A Practice-Based Coupling of the Precautionary Principle to the Large Marine Ecosystem Fisheries Management Concept with a Policy Orientation: The Northeast United States Continental Shelf as a Case Example

This article addresses interdisciplinary sustainable aspects of fisheries as part of ocean management. Human-caused impacts and their role as modifiers of living marine resources is discussed. The research note also theorizes about contemporary global change and its prospective biological consequences, especially when coupled with human-induced factors in coastal marine waters. Also addressed is the management and ecological aspects of fish stock populations as part of a large marine ecosystem (LME) in the Northeast United States continental shelf of the Atlantic Ocean with suggestions for an interdisciplinary policy orientation paradigm to foster the sustainability of marine life in the sea.     

Service-oriented computing and model-driven development as enablers of port information systems: an integrated view

Port information management is considered a critical instrument towards enabling international transport and trade; thus, various forms of Port Information Systems (PORTIS) have been developed today, namely Port Community Systems, Terminal Operating Systems and Single Window systems. In Europe, the nautical information system SafeSeaNet is viewed as an important e-infrastructure. PORTIS systems are expected to evolve into next-generation technological platforms in order to offer a fully integrated digital environment to a multitude of maritime business actors and public authorities towards more efficient, safe and environment-aware transport and trade infrastructures and services. We propose service-oriented computing and model-driven development techniques as a robust PORTIS modelling and development approach. We present a reference model of PORTIS and a particular enabling methodological and technological framework. The proposed approach has been tested in a maritime single-window case.     

Coastal land management in New Zealand

Abstract

Although New Zealand has a population of 3 million and a coastline of about 10,000 miles there are already heavy pressures on some parts of it. Historically, subdivisions of less than 10 acres require the setting aside of a one‐chain esplanade reserve as part of a general reserve contribution. Some national and regional parks also include significant areas of coast. Recently the Lands and Survey Department has commenced a detailed study of the coastline. Another very recent development is the requirement of an Environmental Impact Report for all major government works. The Waitemata Harbour has been the subject of a detailed study and the reports are now beginning to appear. There has been a heavy demand for shallow bays and estuaries for sanitary land fill, as well as for dredge fill. The main pressure on the coast at present is for holiday cottage sites and some legislative changes may be necessary. In the future new marinas will probably be considered particularly in relation to the extent they provide for the general public rather than a selected few. Industry is only just beginning to make an impact upon the coast. New power stations, natural gas or thermonuclear, are likely to be located on the coastline and this would bring some environmental problems. Recently, it has been argued that to ensure wise use of the coastline there should be national, rather than local or regional, control by a specially appointed Coastal Commission.     

State ocean policy initiatives in Florida

Abstract

A territorial sea comprising 6.7 million acres of offshore lands extending three geographic miles into the Atlantic Ocean three marine leagues (nine geographic miles) into the Gulf of Mexico makes Florida the second largest “oceanowning”; state in the contiguous United States. Florida's history, climate, economic development, and worldwide reputation have evolved from the state's relationship with the sea. The state is now becoming aware that aggressive management of its ocean resources is necessary to preserve the future of that relationship. The purpose of this article is to present some of Florida's recent legal and policy initiatives that have been directed toward better understanding and management of ocean resources and uses.     

Altimeter assimilation in the OCCAM global model: Part I: A twin experiment

An altimeter data assimilation scheme has been tested in the OCCAM (Ocean Circulation and Climate Advanced Modelling) global 1/4°, 36-level model using a twin experiment format. The Cooper and Haines displacement scheme is used. The method works well in most regions and depths. Currents and densities in the top 1000 m generally improve by over 50–70% after 5 months of sea level assimilation every 15 days. Below 1000 m, an error reduction of up to 50% is achieved. The errors remain low during a further 60-day run without assimilation. Diagnostics for the North Atlantic, the Tropical Pacific and the Antarctic Circumpolar Current are shown alongside the global averages.The main problems encountered were in weakly stratified regions of the Antarctic and Arctic seas. A scale selective filter is developed to avoid assimilating scales much larger than the local deformation radius, and this avoids the adverse assimilation effects in the southern oceans. A companion paper uses this scheme to assimilate TOPEX and ERS-1 altimeter maps.     

Satellite remote sensing of the Polar Oceans

The advent of satellite remote sensing has opened doors for detailed monitoring of the polar regions at a relatively high temporal resolution. Several sensors have been developed over the years, the most noteworthy of which are the visible, the infrared and the microwave systems. The visible and infrared systems are most intelligible to the human eye and provide images that have good spatial resolution. However, because of persistent cloudiness and several months of darkness in the polar regions the most promising sensors appear to be the microwave systems, both passive and active. The passive microwave sensors have been the source of consistently derived ice cover and ice extent data and have provided about fifteen years of global data sets. The Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), on the other hand, is noted for very high resolution and a wide range of applications including ice dynamics and ice/wave interaction studies. Nevertheless, there are applications which require the use of the visible and infrared channels, such as the mapping of chlorophyll pigment concentrations in the marginal ice zones which require an ocean color scanner. Also, the infrared sensors are most effective for detecting physical temperatures over cloud-free ice and open water surfaces. Furthermore, altimeters could play an important role in mapping ice surface topography and in evaluating ridge and lead statistics. A review of past, present and future satellite systems, methods and techniques of interpretation and potential applications to the study of the polar oceans is presented.     

Factors affecting tanker safety

The major factors influencing tanker safety are discussed. For the discussion information has been gleaned from maritime labour officials, industry experts and a recent United States Coast Guard study on tanker safety. Results of other tanker safety studies and/or accident reports are also utilized. Some of the factors analysed are the size and age of vessel, licence qualifications for mates and engineers and manning levels. Other factors are those related to or attributed to flags of convenience and the pressure to maintain shipping schedules.     

Highway expenditures and non-metropolitan employment

Using data on state highway expenditures and employment from 30 Minnesota non-metropolitan counties over a 25-year period, possible interactions between transportation and employment are investigated. While crosssectional analysis suggests no significant interactions, causality tests and time-series analyses indicate that highway expenditures affect manufacturing and retail employment, and employment influences expenditures. Although expenditure increases cause employment improvements in the short-term, long-term effects are less favorable. Highway expenditures respond quickly to increased needs caused by retail improvements.     

Short sea shipping: a Canadian perspective

Short sea shipping has begun to receive attention from governments worldwide, as they seek to reduce traffic congestion and greenhouse gases. Despite a long coastline and its interest in international maritime affairs, the Canadian government had, until 2003, placed greater emphasis on resolving the issues of other transport modes. In July 2003, Canada and the United States signed a Memorandum of Cooperation on Sharing Short Sea Shipping Information and Experience. Subsequently, the federal government embarked on an assessment of short sea shipping through a series of workshops. This paper explores the key issues with respect to further development of short sea shipping from a Canadian perspective. It examines the critical limitations and impediments to further growth of short sea services in Canada and trans-border trade with the USA, and identifies a number of questions Canadian policymakers need to answer.