Overview

The course will address methods of natural resource assessment, and techniques and tools for protection and management of living marine resource exploitation. Marine biological diversity will be defined, and impacts and threats assessed, identifying the need to protect species, ecological processes and critical habitats. The limits of environmental degradation and rehabilitation will be explored. Conservation methods developed for terrestrial diversity do not extend into the marine environment, and differences in approach will be considered. The effectiveness of tools such as zoning, legislation, environmental impact assessment, and Marine Protected Areas will be assessed. Sustainable development and integrated coastal zone management will be introduced, and case studies from around the world will be used to illustrate successes and failures of biological conservation. The course will deal with the over-exploitation of marine biological resources with a global overview and case studies of fisheries at the single species and ecosystem levels. The historical development of fisheries exploitation will be linked to technological advances made over the last 80 000 years. Approaches to management of fisheries will be evaluated. Aquaculture will be introduced as an alternative means of seafood production, criteria for selection of species will be considered, including biological characteristics, growth, reproduction, larval culture, yields and economics. Principles and culture practices for the major farmed groups will be reviewed and a range of species and characteristics of production systems from extensive to highly intensive will be compared, together with alternative approaches to increasing production such as stock enhancement. Environmental impacts, constraints on development and sustainability of aquaculture will be discussed

Assessment Strategy

Threshold (D- grade equivalent): Knowledge based on the directly taught programme, basic ability to integrate lines of evidence from a range of sources to support findings and hypotheses, basic understanding of subject specific theories, concepts and principles, basic ability to consider issues from a range of multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary perspectives.

Good (B grade equivalent): Knowledge based on the directly taught programme with some evidence of enquiry beyond that perhaps derived from internet resources, good ability to integrate lines of evidence from a range of sources to support findings and hypotheses, good understanding of subject specific theories, concepts and principles, good ability to consider issues from a range of multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary perspectives.

Excellent (A grade equivalent): Knowledge extending well beyond the directly taught programme with evidence of extensive enquiry beyond that perhaps derived from internet resources, excellent ability to integrate lines of evidence from a range of sources to support findings and hypotheses, excellent understanding of subject specific theories, concepts and principles, good ability to consider issues from a range of multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary perspectives.

Learning Outcomes

• Be able to describe and discuss the historical, social and economic reasons why fishing is so important

• Critically assess issues of environment impacts and sustainability

• Critically evaluate the effectiveness of techniques and tools of protection of marine resources and sustainable management of exploitation by integrating named examples and case studies

• Demonstrate the need for marine biological conservation and sustainable development by evaluating the threats to species, habitats, and ecosystem processes

• Describe and discuss the diversity of biological resources harvested from the sea

• Explain the rationale for development of aquaculture, in comparison with terrestrial food production, fisheries and alternative approaches to improving coastal production

• Express knowledge of approaches to marine resource management and understanding of their limitations