines, fisheries are both vulnerable to climate change impacts and also contribute to it, through direct vessel emissions and fishing equipment disrupting the seabed. Protecting the ocean and its marine habitats – which can sequester more carbon per unit area than forests – is critical to mitigating climate change. In the UK, saltmarsh and seagrass meadows store around 220 million tonnes of blue carbon, 93% of which is sequestered in marine sediments.

The report highlights three key areas to be addressed. First, tackling direct emissions from fishing vessels. UK fishing fleets generate an estimated 914.4 kilotons of CO2 annually – the equivalent of the annual energy usage of over 110,000 US households. WWF, the MCS and RSPB highlight that over half of the UK’s fleet still in operation is over 30 years old. Most vessels in this ageing fleet are powered by carbon-intensive heavy fuel oils, while half relies heavily on diesel.

Second, marine biodiversity should be improved by minimising and potentially reversing damage from poor practices and destructive fishing gear. Around 87% of fish caught by UK vessels use a combination of demersal and beam trawl, and seine nets, which damage muddy sediments and seagrass. When disturbed from the seabed carbon re-mineralises into the ocean and can be released back into the atmosphere, increasing greenhouse gas levels.

Third, the UK’s marine habitats require increased protection to improve their ability to act as a carbon sink, the report states, as blue carbon is further extracted when fish stocks are depleted. The first UK fish stock audit post-Brexit, published earlier this year, found only three of the UK’s top ten fish populations are fished at or under their maximum sustainability yield. Alongside fish and shellfish, larger species are also considered carbon stores, with species such as tuna estimated to be 10% to 15% carbon. This leaves the ocean system when they are fished.

Adopting a climate-smart approach would support the UK’s Fisheries Act, passed last year, which recognises climate impacts in fisheries but has yet to take action in addressing the issue.

Companies are developing solutions to decarbonise vessels, with some exploring alternative fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia to cut carbon from larger, long-range maritime transport. On a smaller scale, electrification is being looked at by several figures in the maritime industry, such as Bio Feeder, which announced plans to charter Norway’s first electric fish feed vessel this summer. Others are experimenting with sail-powered cargo fleets, such as Timbercoast, while SailCargo’s Ceiba vessel combines traditional timber sailing masts with solar-powered engines to achieve commercial-scale zero-carbon shipping.

For smaller fishing vessels, returning to traditional methods could be more appropriate. Cornwall-based Fal Oysters fishery is rooted in low-emission fishing practices, using just sail power and a lower impact approach to harvesting seafood.

To better protect the UK’s blue carbon-storing habitats, bottom trawling is set to be banned within Marine Protected Area (MPA) networks and increased limitations are due to be enforced outside of MPAs.

Less-destructive alternatives such as bottom longlines will require incentives to encourage positive action. Certain initiatives are aiming to reinvent less disruptive fishing gear, such as the Cyprus-based project SEALIVE, which is developing bio-based fishing nets made with natural materials including micro-algae. The nets are also compostable on an industrial scale.

Source:

https://media.mcsuk.org/documents/Climate_Smart_Fishing_Report_FINAL.pdf