Ocean industries coordinate on Marine Spatial Planning

Example of MSP off Massachusetts

From TheMaritimeExecutive

Business community initiates leadership and interaction on ocean use

The World Ocean Council (WOC) convened the first-ever meeting of ocean industries at the National Business Forum on Marine Spatial Planning (MSP), Washington D.C., 13-14 July 2011, to foster, facilitate and plan for cross sector business involvement in the U.S. MSP process.
Forum participants included representatives from offshore oil and gas, offshore renewable energy, shipping, fisheries, marine recreation, mining, marine technology, marine law, marine environmental services, and other sectors.

The recently initiated MSP agenda pursuant to President Obama’s National Ocean Policy is moving rapidly, creating a critical opportunity for the ocean business community to actively engage in a coordinated, multi-sectoral manner.
In 2010, the federal government established an interagency National Ocean Council (NOC), and marine spatial plans are to be developed by nine regional planning bodies as early as 2015.
The NOC issued a Strategic Action Plan Outline in June 2011 and held by a national workshop soon after to prepare government agencies for the task of developing the government’s MSP Strategic Action Plan.
Unlike the ocean industry community, the environmental community has had a national MSP coalition for several years and is actively involved in the MSP process.

The ocean business community needs to get equally well organized and integrated into the discussion on MSP.
To address this, the WOC brought together leadership companies and associations concerned about access to ocean space and resources in a National Business Forum.
The Forum was co-presented by Battelle Memorial Institute with additional sponsorship from the National Ocean Industries Association and Blank Rome.

The Forum was designed for ocean industries to develop a clear understanding of MSP, define and examine the potential business impacts and benefits of MSP, ensure the business community is informed about U.S. MSP processes and plans, and identify the next steps to facilitate and coordinate business involvement in MSP in the U.S.
The participants emphasized that MSP must be well-balanced, well-informed and consider socio-economic value and benefits as a key part of the process.
Private sector input was clear that MSP needs to have the business community and economic actors involved throughout the process.

The participants believe the combined operational, technical and scientific expertise of the diverse ocean industries should be utilized to best benefit informed MSP decisions.
Such involvement must start early in the process, when government and stakeholder bodies tasked with MSP are being formed.

The business community voiced concerns that opportunities for ocean industries to formally contribute to MSP have not targeted engaging those industries which contribute significantly to the U.S. economy and need to become a more structural part of the US MSP process.
To address the lack of formal engagement, industry participants at the Forum emphasized the value and strength in bringing together diverse ocean industry sectors to engage with MSP decision makers in a coordinated manner, and to establish formal avenues for frequent and ongoing information exchange and involvement.

As MSP is likely to develop in many areas over the years to come, there is a strong incentive for industry to actively work on ensuring that the business benefits of MSP are optimized and the impacts are minimized, while at the same time achieving the broader societal goals for conservation and sustainable development of the marine environment.


The WOC – the international business leadership alliance for Corporate Ocean Responsibility – is catalyzing a coordinated, constructive cross-sectoral ocean business community involvement in MSP.
These efforts will continue in the US and multi-sectoral business forums on MSP will be convened in Australia, Europe and other areas where MSP is developing.

Links :

• Unesco : Marine Spatial Planning Initiative
• CenterforOceanSolutions : MSP
• Ecotrust : MSP
  

Novices set sail on a voyage of discovery in round-world race

1 circumnavigation, 10 ocean racing yachts, 40,000 miles, 15 races, 13 countries, 1 winner.
Learn more about the challenge of a lifetime -- even if you have never sailed before.

From BBC

Thousands of people have turned out to watch 10 yachts leave Southampton to begin the 40,000-mile (64,500km) Clipper round-the-world race.

More than 500 amateur sailors from 40 countries will take turns to sail the yachts, making it the world's longest yacht race.
HMS Illustrious accompanied the fleet to the start of the race off the Isle of Wight Sunday 31, at 16:30 BST.
The first leg will involve crews sailing from Europe to Brazil.

