Surfing the waves: Environmental and socio-economic aspects of surf tourism and recreation.

Marine ecosystems contribute to human well-being, e.g. through the promotion of nature-based recreational activities such as surfing, which is a benefit obtained from Cultural Ecosystem Services (CES). Our research objective is to identify the benefits and impacts associated to surfing, and who are the main affected subjects and/or objects, achieving a better understanding of the sustainability status of this recreational activity. To this end, a bibliometric study and systematic review was carried out for the period 1965-2021. Benefits and impacts were collated and grouped according to their dimensional focus and type of effects in 6 groups (3-dimensional focus × 2 type of effects). The results revealed that since the beginning of 21st century surfing research topics are growing and diversifying. This review shows that implications of surfing go beyond direct users (i.e., surfers) and has consequences in diverse dimensions (environmental, socio cultural and economic), involving many stakeholders (e.g., scientific, and local communities). Most of the pieces of evidence collated in this research were related with the people who practice the activity and its social implications (psychological benefits as main benefit and injuries as main impact). Following an interdisciplinary approach, we obtained a holistic understanding of the surfing activity, not only in terms of the different dimensions addressed but on the sectors of the society that obtain benefits or are impacted by the activity. All of them should be considered and integrated to guarantee the sustainable management of this CES benefit.

An integrated assessment of the Good Environmental Status of Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas.

Local, regional and global targets have been set to halt marine biodiversity loss. Europe has set its own policy targets to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES) of marine ecosystems by implementing the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) across member states. We combined an extensive dataset across five Mediterranean ecoregions including 26 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), their reference unprotected areas, and a no-trawl case study. Our aim was to assess if MPAs reach GES, if their effects are local or can be detected at ecoregion level or up to a Mediterranean scale, and which are the ecosystem components driving GES achievement. This was undertaken by using the analytical tool NEAT (Nested Environmental status Assessment Tool), which allows an integrated assessment of the status of marine systems. We adopted an ecosystem approach by integrating data from several ecosystem components: the seagrass Posidonia oceanica, macroalgae, sea urchins and fish. Thresholds to define the GES were set by dedicated workshops and literature review. In the Western Mediterranean, most MPAs are in good/high status, with P. oceanica and fish driving this result within MPAs. However, GES is achieved only at a local level, and the Mediterranean Sea, as a whole, results in a moderate environmental status. Macroalgal forests are overall in bad condition, confirming their status at risk. The results are significantly affected by the assumption that discrete observations over small spatial scales are representative of the total extension investigated. This calls for large-scale, dedicated assessments to realistically detect environmental status changes under different conditions. Understanding MPAs effectiveness in reaching GES is crucial to assess their role as sentinel observatories of marine systems. MPAs and trawling bans can locally contribute to the attainment of GES and to the fulfillment of the MSFD objectives. Building confidence in setting thresholds between GES and non-GES, investing in long-term monitoring, increasing the spatial extent of sampling areas, rethinking and broadening the scope of complementary tools of protection (e.g., Natura 2000 Sites), are indicated as solutions to ameliorate the status of the basin.

Contact with blue-green spaces during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown beneficial for mental health.

There is growing evidence that ecosystem services and especially the exposure to the natural world (blue-green spaces) have potential benefits for mental health and well-being. The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures adopted to control it provide a natural experiment to investigate the links between nature exposure and mental health under extreme conditions. Using a survey distributed online, we tested the following hypotheses: 1) People will show greater symptoms of depression and anxiety under lockdown conditions that did not allow contact with outdoor nature spaces; 2) Where access to public outdoor nature spaces was strictly restricted, (2a) those with green/blue nature view or (2b) access to private outdoor spaces such as a garden or balcony will show fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety, and a more positive mood. Based on 5218 responses from 9 countries, we found that lockdown severity significantly affected mental health, while contact with nature helped people to cope with these impacts, especially for those under strict lockdown. People under strict lockdown in Spain (3403 responses), perceived that nature helped them to cope with lockdown measures; and emotions were more positive among individuals with accessible outdoor spaces and blue-green elements in their views. These findings can help decision-makers in developing potential future lockdown measures to mitigate the negative impacts, helping people to be more resilient and maintain better mental health, using the benefits that ecosystem services are providing us.

Programmes of measures of the marine strategy framework directive: Are they contributing to achieving good environmental status in the Mediterranean?

The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) is the piece of legislation with which the EU aims to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES) of its seas. This Directive requires Member States (MSs) to set up and implement Programmes of Measures (PoMs) to achieve this goal. This paper presents a catalogue as well as the analysis of the 535 measures proposed by the eight Mediterranean EU MSs to combat pollution and non-indigenous species and contribute to the GES of the Mediterranean Sea. The results reiterate the need for better coherence and coordination between MSs, also with non-EU countries in the preparation of the next iteration of PoMs. Only 5% of the measures applied have an effect beyond MSs´ marine waters jurisdiction, and a fifth of them lack linkages with any ecosystem component. The results point to gaps, while desired goals and recommendations will help policy makers to implement the and conceptualise measures.

