Stephen Long

Biodiversity and Ecology

IOZ

UCL

Kirsty Kemp (IOZ),
Martin Blicher (Greenland Institute of Natural Resources),

Climatic change is causing increasing temperatures, reduction in sea ice extents and changes to marine ecosystems in polar waters. Over-exploitation of continental shelf fish stocks has driven fishing effort deeper and further offshore, with increasing calls to sustainably manage fisheries. Fisheries are complex socio-economic systems, therefore assessment of sustainability requires a holistic, interdisciplinary approach, that quantifies the ecological impacts, whilst understanding the roles and perspectives of diverse governance actors. The entrance of Greenland’s fisheries to the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification scheme has highlighted the paucity of knowledge on the impacts of bottom-trawling on deep-sea benthic ecosystems in the Arctic. This collaborative project will develop understanding of the structure, function and diversity of benthic communities in the Greenland halibut fishery, using photographic, video, bycatch and environmental data. This will provide maps of the distribution of habitats and Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs) within region that the fishery is found. Improved knowledge of benthic ecosystems and their responses to fishing pressure will have direct applications to the sustainable management of the fishery. Further the project will allow a critical evaluation of the role of the MSC certification scheme in fishery governance, by employing social science techniques to capture the perspectives of diverse actors. Studies combining detailed ecological knowledge with in-depth social analysis are rare. This approach will provide insights into the governance and management of the Greenland halibut fishery, with wider applications to deep-sea fisheries and those engaged in the MSC certification scheme.

Sustainable Fisheries Greenland (SFG)

• Daisy Balogh Fund –
• Mead Travel Fund –
• Frank Carter Travel Award –
• Early Career Scientist Travel Fund – International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES)
• Travel Grant – Fisheries Society of the British Isles (FSBI)

• Long, S., Jones, P.J.S., Zoavina, R. and Hadj-Hammou, J. (2019) Governance analysis of a community managed small-scale crab fishery in Madagascar: novel use of an empirical framework Marine Policy DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2017.11.022
• S. Long, B. Sparrow-Scinocca, M.E. Blicher, N. Hammeken Arboe, M. Fuhrmann, K.M. Kemp, R. Nygaard, K. Zinglersen, and C. Yesson (2020) Identification of a Soft Coral Garden Candidate Vulnerable Marine Ecosystem (VME) Using Video Imagery, Davis Strait, West Greenland Frontiers in Marine Science DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.00460
• Long, S. and Jones, P.J.S (2020) Greenland’s offshore Greenland halibut fishery and role of the Marine Stewardship Council certification: A governance case study Marine Policy DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2020.104095