Crowds of people lined the marina at Southampton's Ocean Village to watch the yachts head out to the start, off the Royal Yacht Squadron Line in Cowes.

The fleet of 10 identical 68ft (20m) ocean racing yachts and 10 skippers are supplied by organisers of the race, which takes place every two years.
Each yacht is sponsored by a city, region or country.

Participants, many of whom are sailing novices, come from all walks of life and undergo a four-stage training programme to prepare them for the gruelling journey.
Among them is Martin Woodcock, from Fleet, Hampshire, who said: "Clipper have set it up as a race, which is a key part of the whole thing.
"It's not a jolly around the world for a bunch of amateurs. There's no great prize at the end of it, but obviously there's the kudos.
"This kind of opportunity is a very rare thing for an amateur sailor."

Another taking part is Lucia Ainsworth, 45, originally from Brighouse, West Yorkshire, who has given up her job at Lloyds Banking Group in London.
She has joined the Gold Coast Australia yacht skippered by Rich Hewson.
"To take part in this, the greatest amateur yacht race, will fulfil my lifelong dream to sail across oceans," she said.
"I have resigned from my job and taken a year out not only to take part in the race but to travel in Australia and New Zealand.
"As well as fulfilling my own ambitions I wanted to inspire my young nephews and nieces."

The founder and chairman of the Clipper Race is Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, who was the first man to sail solo and non-stop around the world.
He spoke to the crews on the eve of the race and said: "Remember how powerful the sea is, treat it with huge respect at all times and that way you will come back safely.
"This first leg alone is more than 6,000 miles which is the equivalent to two years for an average sailor. So you're going to become very experienced sailors very quickly."

Links :

• DailySail : Clipper Round The World Race sets sail

Cod numbers on the rise

Fishing for Cod at St´Pierre Bank in February 2004.
This is big spawning Cod and it manifests that there is plenty of Cod at Grand Banks despite the claim that the cod stock has not recovered since the stock was "over fished" and the moratorium was set.
Film was taken by an Icelandic captain who was a guest aboard a Canadian trawler.

From FIS

Cod, haddock and other groundfish stocks are showing encouraging signs of recovery for the first time in 20 years, after their populations off the east coast of Canada collapsed in the early 1990s, according to research published in Nature.

“This early-stage recovery represents a long ecological transition for an ecosystem that was pushed out of balance and that is gradually moving back into balance,” says William Leggett, a professor in the Department of Biology, former principal at Queen’s University, and an expert in the dynamics of large marine ecosystems.

This is the first study to offer evidence of an upturn at the multi-species level and probe into the core ecological mechanisms facilitating the recovery.

"The answer to the critical question of whether or not such profound changes in the dynamics of large marine ecosystems are reversible seems to be 'yes'," the team reported.

The researchers hypothesize that the 20-year delay in recovery since the 1990s is attributable to a reversal of fish predator and prey roles.

When large-bodied species like cod were dominant, they hunted smaller forage fish species. The overfishing of cod and other groundfish populations, however, allowed these smaller fish to prey on large-bodied fish in their earliest life stages, which precluded these populations from bouncing back.

This absence of large-bodied fish predators led to a 900 per cent-boom in the forage fish population and ultimately outstripped its food sources. Since then, forage fish numbers have dropped and given room for cod and haddock populations to recuperate.

Notably, while some species are burgeoning, fish are generally much smaller than they used to be, explained co-author Brian Petrie of the federal Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Nova Scotia.

Five-year-old cod are just 60 per cent the size they were before the 1990s, and five-year-old haddock are 40 per cent of their original size, The Vancouver Sun reports.

Petrie said this might be because overfishing eradicated the big fish and left behind fish small enough to escape through the nets, which left them genetically predisposed to be small.

This recovery is positive and portentous for other collapsed fisheries. Even so, Leggett and research colleague Jonathan Fisher reminded that the process is not straightforward.

