Towards a common ports policy? EU-proposals and the ports industry's perceptions

This paper discusses the European Union's (EU) proposals to improve the efficiency and infrastructure of European ports, and investigates the extent to which these proposals are welcomed by the ports industry. On the one hand, the analysis of the recent EU policy developments makes apparent that the EU is increasingly impinging upon the port industry's life. On the other hand, the findings of the semi-structured interviews with the industry's representatives suggest that although port authorities and port operators remain in principle against a coherent common EU ports policy, the industry believes that certain EU initiatives can enhance the competitiveness of the maritime transport system.     

Attitudes toward Participation in Cooperative Coastal Management: Four European Case Studies

Findings are reported of the VALCOAST project that had as one of its research objectives to ascertain: (a) stakeholder willingness to participate and cooperate in coastal management (CM), given local and national CM practices; and (b) stakeholder assessment of the "accessibility" and "friendliness" of current CM processes. The project involved case studies and stakeholder interviews in Belgium, Greece, Spain, and the UK. Major findings include: (1) most stakeholders are willing to cooperate in three out of the four case areas, but not to the same extent; (2) the participating "officials" in the case studies are expecting the stakeholders to be less willing to cooperate than the latter indicate; (3) stakeholders in all case studies do not expect to be heard by those responsible for CM, find it difficult to learn about the relevant institutional arrangements, and consider the communication of the objectives and anticipated impacts of CM policies to be inadequate. It is concluded that the strong evidence of stakeholders' potential willingness to cooperate in local initiatives is very encouraging for a devolved, regional approach to European Union coastal management policies, provided that this potential is capitalized upon in such policy processes.     

A Training Framework for Understanding Conflict in the Coastal Zone

The coastal zone is attractive for human settlement because it tends to be resource rich, providing a good location to generate incomes and livelihoods. Equally, however, it is a complex and powerful natural environment, which means that the coastal zone often becomes a focus of conflict with multiple users competing for limited space and resources. Understanding the causes of, and determining solutions to, the ensuing problems requires inputs from a range of analyses across sectors and disciplines. However, different disciplinary and sectoral approaches frequently use different investigative methods, language, and means of presenting results. This article presents a framework that has been developed in collaboration with Indian institutions over the past three years in an effort to address some of these fundamental problems of analysis and translation into policy action. Key components addressed by the framework are strengthening the capacity to practice, knowing how to proceed and how to find out what needs to be known using experience-based problem solving.     

Northern Abalone: Using an Invertebrate to Focus Marine Conservation Ideas and Values

Marine invertebrate species have usually been overlooked in favor of high-profile vertebrate species for facilitating dialogue towards area conservation. The northern abalone (Haliotis kamtschatkana) is proposed as a focal ("flagship") species whose protection and recovery could concentrate public concern for abalone and its associated kelp forest ecosystems in Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands), British Columbia. I explain how issues of culture, commerce, and conservation unite to create a strong role for northern abalone in preparations for creating a large marine conservation area within Haida Gwaii. Culture is relevant, as local indigenous people (the Haida) are currently denied access to constitutionally established subsistence fishing rights for northern abalone. Commerce is involved as ongoing kelp forest-associated fisheries co-occur with northern abalone. Finally, this is a challenging precedent in Canadian marine conservation, as restoring two "listed" species- at risk (northern abalone and their predator, the sea otter (Enhydra lutris)) is potentially mutually exclusive. As part of the forthcoming public consultations towards establishing a marine conservation area, the opportunity provided by northern abalone to focus ideas and values should be seized.     

Synergies between Adjacent Beach-Nourishing Communities in a Morpho-Economic Coupled Coastline Model

Beach “nourishment” consists of placing sand on an eroding beach. The widened beach provides increased storm protection to adjacent structures and improved recreational benefits, but is most often transient, requiring on-going, repeated nourishment episodes. Numerical models of beach nourishment typically address such questions as how long a widened beach will last; economic models compare the benefits and costs of preserving a stretch of beach without regard to its geomorphic evolution. Neither have addressed the physical nor economic interactions between adjacent nourishing communities. Here, we couple a numerical model of coastline evolution and a cost-benefit model of beach nourishment, allowing adjacent communities to make dynamic nourishment decisions. Beach nourishment benefits adjacent communities both “updrift” and “downdrift.” The total amount of money spent on nourishment activities can decrease by as much as 25% when adjacent communities both conduct on-going nourishment projects, as opposed to the case where each community nourishes in isolation.     