Pan-regional marine benthic cryptobiome biodiversity patterns revealed by metabarcoding Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures.

Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures (ARMS) have been applied worldwide to characterize the critical yet frequently overlooked biodiversity patterns of marine benthic organisms. In order to disentangle the relevance of environmental factors in benthic patterns, here, through standardized metabarcoding protocols, we analyse sessile and mobile (<2 mm) organisms collected using ARMS deployed across six regions with different environmental conditions (3 sites × 3 replicates per region): Baltic, Western Mediterranean, Adriatic, Black and Red Seas, and the Bay of Biscay. A total of 27,473 Amplicon Sequence Variants (ASVs) were observed ranging from 1,404 in the Black Sea to 9,958 in the Red Sea. No ASVs were shared among all regions. The highest number of shared ASVs was between the Western Mediterranean and the Adriatic Sea (116) and Bay of Biscay (115). Relatively high numbers of ASVs (103), mostly associated with the genus Amphibalanus, were also shared between the lower salinity seas (Baltic and Black Seas). We found that compositional differences in spatial patterns of rocky-shore benthos are determined slightly more by dispersal limitation than environmental filtering. Dispersal limitation was similar between sessile and mobile groups, while the sessile group had a larger environmental niche breadth than the mobile group. Further, our study can provide a foundation for future evaluations of biodiversity patterns in the cryptobiome, which can contribute up to 70% of the local biodiversity.

Lessons from photo analyses of Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures as tools to detect (bio-)geographical, spatial, and environmental effects.

We investigated the validity of Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures (ARMS) as monitoring tools for hard bottoms across a wide geographic and environmental range. We deployed 36 ARMS in the northeast Atlantic, northwest Mediterranean, Adriatic and Red Sea at 7-17 m depth. After 12-16 months, community composition was inferred from photographs, in six plate-faces for each ARMS. Overall, we found a highly significant effect of sea region, site (within seas), and plate-face on community composition. Plate-faces thus represent distinct micro-habitats and provide pseudo-replicates, increasing statistical power. Within each sea region taken individually, there was also a highly significant effect of site and plate-face. Because strong effects were obtained despite the fusion of taxonomic categories at high taxonomic ranks (to ensure comparability among biogeographic provinces), ARMS photo-analysis appears a promising monitoring tool for each sea region. We recommend keeping three ARMS per site and analyzing more numerous sites within a sea region to investigate environmental effects.

A comparative analysis of metabarcoding and morphology-based identification of benthic communities across different regional seas.

In a world of declining biodiversity, monitoring is becoming crucial. Molecular methods, such as metabarcoding, have the potential to rapidly expand our knowledge of biodiversity, supporting assessment, management, and conservation. In the marine environment, where hard substrata are more difficult to access than soft bottoms for quantitative ecological studies, Artificial Substrate Units (ASUs) allow for standardized sampling. We deployed ASUs within five regional seas (Baltic Sea, Northeast Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, and Red Sea) for 12-26 months to measure the diversity and community composition of macroinvertebrates. We identified invertebrates using a traditional approach based on morphological characters, and by metabarcoding of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene. We compared community composition and diversity metrics obtained using the two methods. Diversity was significantly correlated between data types. Metabarcoding of ASUs allowed for robust comparisons of community composition and diversity, but not all groups were successfully sequenced. All locations were significantly different in taxonomic composition as measured with both kinds of data. We recovered previously known regional biogeographical patterns in both datasets (e.g., low species diversity in the Black and Baltic Seas, affinity between the Bay of Biscay and the Mediterranean). We conclude that the two approaches provide complementary information and that metabarcoding shows great promise for marine monitoring. However, until its pitfalls are addressed, the use of metabarcoding in monitoring of rocky benthic assemblages should be used in addition to classical approaches rather than instead of them.

The recovery of estuarine quality and the perceived increase of cultural ecosystem services by beach users: A case study from northern Spain.

In Europe, the quality of coastal bathing waters improved considerably in the last decades, mainly due to the more demanding legislation and the adoption of water sanitation plans. In the Nerbioi estuary (North Spain), the Wastewater Treatment Plan implemented between 1990 and 2001 resulted on an abrupt decrease in microbial concentration; thus, complying with bathing waters legislation and allowing recreational activities again in the three beaches of the estuary. However, little is known about how improvements in bathing waters influences the provision of cultural ecosystem services and human well-being. A questionnaire was used to study beach users' behaviour and perceptions and compared with environmental time-series data (microbial concentration and water transparency). Most respondents perceived an improvement in bathing waters quality and linked it to the estuarine sanitation. Nerbioi beaches are important recreational areas, mainly for local visitors, and water quality improvement was found to be a critical factor for deciding to visit these beaches. Furthermore, most visitors answered that they would not return if water conditions deteriorate. Significant differences existed between beaches, with the most inner beach presenting worse environmental conditions than the other two beaches; and matching user's perceptions. Our findings highlight that water sanitation actions are important for the recovery of degraded coastal environments and for the maintenance of ecosystem services. Also, that multidisciplinary research is necessary to better comprehend the links between environmental recovery and the provision of ecosystem services.

