Difference between revisions of "Template:This weeks featured article"

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(Public participation legislation)
(Sampling tools for the marine environment)
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==Public participation legislation==
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==Sampling tools for the marine environment==
  
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This article gives a brief overview of the main conventions and international legislation concerning public participation. This overview is presented in chronological order, therefore it also presents an historical perspective of public participation. The introduction also gives an historical overview of the period before the 1992 Rio convention.  
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This article provides an overview of the sampling tools and fishing techniques used in the marine environment. These relate to species occuring on the sea surface, the water column and on the seabed.
  
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When learning about public participation in an environmental context it is easy to assume that it is an issue of only the past decades. Although there is a recent increase in interest in public participation, countries like The Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Sweden have had provisions concerning public participation and the freedom of information in their legal systems since before the Middle Ages. These countries “have continually faced the eternal struggle against the threats of the sea” and are well-known for dike-construction, polderization and the reclamation of land. These measures have been a necessity for living in these areas for centuries. Managing such activities calls for public involvement and the oldest regulations known are the Rüstinger Rules of Law (1100 A.D), which facilitated such participation. Democracy and public participation are closely connected and democratic nations like the US have included elements for it centuries ago. The right to petition, for example, has been part of the first Amendment of the US constitution since 1791.  
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<ref name="maine" >http://www.usm.maine.edu/gulfofmaine-census/Docs/Technology/STPC.htm#bottomtraw</ref>All methods of physical capture are inherently selective. Small fish may pass through large-meshed nets; large fish may out-swim trawls; gill nets will catch fish mainly of a certain size range. Fish may react differently to fishing gear with respect to species, size, biological state, environmental conditions including ambient light and the acoustic noise field, among many other factors.
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<ref>Steele, J.H.; Thorpe, S.A.; Turekian, K.K. (Ed.). (2001). Encyclopedia of ocean    sciences. Academic Press: San Diego, CA (USA). 6 vol. p748-749</ref>|This is why organisms are subdivided out of practical necessity, in that the sampling approach and sample size that are appropriate for one group are often inappropriate for another. The disparity in appropriate techniques for different sizes of groups of organisms has contributed greatly to the paucity of studies on more than one taxonomic grouping at a given locale.
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Unfortunately, where conflicting conclusions have been drawn patterns in different groups of organisms, it is rarely possible to know whether the patterns truly vary among groups or merely reflect differences in sampling efforts.
  
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Even in contemporary society, there are still relatively few binding provisions on access to information and public participation in plans and projects dealing with environmental matters. Most legislation is “soft law” which means that the nation state is not obliged to abide by this law and that they can set their own provisions. The handbook Human Rights in Natural Resources (Zillman, 2002) <ref name="Zillman"> Zillman, D.N., Lucas, A., Pring, A. (ed.)(2002). ''Human Rights in Natural Resources ''. Oxford University Press</ref> provides a good overview of the sources of international law concerning public participation in environmental matters.
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The choice of a suitable sampler is a compromise between a variety of factors, as discussed in the article.

Revision as of 10:52, 18 August 2008

Sampling tools for the marine environment

This article provides an overview of the sampling tools and fishing techniques used in the marine environment. These relate to species occuring on the sea surface, the water column and on the seabed.

[1]All methods of physical capture are inherently selective. Small fish may pass through large-meshed nets; large fish may out-swim trawls; gill nets will catch fish mainly of a certain size range. Fish may react differently to fishing gear with respect to species, size, biological state, environmental conditions including ambient light and the acoustic noise field, among many other factors.

[2]|This is why organisms are subdivided out of practical necessity, in that the sampling approach and sample size that are appropriate for one group are often inappropriate for another. The disparity in appropriate techniques for different sizes of groups of organisms has contributed greatly to the paucity of studies on more than one taxonomic grouping at a given locale.

Unfortunately, where conflicting conclusions have been drawn patterns in different groups of organisms, it is rarely possible to know whether the patterns truly vary among groups or merely reflect differences in sampling efforts.

The choice of a suitable sampler is a compromise between a variety of factors, as discussed in the article.
  1. ↑ http://www.usm.maine.edu/gulfofmaine-census/Docs/Technology/STPC.htm#bottomtraw
  2. ↑ Steele, J.H.; Thorpe, S.A.; Turekian, K.K. (Ed.). (2001). Encyclopedia of ocean sciences. Academic Press: San Diego, CA (USA). 6 vol. p748-749
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