107:


Trophic downgrading


A trophic level of an organism is its position in a food web. Levels are numbered according to how far particular organisms are along the chain from the primary producers at level 1; to herbivores at level 2; predators at level 3; carnivores at level 4; and top carnivores at level 5. Typically, the higher the trophic level, the higher economic value of the fish. Fishing further down the trophic levels is largely a result of overharvesting fish at higher levels (Pauly et al. 1998).


108: Ocean Acidification


Anthropogenic ocean acidification and global warming share the same primary cause, which is the increase of atmospheric CO2


, the drivers, impacts and policy options are presented in Figure-L2 39 (Gattuso et al. 2014).


109: Current shipping in the Arctic


Reductions in sea ice extent, duration and thickness are likely to increase human presence and activities in the Arctic (Ragen et al. 2008). The Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment (PAME 2009) mapped the distribution of shipping activities under various use classes: minerals, oil and gas, major fisheries, summer sealift, marine tourism and research.


Longer ice-free seasons and reduced ice coverage could increase shipping activity and enhance the impact of resource exploration, development and production on vulnerable coastal species, such as; polar bears, walruses, seals and many seabird species. Potential effects of shipping include pollution, noise, physical disturbance related to ice-breaking and waste. The number and range of cruise ships moving further north, travelling to previously untouched coastal areas, may also increase the pressure on coastal ecosystems (Hall and Saarinen 2010; Hall 2010), including pollution, disturbance and increased risk of defense kills and biological invasion.


110: Biodiversity pressures, impacts, trends and outlook


Seas and oceans act as a coherent ecosystem. Across all of Europe’s regional seas, marine biodiversity is in poor condition with only seven per cent of marine species assessments indicating favourable conservation status. Effects of climate change, for example acidification, add to


the cumulative impacts (EEA 2015a). Impacts on biodiversity lead to the loss of ecosystems’ resilience and associated functions with negative effects on the quantity, quality and sustainability of goods and ecosystem services. Habitat communities integrate biodiversity loss at different scales, possibly reflected in gradual and delayed shifts in their state.


According to the EEA (2015k), a continuing decline of marine and coastal biodiversity jeopardizes essential ecosystem services. Some improvements have been made in the past decade, due to the implementation of targeted policy action and committed management efforts, but even more dedicated resources and regulations will still be insufficient, notably at wider scale, to reach commonly agreed targets (good environmental status in 2020 and halt of biodiversity loss as defined by the MSFD, Habitat Directives and EU Biodiversity Strategy).


111:


Marine protected areas – a key conservation measure


Marine protected areas (MPAs) can act as a key conservation measure to safeguard marine ecosystems and biodiversity, as well as the services these ecosystems provide (Figure-L2 40). The use of networks of marine reserves, for both conservation and fisheries’ management, has been widely considered and partly implemented at pan-European and global scales (EEA 2015k, 2015o; UN 2015c). MPAs, nested within an ecosystem-based management approach, have consistently emerged as one of the most important tools in halting the oceans’ decline and promoting their recovery. Indeed, MPAs that exclude fishing have been shown repeatedly to enhance the abundance, size and diversity of marine species in these areas (EEA 2015k). The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Aichi Target 11 calls for at least 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas to be conserved through effectively and equitably managed, ecologically representative and well-connected systems of protected areas by 2020 (Hastings et al. 2012). However, most of the Parties are not on track to meet this 2020 CBD commitment. The recent (2011) World Database on Protected Areas analysis indicated that only 1.6 per cent of global oceans are protected in MPAs (Hastings et al. 2012).


265


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148  |  Page 149  |  Page 150  |  Page 151  |  Page 152  |  Page 153  |  Page 154  |  Page 155  |  Page 156  |  Page 157  |  Page 158  |  Page 159  |  Page 160  |  Page 161  |  Page 162  |  Page 163  |  Page 164  |  Page 165  |  Page 166  |  Page 167  |  Page 168  |  Page 169  |  Page 170  |  Page 171  |  Page 172  |  Page 173  |  Page 174  |  Page 175  |  Page 176  |  Page 177  |  Page 178  |  Page 179  |  Page 180  |  Page 181  |  Page 182  |  Page 183  |  Page 184  |  Page 185  |  Page 186  |  Page 187  |  Page 188  |  Page 189  |  Page 190  |  Page 191  |  Page 192  |  Page 193  |  Page 194  |  Page 195  |  Page 196  |  Page 197  |  Page 198  |  Page 199  |  Page 200  |  Page 201  |  Page 202  |  Page 203  |  Page 204  |  Page 205  |  Page 206  |  Page 207  |  Page 208  |  Page 209  |  Page 210  |  Page 211  |  Page 212  |  Page 213  |  Page 214  |  Page 215  |  Page 216  |  Page 217  |  Page 218  |  Page 219  |  Page 220  |  Page 221  |  Page 222  |  Page 223  |  Page 224  |  Page 225  |  Page 226  |  Page 227  |  Page 228  |  Page 229  |  Page 230  |  Page 231  |  Page 232  |  Page 233  |  Page 234  |  Page 235  |  Page 236  |  Page 237  |  Page 238  |  Page 239  |  Page 240  |  Page 241  |  Page 242  |  Page 243  |  Page 244  |  Page 245  |  Page 246  |  Page 247  |  Page 248  |  Page 249  |  Page 250  |  Page 251  |  Page 252  |  Page 253  |  Page 254  |  Page 255  |  Page 256  |  Page 257  |  Page 258  |  Page 259  |  Page 260  |  Page 261  |  Page 262  |  Page 263  |  Page 264  |  Page 265  |  Page 266  |  Page 267  |  Page 268  |  Page 269  |  Page 270  |  Page 271  |  Page 272  |  Page 273  |  Page 274  |  Page 275  |  Page 276  |  Page 277  |  Page 278  |  Page 279  |  Page 280  |  Page 281  |  Page 282  |  Page 283  |  Page 284  |  Page 285  |  Page 286  |  Page 287  |  Page 288  |  Page 289  |  Page 290  |  Page 291  |  Page 292  |  Page 293  |  Page 294  |  Page 295  |  Page 296  |  Page 297  |  Page 298  |  Page 299  |  Page 300  |  Page 301  |  Page 302  |  Page 303  |  Page 304  |  Page 305  |  Page 306  |  Page 307  |  Page 308  |  Page 309  |  Page 310  |  Page 311  |  Page 312  |  Page 313  |  Page 314  |  Page 315  |  Page 316  |  Page 317  |  Page 318  |  Page 319  |  Page 320  |  Page 321  |  Page 322  |  Page 323  |  Page 324  |  Page 325  |  Page 326  |  Page 327  |  Page 328  |  Page 329  |  Page 330  |  Page 331  |  Page 332  |  Page 333  |  Page 334  |  Page 335  |  Page 336  |  Page 337  |  Page 338  |  Page 339  |  Page 340  |  Page 341  |  Page 342  |  Page 343  |  Page 344  |  Page 345  |  Page 346  |  Page 347  |  Page 348  |  Page 349  |  Page 350  |  Page 351  |  Page 352  |  Page 353  |  Page 354  |  Page 355  |  Page 356  |  Page 357  |  Page 358  |  Page 359  |  Page 360  |  Page 361  |  Page 362  |  Page 363  |  Page 364  |  Page 365  |  Page 366  |  Page 367  |  Page 368  |  Page 369  |  Page 370  |  Page 371  |  Page 372  |  Page 373  |  Page 374  |  Page 375  |  Page 376