Case Study, Draft 2, Without Citations
Peru is a nation located in South America, bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the south by Chile, and on the east by Brazil. More importantly, it is bordered on the west along the extent of its coastline by the Pacific Ocean, which makes fishing a staple of the Peruvian economy. According to the FAO, exports accounted for more than one billion dollars in 2002 alone. This fishing is little regulated, and thus it is no surprise the fisheries have historically collapsed multiple times. (Cite) A plan that promoted the sustainable use of marine resources in Peru is therefore a must and needs to tailor to Peru's interests, both at the individual and governmental levels.
By default, putting limits on what, when, and how much can be fished will be ineffective. For example, IMARPE, the Peruvian Sea Institute, reported in 1998 that 90% of the fish caught was illegally smaller than the size limit. (Cite) This is due to the lack of an ethical norm among the fishing class. Because of their usual indifference to the government in power, they do as they please, and there is not much in their way to stop them from fishing as they please. The fact that the government is having difficulty enforcing current regulations will make new ones useless.
Instead, the quickest and most effective way of increasing the fish population in said waters is to advocate the establishment of intelligently placed marine protected areas, along with new aquaculture programs to bring fish up to sustainable levels. The former is easier to enforce, because it is no longer a question of when, what, and how much but rather a yes or no question.
As related by Jorge Ugaz, head of the protected areas division of INRENA, the National Institute of National Resources, there currently exists only one marine reserve--the Paracas Marine Reserve (Reserva Nacional de Paracas), founded in 1975.
Pronaturaleza, a Peruvian non-governmental conservation agency, has developed two blueprints for the establishment of marine reserves in Peru. One advocates the establishment of the waters off Mancora, a northwestern province, as a marine protected area. The other advocates the setting aside of a series of islands parallel to the coastline as such.
Mancora is located on the northwest edge of Peru, as seen in Figure 1. The waters off its coast are among the richest fishing grounds in the world, something due to the geography of the region.
The Humboldt Current (See Figure 2) is a stream of cold water that travels from the south bordering the coast of South America. Along the way, it "pushes" cold water from about 200 meters below the sea towards the surface, resulting in temperatures of about 20 degrees Celsius at the surface, something unusual given Peru's close proximity to the equator. The Anti-Current pushes down from the north and collides with the Humboldt Current around northern Peru, displacing the latter towards the west where it meets up with the Equatorial Current which pushes on towards Polynesia. The fact that these currents affect how marine wildlife displace themselves essentially means that northern Peru is abounding in them. Whales, marine turtles, tuna, sharks, stingrays, and a myriad of marine birds are only a few of the many species that can be found there.
Every so often a current of warm water known as "El Niño" pushes up from the South Pacific, disrupting the Humboldt Current and displacing marine wildlife, causing both damage to the ecosystem and the inhabitants of Peru who depend on the sea for a living.
Aside from the problem of "El Niño," overfishing and petroleum ventures have proven to be devastating to the ecosystem. The latter, due to its very nature, causes damage to the ocean floor, and minor spills are a common occurrence. Pronaturaleza has therefore proposed to close off the area to all not motivated by scientific research by declaring it a marine protected area.
As Pronaturaleza said, "the Peruvian waters, in spite of being one of the most yielding [of fish] on the planet and possessing a high amount of biological diversity, paradoxically has been little studied and the studies and investigations that have been realized are almost none." In light of this fact, Pronaturaleza has also proposed the creation of a "Marine Scientific Station" (Estación Científica Marina) to conduct research in the area. This research would be focused on the ecosystem rather than the species that inhabit it, because the ecosystem is an essential aspect in the lifecycles of fish and other marine species. This is beneficial so that the implementation of aquaculture programs to restore fish populations can occur intelligently.
Difficulty arises in implementing this solution. Pronaturaleza, as a technologically well-equipped conservation agency, is willing to assume leadership. Initial funds necessary for the establishment of the proposed marine reserve will trickle in from sources such as the World Conservation Union (IUCN). Pronaturaleza will request the expertise of both the Institute of the Americas and the Scripp Institution of Oceanography for the purposes of research. The Peruvian Sea Institute (IMARPE) and the National Institute of National Resources (INRENA) will be expected to contribute to this project as well. (Insert Jorge Ugaz quote here) Perhaps the most integral sources of cooperation, although the most difficult to acquire, will be the neighboring countries of Ecuador and Chile, because of their similar use of marine resources.
Using Peru as a Case Study for the examination of the effectiveness or lack thereof of marine reserves
Cambridge, November 5, 2007
Proposal to add 17 groups of islands and 10 main guano sources to the list of Marine Protected Areas in Peru
Guano is basically a fertilizer that comes from the waste of birds, seals, and bats. (Wise Geek)
1. Marine reserves were pushed as the quickest and most viable way to restore ecosystems, and these places were chosen strategically.
- These places harbor a diverse variety of marine resources.
- These places can be used as a haven by marine wildlife: When the weather phenomenon of "El Niño" (warming of waters) hits, marine wildlife generally go to colder waters, which is provided by the islands. Therefore, setting these islands as a protected area will preserve marine wildlife during these periods.