Quantitative criteria for choosing targets and indicators for sustainable use of ecosystems.

Wide-ranging, indicator-based assessments of large, complex ecosystems are playing an increasing role in guiding environmental policy and management. An example is the EU's Marine Strategy Framework Directive, which requires Member States to take measures to reach "good environmental status" (GES) in European marine waters. However, formulation of indicator targets consistent with the Directive's high-level policy goal of sustainable use has proven challenging. We develop a specific, quantitative interpretation of the concepts of GES and sustainable use in terms of indicators and associated targets, by sharply distinguishing between current uses to satisfy current societal needs and preferences, and unknown future uses. We argue that consistent targets to safeguard future uses derive from a requirement that any environmental state indicator should recover within a defined time (e.g. 30 years) to its pressure-free range of variation when all pressures are hypothetically removed. Within these constraints, specific targets for current uses should be set. Routes to implementation of this proposal for indicators of fish-community size structure, population size of selected species, eutrophication, impacts of non-indigenous species, and genetic diversity are discussed. Important policy implications are that (a) indicator target ranges, which may be wider than natural ranges, systematically and rationally derive from our proposal; (b) because relevant state indicators tend to respond slowly, corresponding pressures should also be monitored and assessed;

Is existing legislation fit-for-purpose to achieve Good Environmental Status in European seas?

Recent additions to marine environmental legislation are usually designed to fill gaps in protection and management, build on existing practices or correct deficiencies in previous instruments. Article 13 of the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) requires Member States to develop a Programme of Measures (PoM) by 2015, to meet the objective of Good Environmental Status (GES) for their waters by 2020. This review explores key maritime-related policies with the aim to identify the opportunities and threats that they pose for the achievement of GES. It specifically examines how Member States have relied on and will integrate existing legislation and policies to implement their PoM and the potential opportunities and difficulties associated with this. Using case studies of three Member States, other external impediments to achieving GES are discussed including uses and users of the marine environment who are not governed by the MSFD, and gives recommendations for overcoming barriers.

Good Environmental Status of marine ecosystems: what is it and how do we know when we have attained it?

The European Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) requires EU Member States (MS) to achieve Good Environmental Status (GEnS) of their seas by 2020. We address the question of what GEnS entails especially with regard to the level at which targets are set (descriptors, criteria, indicators), to scales for assessments (regional, sub-divisions, site-specific), and to difficulties in putting into practice the GEnS concept. We propose a refined and operational definition of GEnS, indicating the data and information needed to all parts of that definition. We indicate the options for determining when GEnS has been met, acknowledge the data and information needs for each option, and recommend a combination of existing quantitative targets and expert judgement. We think that the MSFD implementation needs to be less complex than shown for other similar directives, can be based largely on existing data and can be centred on the activities of the Regional Seas Conventions.

Charging for nature: marine park fees and management from a user perspective.

User fees can contribute to the financial sustainability of marine protected areas (MPAs), yet they must be acceptable to users. We explore changes in the fee system and management of Bonaire National Marine Park (BNMP) from the perspective of users. Responses from 393 tourists indicated that 90% were satisfied with park conditions and considered current user fees reasonable. However, only 47% of divers and 40% of non-divers were prepared to pay more. Diver willingness-to-pay (WTP) appears to have decreased since 1991, but this difference could be due in part to methodological differences between studies. Although current fees are close to diver maximum stated WTP, revenues could potentially be increased by improving the current fee system in ways that users deem acceptable. This potential surplus highlights the value of understanding user perceptions toward MPA fees and management.

Managing dive tourism for the sustainable use of coral reefs: validating diver perceptions of attractive site features.

It has been argued that strategies to manage natural areas important for tourism and recreation should integrate an understanding of tourist preferences for specific natural features. However, the accuracy of tourist recalled perceptions of environmental attributes, which are usually derived from post hoc surveys and used to establish management priorities, is currently unmeasured. We tested the validity of the relationship between tourist-stated preferences and actual condition of coral reefs around the Caribbean island of Bonaire. Using standardized questionnaires, we asked 200 divers to select their most and least favorite dive sites and the attributes that contributed to that selection. We also carried out ecological surveys at 76 of the 81 dives sites around the island to assess the actual conditions of the attributes indicated as important for site selection. Fish- and coral-related attributes were key features affecting dive enjoyment. In general, divers appeared to be able to perceive differences between sites in the true condition of biological attributes such as fish species richness, total number of fish schools, live coral cover, coral species richness, and reef structural complexity, although men and women divers differed in their ability to perceive/recall some of the attributes. Perceived differences in environmental attributes, such as surface conditions, underwater current, and the likelihood of encountering rare fish and sea turtles, were not empirically validated. The fact that divers perceive correctly differences in the condition of some of the key biological attributes that affect dive enjoyment reinforces the need to maintain overall reef condition at satisfactory levels. However, variation in accuracy of perceptions owing to demographic factors and attribute type suggests the need for caution when using public perceptions to develop environmental management strategies, particularly for coral reefs.