Facing the challenge of Arctic fisheries management within a context of spatially differentiated ecological-economic externalities

• Main Authors: Kaiser, Brooks, Fernandez, Linda, Sundet, Jan, Kourantidou , Melina
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English
• Published: 2015
• Subjects: Arctic fisheries; non-native species; management; Arctic; Barents Sea; Climate change; Red king crab; Snow crab
• Online Access: https://portal.findresearcher.sdu.dk/da/publications/15e97b08-1350-442a-abc7-b698a4ca53ba

Abrupt and rapid climate change in combination with increased human disturbance in Arctic marine ecosystems is of significant and growing concern to the scientific community, particularly regarding non-native species introductions and the threats they are posing to the overall marine habitat and its economic productivity. The challenging environmental conditions have so far created barriers that prevented extended introduction and establishment of most non-native species. Climate change is working to reduce these barriers, thus the same characteristics that have previously made the Arctic less open to the spread of invasive species are now responsible for the expansiveness of the problem. At stake are unique species and co-evolved systems that have taken millennia to develop. Even small-scale disturbances in the pristine Arctic ecosystems are likely to have outsized impacts both on an ecological and on an economic level. This work discusses optimal management approaches regarding threats from invasive species on an international scale in order to delineate international policy characteristics that may reduce overall damages and costs. The purposeful introduction of the Red King Crab (RKC), together with the appearance of the Snow Crab (SC) in the Barents Sea and the RKC’s identification in Icelandic waters, are used as a basis for the discussion of the local, regional and international governance opportunities and failures as well as intervention possibilities to address the tradeoffs inherent in these species’ introductions. The challenges of effectively managing these species are particularly high, mainly due to their twofold role as invasive species and market commodities. Part of the balancing act needed for a solution to the spread of the RKC has been directed at spatial containment, where the containment procedure depends on economic incentives of open access fisheries. Such solutions are examined regarding whether they would be feasible for the newer but more rapidly expanding SC invasion.