Cod stocks now hover around 34 per cent of the level typical when commercial fishing was prospering in the 1970s and 1980s. Conversely, haddock now exceeds its historical levels and its more dominant role.

“It’s difficult to say if this switch may have any long-term implications,” explained Fisher, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Biology. “This system may return to its historical character, but there’s also the possibility that it won’t and that another species will dominate. Only time will tell.”

The study was done in collaboration with Kenneth Frank and Brian Petrie from the Bedford Institute of Oceanography and was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

Links :

• BBC : Nature's spring: Cod bounce back
• TheGuardian : Fish stocks, good news is a drop in the ocean
  
• Canadian Geographic : The rise and fall of Atlantic cod
• Emagazine : A run on the Banks, how "Factory Fishing" decimated Newfoundland cod
  
• YouTube : Decimation of the Atlantic Cod Fishery
  

AIS vessel tracking for 'la Solitaire du Figaro'

47 sailing racing boats on the starting line at 09H00 AM UTC in Perros-Guirec, France

From LeFigaro

Whilst just 160 nautical miles separate Perros-Guirec in Northern Brittany from Caen in Normandy, the first leg of La Solitaire du Figaro will run 320 miles from start to finish.

The fleet of 47 Figaro sailors are set to start on Sunday 31st July at 11:00 on a course that sees the fleet across the Channel to Plymouth Bay, then eastwards along the south coast of England to Fairway Boy off the West of the Isle of Wight before the return channel crossing to the finish in Caen.
The forecast light wind together with the strong tidal coefficient for the coming days has led the Race Committee to leave out one of the early mark, close the the pink granite Armor coastline.
Whilst the 320 mile leg is the shortest of the 42nd edition of the race, it is likely to complex to sail due to the light wind conditions and Sunday's tidal coefficient.
The general consternation among the sailors is going to be how best to negotiate the strong current and tidal effects together with the light winds predicted for the race and how to limit the loss of ground to these and fellow competitors to a minimum.

In partnership with ICOM France and the race directors, the GeoGarage team is leading some experimental development to follow the departure of the race online.

Links :

• AIS Marine GeoGarage vessel tracking system
  

Where on Earth...? MISR Mystery Quizzes

Parallel contest : locate in the Marine GeoGarage and win a 'Premium Chart' subscription

From NASA

Welcome back to another chance to play geographical detective!

This image was taken by the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR), and represents an area of about 262 kilometers by 200 kilometers. Please note that due North may not be at the top of the page. These questions refer to a landmark, area or province within the pictured region. Please answer the questions below and tell us where on Earth you think the location is. You may use any reference materials you like to answer the quiz.

From the statements below, please indicate which are TRUE and which are FALSE.

1. Located within the lower third of the image is a dramatic landmark that has lain dormant for thousands of years.
2. The southwest part of the region pictured overlooks a capital city.
3. This area was once rich in biodiversity. However, urbanization over the past several decades has reduced the wealth of flora and fauna in the region by nearly 30 percent.
4. One of the seven natural wonders of the world lies to the northeast of this region, less than a week away by car.
5. The highest point in this region, located near the peninsula shown in the image, was first successfully climbed in the 16th century, according to records.
6. The country in which this region is located is home to one of the world’s largest (by volume) rivers.
7. On the west coast of the region pictured lies a World Heritage Site surrounded by water.

What location is shown in this image?

Quiz Rules

Send us your answers, name (initials are acceptable if you prefer), and your hometown by the quiz deadline of Wednesday, August 3, 2011, using the Quiz answer form. Answers will be published on the MISR web site. The names and home towns of respondents who answer all questions correctly by the deadline will also be published in the order responses were received. The first 3 people on this list who are not affiliated with NASA, JPL, or MISR and who have not previously won a prize will be sent a print of the image.

A new "Where on Earth...?" mystery will appear periodically. The image also appears on the Earth Observatory, http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/, and on the Atmospheric Sciences Data Center home pages, http://eosweb.larc.nasa.gov/, though usually with a several-hour delay.