| Summary | Although cod is the most important fishery for Norway as a whole, there is little/no cod fishing within the Nature Reserves (ICES Report 2012, 2013). Coding focuses on shrimp (pandalus borealis), which is the most prevalent fishery around the waters of Svalbard. |
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| Project | SESMAD |
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| Subtype | Natural Resource Unit |
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| Sector | Marine protected areas, Fisheries (Stock-specific) |
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| Biotic | Yes |
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| Explanation | |
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| Commons Aggregation | Population |
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| Explanation | The shrimp at Svalbard are considered part of the larger Barents Sea / Svalbard population, and are managed as one stock, because there are no genetic differences between these two regions (Bjordal et al 2004). |
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| Commons Boundaries | Somewhat unclear boundaries (2) |
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| Explanation | Although the general locations of high density shrimp stocks remain similar across years, the specific locations of high density are slightly variable from year to year (NAFO 2012). Data also suggests that the shrimp population has been moving slightly eastward in recent years towards due to warming waters (Eriksen 2012 ). |
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| Commons Indicator | ["Status of species targeted by fisheries"] |
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| Explanation | Shrimp represents ‘fisheries’, because it is the only species that is fished commercially within the nature reserves. Fish stocks in the greater Barents Sea region may show similar or different trends, depending on the specific species (FAO Catch Statistics 2015 [Online]). |
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| Commons Unit Size | Small (2) |
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| Explanation | |
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| Environmental Medium | Oceanic |
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| Explanation | |
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| Inter Annual Predictability | High (3) |
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| Explanation | Despite modest population fluctuations and geographic movements, shrimp are quite predictable from year to year. |
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| Intra Annual Predictability | High (3) |
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| Explanation | |
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| Commons Renewability | Renewable (1) |
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| Explanation | |
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| Productivity | Moderately Productive (2) |
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| Explanation | Shrimp take about 6 years to reach maturity. I have not been able to find specific information thus far about population growth rates. |
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| Commons Accessibility | Very accessible (3) |
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| Explanation | Current technology makes shrimp fishing relatively easy. From the mid-1990s to 2010, NAFO (2006) notes that there has been a restructuring of the fishing fleet from numerous smaller vessels to only a few large vessels, and from using one trawl to two trawls.. |
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| Commons Heterogeneity | Moderate (2) |
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| Explanation | The distribution density of shrimp is moderately patchy (NAFO 2011). Ares in the southern region of the Nature Reserves have quite low densities of shrimp, while regions in the north and northwest of the Nature Reserves have high densities. |
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| Commons Mobility | Medium (2) |
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| Explanation | Compared to species of mammals and fish, shrimp mobility is quite low. |
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| Commons Spatial Extent | 2000000 |
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| Explanation | 2,000,000 km2 is roughly the size of the Barents Sea and the region around Svalbard. |
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| Technical Substitute | Yes |
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| Explanation | To substitute for the wild shrimp harvest, shrimp aquaculture has become popular and produces a large amount of the global shrimp consumption. |
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