Developing a Spatially Enabled Inventory of Recreational Boats Using Vessel Registration Data

Effective waterway management requires information on the characteristics and locations of boats. A field-based boat census—a traditional method to obtain spatially accurate information—is relatively expensive, time-consuming, and restrictive in scope. Vessel registration data, maintained by all U.S. states, is potentially a more robust information source. This research evaluated the accuracy and reliability of vessel registration data to supply location and attribute information for boats. The study premise was to use vessel registration data, which includes the mailing address of registered boat owners, to develop a spatially enabled inventory of boats. The study area comprised 12,064 salt-water accessible property parcels in two Florida counties. An on-water census (OWC) provided location and characteristics for 5,023 vessels, which were compared to 8,681 vessel registration records linked to the study area. Discrepancies between the OWC and vessel registration data were explained by a stratified, random sample of 485 telephone survey respondents. Study results show that vessel registration data accurately located and characterized roughly 81% of the boat population; in contrast, the OWC accurately located less than 56%. A conclusion is that state vessel registration data is a better alternative than an OWC for locating and characterizing boats kept along waterways.     

Turning Off the Heat: Impacts of Power Plant Decommissioning on Green Turtle Research in San Diego Bay

Green turtles (Chelonia mydas) are among the most high profile species in San Diego Bay, California, and understanding impacts of coastal development and industry is essential to the management and conservation of this local population. Here we describe power plant changing energy production and its impact on turtle habitat use and our ability to research and manage this population. For over 20 years, green sea turtles have been captured, assessed, and tagged near the South Bay Power Plant (SBPP) in the San Diego Bay; from 2002–2011, 104 turtles were captured on 212 occasions. As the 50-year-old SBPP generates less energy, effluent patterns change and water temperatures decrease, presumably to more natural conditions. There has been a concurrent decrease in turtle-capture success, perhaps due to lesser visitation to the effluent site where nets are tended. Seasonal catch-per-unit-effort declined from a high of 4.14 turtles per monitoring day, to a nine-year low of 1.33 during the 2010–2011 season. It is already apparent that management decisions related to energy policy are affecting the habitat and behavior of this stock of endangered turtles. Green turtles are expected to remain in the San Diego Bay after the SBPP becomes inoperative and continuing research will monitor future impacts and distribution shifts resulting from the expected changes in thermal pattern within south San Diego Bay. Research efforts to study this population (i.e., capture methods and locations) will require modification in response to these changes. Lessons learned here are applicable to the immediate coastal development of San Diego, as well as at similar interactions between marine turtles and industrial thermal effluent discharge throughout Southern California, the United States, and beyond.     

Book reviews

Coastal Resources Management: Beyond Market and Bureaucracy by Robert B. Ditton, John L. Seymour, and Gerald C. Swanson. Published by D. C. Heath and Company, Lexington, Massachusetts, 1977, 191 pp., 6 figures.

The Urban Sea: Long Island Sound by Lee E. Koppelman, Peter K. Weyl, M. Grant Gross, and DeWitt S. Davies. Published by Praeger Publishers, 1976. 209 pp., 81 figures, 42 tables.     

内破裂的数值模拟与分析

应用气—波两相流理论，引入计算流体动力学方法中的SIMPLE（Semi—ImplictMethodforPressure－LinkedEquations）方程，并在此基础上进行改进，对压力筒内的内破裂现象进行了系统的研究。本文发展了一套不依赖于试验结果的预报方法，较之以前的理论研究结果有了长足的进展，所采用的模型与假设能用于多种内破裂状况的模拟与预报。本文对一典型的内破状态进行了数值模拟，结合物理现象对模拟结果进行了分析，并与试验作比较。分析结果以一组计算机所绘图形表示，输出结果可作为压力筒结构动力分析的基础，所研制的程序也可作为内破裂问题流—固耦合研究的一大模块。     

A selection method of offshore production systems considering uncertainties

Journal of Marine Science and Technology - The development of an offshore deepwater oilfield is a complex and risky task. One core problem in this project is the selection of a production system...