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| Large Marine Ecosystem | |
|---|---|
| Name | Large Marine Ecosystem |
| Location | Global coastal regions |
| Area | Variable (up to millions km²) |
| Countries | Multiple coastal states |
| Established | Concept formalized 1990s |
| Governing body | Regional commissions, national agencies |
Large Marine Ecosystem
A Large Marine Ecosystem is a region of coastal ocean space of 200,000 km² or greater, characterized by distinct bathymetry, hydrography, productivity, fish and marine life, and human uses. The concept guides transboundary United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea–informed planning across continental shelves, gulfs, and currents, aligning scientific research, fisheries management, and conservation priorities among nations and institutions. Originating from efforts by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and academic partners, the approach underpins collaborations among agencies such as the World Wildlife Fund, United Nations Environment Programme, and regional commissions.
The designation emphasizes physical features like continental shelves adjacent to nations such as United States and Canada in the Gulf of Maine region, or upwelling systems off Chile and Peru tied to the Humboldt Current. Characteristic attributes include high primary productivity associated with bathymetric structures like the Continental shelf and features such as the Sargasso Sea gyre, seasonal stratification driven by processes akin to those in the North Atlantic Oscillation or El Niño–Southern Oscillation, and biological communities comparable to those in the Barents Sea and Bering Sea. The framework integrates oceanographic monitoring from platforms like Argo (oceanography) floats, research from institutions such as the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and data standards promoted by bodies like the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission.
Boundaries often follow ecological and oceanographic criteria rather than political lines, as seen in the delineation of units like the California Current system spanning United States and Mexico, or the West Antarctic Peninsula affected by Antarctic Treaty System governance. Prominent examples include the North Sea bordering United Kingdom, Norway, and Denmark; the Gulf of Mexico shared by United States, Mexico, and Cuba; the Bay of Bengal adjacent to India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka; and the East China Sea involving China, Japan, and South Korea. Transboundary LME efforts frequently engage multinational organizations such as the European Union and regional fisheries bodies like the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization and the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.
LMEs encompass trophic webs from phytoplankton communities monitored by projects like Global Ocean Observing System to apex predators including blue whale and great white shark, and keystone species such as Atlantic cod and Peruvian anchoveta. Habitats range from coastal wetlands and estuaries exemplified by the Mississippi River Delta and Sundarbans to coral reefs like the Great Barrier Reef and mangrove forests of Rhizophora in regions near Indonesia and Brazil. Biodiversity assessments involve taxonomic inventories from museums like the Smithsonian Institution and initiatives such as the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, with conservation status affecting species across LMEs including loggerhead sea turtle, Atlantic salmon, herring, sardine, and krill.
LMEs support fisheries harvested by fleets from states such as Japan, Spain, China, and Norway supplying markets in United States, European Union, and Japan. Economic services include shipping through chokepoints like Strait of Hormuz, energy extraction from offshore oil and gas fields in basins such as the North Sea oil fields and Gulf of Guinea, and aquaculture operations in regions like Norway and Chile. Ecosystem services also underpin tourism to destinations such as Maldives and Caribbean Sea islands, coastal protection afforded by coral reefs and mangroves near Philippines and Mozambique, and nutrient cycling impacting agriculture linked to deltas like the Nile Delta.
LMEs face cumulative threats including overfishing exemplified by historical collapses of Atlantic cod stocks, pollution events like the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, eutrophication in basins such as the Baltic Sea, invasive species translocated via Suez Canal or ballast water exchanges, and climate-driven changes including ocean warming and acidification linked to atmospheric Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessments. Conservation responses feature marine protected area networks promoted by Convention on Biological Diversity targets, sustainable fisheries certification from organizations such as the Marine Stewardship Council, habitat restoration projects in locales like the Chesapeake Bay and Yangtze River Delta, and disaster response coordination involving agencies like the International Maritime Organization.
Governance employs integrated management tools combining ecosystem assessment, adaptive management, and transboundary governance mechanisms under instruments like the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and regional agreements such as the Barcelona Convention and OSPAR Convention. Management actors include national ministries (e.g., Department of Fisheries and Oceans (Canada), NOAA), regional fisheries management organizations like the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission, and multilateral financing from institutions such as the World Bank and Global Environment Facility. Science-policy interfaces involve advisory panels drawing on expertise from universities including University of Oxford, University of Cape Town, and research networks like the Global Ocean Observing System to implement adaptive strategies, ecosystem-based management, and transboundary cooperation across LMEs.
Category:Marine ecology