Managing resource and area conflicts in the coastal zone, exemplified by cod on the Skagerrak coast

The CODFLICT project aimed at generating knowledge to improve management by enlighten and perhaps mitigate conflicts over area and resource use. The project is a cooperative effort among university- and institution researchers, management planners, and the primary industry. We applied new techniques in genomics to identifying genetic markers that discriminate between North Sea cod and various components of coastal cod. Briefly, a total of 480 cod of coastal, inner fjord (three fjords), and North Sea (two locations) origin were genotyped at for so-called SNP genotypes (10 000 gene loci). Detailed analyses of the genomes of offshore, coastal and fjord cod revieled segments of the genome that displayed a marked divergence between North Sea and fjord cod. These findings were interpreted as signatures of local adaptation to the fjord environment, and ongoing work focus on identifying genes and biological processes driving this divergence. Next, we characterized how the commercial fishing industry (by-catch from shrimp trawlers: 300 fish analysed), tourist and recreational fishers (350 fish) exploitate the different cod stock, using a subset of 29 SNPs that turned out to be a particularly effective tool in this project. The results shows that the shrimp fishery catch predominantly (~97%) cod of the North Sea stock, whereas the recreational fishery catch cod of both the fjord and North Sea stocks. There is thus a partial overlap among stakeholders in resource usage for North Sea cod but significantly less so for fjord cod. These findings will be used for evaluate management plans for coastal cod and for coastal area usage, and there seems to be a particular need to secure the fjord cod. We are excited about the results and consider the project a success story and an important example bringing basic biological research to bear on an important practical problem.

The utilization of common resources creates conflicts among industry segments competing for limited natural resources and areas in the coastal zone. An important example refers to cod in coastal waters of Norway, which is harvested by the commercial fi sh industry, the fish tourism industry, and by residents for recreational fishing. Coastal cod utilize near-shore waters as spawning and nursery areas, thereby overlapping with many other human activities and industries beside fishing. Such area usage overlap adds area usage conflicts to the aforementioned resource usage conflicts. Coastal cod has for years been in decline over large sections of its range and is presently targeted for restrictive fishery regulations, sharpening conflicts among sta keholders. However, it is largely unknown how important local spawning- and nursery areas are for coastal cod and to what extent coastal cod is structured into local demographic units (population) and how these relate to the offshore-spawning stock(s) i n the North Sea and open Skagerrak. In this project we will utilize the very latest advances in molecular biology (genomics) to clarify population components of coastal cod, their inshore habitat requirements, and to what extent the different segments of the industry harvest the same biological resource, or population. The findings will be used to evaluate existing and alternative management plans for coastal cod and coastal area usage. This will be done in cooperation with management planners and the industry, with the aim at generating and disseminating knowledge in support of the formulation of sustainable industrial policy in the areas of fisheries and tourism in the coastal zone.