2. Marine reserves can be implemented in conjunction with aquaculture.
3. Open the reserves to tourism
- Investigate what tourism causes minimum disruption to the ecosystem before opening the areas.
- Great source of $$$
Cambridge, November 1, 2007
Working Paper: Proposal for Marine Conservation by the Pronaturaleza Foundation: Mancora Bank, Tumbes/Piura, Peru (2004)
This was a proposal to create a new marine protected area in the northern coast of Peru.
Why here? Well, this is an area of great richness in terms of marine wildlife because of its location. Here the Humboldt Current and the Equatorial Current of the Pacific come together, as well as the Sub-superficial Anti-current. These currents influence the movements of marine wildlife, they "influence patterns of migration, movement, reproduction, and eating patterns of a great number of species of regional and global relevance."
Problems in the area are both natural and man-made:
1. "El Niño": Weather Pattern which affects the movement of marine wildlife, something that can cause massive disruption in the area (e.g. The Mochica Civilization is believed to have gone extinct due to this phenomenon. Disruptions have more recently happened in 1983 and 1997.)
2. Contamination due to petroleum related activities in the area: Transport of crude petroleum, exploration and exploitation on land and in sea, petroleum refineries, and spillovers all contribute to the contamination of the ecosystem.
3. Unrestricted fishing and overfishing. This area also has the largest number of independent fishers of the country as a whole.
It was proposed that a "Marine Scientific Station" be created in the area to do research, because little studies have been done in the area thus far. That fact surprised me because Peru is one of the largest exporters of fish in the world, although right now their fisheries are not necessarily in a sustainable position.
Studies conducted would focus on the ecosystem as a whole because marine species are affected by its surroundings.
Also stated that many entities can be counted on for this project, including but not limited to:
- Scripps Oceanographic Institute (USA)
- Institute of the Americas (USA)
- National Universities, including the University of Piura
- Peruvian Sea Institute
- National Institute for Natural Resources (INRENA)
Time of Implementation for the project ~ 5 years
If successful, this project would be spread through the whole of Peru and be a model for other similar projects to be implemented.
Cambridge, October 29, 2007
I started at http://www.inrena.gob.pe
: This is the webpage for INRENA, translated to the National Institute for Natural Resources a.k.a. the Peruvian Version of the EPA.
(By the way, my uncle is head of this department, so if you have any consultations just e-mail him at areas.naturales@inrena.gob.pe)
Under the protected areas tab, there was a link to a main webpage which dealt with marine reserves: http://www.inrena.gob.pe/ianp/web_sinanpe2006/sinanpe.htm
There I found a list of marine protected areas. Among others,
1. National Reserve of Paracas
2. National Reserve of Lake Titicaca
National Reserve of Paracas: Founded in 1975
Useful website for general information on Peru's fisheries:
http://www.fao.org/fi/fcp/en/PER/profile.htm
Peru produces about 10% of the world's fish, because of the currents in the South Pacific that push the fish into shallow waters.
Photos of my trip to the Paracas Marine Reserve:
Questions I'd like answered:
What is the status of fisheries in the nation? I don't seem to find much information on this, so I'll have to dig deeper into this.
What is the connection between the fishing industry and the marine reserves?
Are the marine reserves effective in creating a sustainable fish population?
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Climate Change for Western South America (Peru/Chile)
Coastal Fishery off of South America resides at an upwelling zone. This upwelling goes through cycles during ENSO cycles. Mortality rates were highest during EN events (Hernandez-Miranda, 2006). There is a chance that there could be a long toward shift in the climate towards the EN, which would most likely have a negative effect on fish populations (Collins, 2005). Another evaluation predicts global warming will ultimately lead to longer and weaker ENSO cycles. This occurs via complex interactions between currents and atmospheric circulation. If the first case occurs and the system shifts in the El Nino spectrum, then the fish populations in this region stand to be much lower than would be expected otherwise (Zhang, 2005). In the 1990's this region underwent several mild to moderate EN events, without intervening LN events (IPCC, 2001), perhaps indicative of the first case. If this trend is the case then it would have to be taken into account and stricter enforcements would be needed to produce the same results that would be expected without climate change. The fisheries in these regions might also take additional hits during el-nino years, so additional protection might be required for these years. If the second case happens, then climate change will most likely play a much smaller role in the management of this fishery, and plans can be carried out without too much modification for climate change. ENSO is also linked to changes in weather, which have effects on the terrestrial environment of Western South America. Floods and landslides in Peru during El-Nino years cause an increased mortality rate by 40% (IPCC, 2001).
Collins, M., (2005),. El Nino- or La Nina-like climate change? Climate Dynamics, 24, 89-104.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2001). Climate Change 2001: IPCC Third Assessment Report
Hernandez-Miranda, E., Ojeda, F. P. (2006). Inter-annual variability in somatic growth rates and mortality of coastal fishes off central Chile: an ENSO driven process? Marine Biology, 149, 925-936.
Zhang, Q., Yang, H., Zhong, Y., et all (2005). An idealized study of the impact of extratropical climate change on El Nino-Southern Oscillation. Climate Dynamics, 25, 869-880.