A Spatial Ecosystem-Based Management Plan of Human Activities in the Barents Sea

• Main Authors: Olsen, Erik, Dommasnes, Are, Fossum, Petter, Gjøsæter, Harald, Røttingen, Ingolf, Sandberg, Per
• Format: Report
• Language: English; unknown
• Published: International Institute of Fisheries Economics and Trade
• Subjects: Fisheries > Economic aspects > Congresses; Sustainable fisheries > Congresses; Barents Sea; Svalbard
• Online Access: https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/conference_proceedings_or_journals/kp78gh60r

Earlier this year a White Paper from the Norwegian Minister of the Environment presented a new, holistic, area-based management plan for the Norwegian part of the Barents Sea, including the Fishery protection zone around Svalbard. The plan will provide guidelines for managing human activities in relation to their use and impact on the ecosystem, and for handling conflicting interests between different activities and between use and conservation. The plan is thus a practical example of an ecosystem approach to the use of the oceans, and the paper describes the process of how the plan was developed. Spatial analyses and area based management have been used both in the development of the plan and as a tool for managing human activities. Key biological areas of the Barents Sea ecosystem were identified and possible anthropogenic threats to these were described. Similarly, existing human activities like fishing, shipping, aquaculture, and external influences (pollution etc.) were described in a spatial context. Possible areas of conflict between existing and future (oil and gas) human activities, and between human activities and the need for conservation were identified and classified. The consequences of human activities were assessed by the use of environmental and socioeconomic indicators. The socioeconomic indicators were related to revenue, investment, employment and settlement, and these were classified as large, medium or small. Based on these analyses the management plan has divided the Norwegian part of the Barents Sea into areas. In each area a set of regulations has been proposed, governing human activities in relation to each other and in relation to the ecosystem. Among the measures being considered are the limitation of bottom trawling in sensitive habitats, non-opening of ecologically sensitive areas to petroleum activities, and seeking IMO permission for moving shipping lanes to 35nm offshore. KEYWORDS: Ecosystem Based Management, Integrated, Barents Sea, Plan