Prosperity within Ecosystem Limits

1
Prosperity within Ecosystem Limits
The past decade has witnessed huge changes in the
way people value our seas and coasts. Though new
opportunities have arisen for exploiting marine
ecosystems, there are also legitimate concerns
about their degradation, evidenced by falling
fish stocks, the arrival of alien species,
dead zones in the sea and the loss of
biodiversity and unique habitats. It is no longer
sufficient to study people and marine ecosystems
separately future sustainability will depend on
joined-up thinking using an ecosystems approach
where humans are regarded as part of the
ecosystem and human activity is limited by what
the ecosystem can provide.
Researchers from SAMS covering natural and social
sciences have teamed up in order to work with and
advise all those who can contribute to the goal
of the sustainable use of our seas.

• Sustainable Mariculture
• Models for site evaluation
• Developing new species in aquaculture
• Ecosystem effects of aquaculture

• Ecosystem Function and Services
• Study the cumulative impacts of fishing and
  climate change on ecosystem function that
  might cause regime shifts
• Studies of eutrophication the impact of
  nutrient runoff from the land
• Poverty and ecosystem services

Effectivness of ecolabelling and certification Do
market based environmental policy tools such as
ecolabelling of sustainable aquaculture and
fisheries products deliver ecosystem benefits?

• Marine Fisheries
• Basic and applied research on marine ecosystems
• Ecosystem modelling
• Monitoring and modelling the west of Scotland
• Providing science support to the local fishing
  industry
• Providing education about the fisheries
  industry,
• its management and impacts

Ecosystem modelling of deep water
fisheries Direct and indirect impacts of fishing
of Scotlands deep oceans have caused declines in
sharks due to fishing for sharks and prey
switching due to fishing for their prey.
Whitefish on the Scottish west coast Rebuilding
the cod stock is hampered by a lack of
understanding of the ecosystem and food web
processes controlling cod survival
Seeing the whole picture
SAMS employs systems thinking and modelling
for its work SAMS staff belong to international
networks of scientists pioneering ecological and
fisheries modelling and modelling of coupled
social and ecological systems
SAMS is working on innovative approaches for
sustainable seas

• Support for policy
• Linking scientists, policymakers, industry and
  the public
• Providing fisheries, marine and coastal policy
  support to the
• Scottish and UK governments
• Active in ICES, and national and international
  research programs
• Governance
• Engagement with contributors
• Options analysis
• Conflict resolution
• Institutional audits
• Society and the sea
• The sea and human welfare
• Understanding how people value the sea
• Impact of subsidies on marine ecosystems
• Marine spatial planning

Knowledge-Based Sustainable Management for
Europes Seas (KnowSeas) SAMS is coordinating a
5.74M EU project with 31 partners in 15
countries that will provide science based tools
for managing Europes seas. This 4-year project
brings natural and social scientists together to
help the European Commission and EU Member States
to deliver the new Marine Strategy Framework
Directive, the most radical development in marine
legislation in European history.
SAMS supports the Global Environment Facility In
2009, SAMS scientists joined a UN funded project
to understand the lessons learned from over
US2Bn investment in the GEFs International
Waters Focal Area. The GEF is managed jointly by
the World Bank, UNDP and UNEP. SAMS is advising
on its portfolio of large marine ecosystem
projects
Helping to develop social and economic objectives
for Scotlands Marine Bill SAMS is contracted to
the Scottish Government to help develop this key
aspect of the Marine Bill. This groundbreaking
new legislation will put Scotland on the map as a
pioneer in joined-up policy for the marine
environment and is will have implications for
decades to come.