• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.24-34
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• 2021

Many countries have established and implemented marine ecosystem management plans to solve various problems arising from excessive development and use of marine and coastal areas. In this study, network analysis was applied to compare and understand marine ecosystem management's direction and characteristics in Korea and other maritime countries. The results showed that the words 'strengthen,' 'promote,' 'improve,' and 'establish' were the keywords used a lot in domestic and foreign marine ecosystem management plans. Establishing a foundation for marine ecosystem management, establishing international cooperation and partnerships, and strengthening climate change adaptation was commonly included. However, there were some differences in detailed management plans. In foreign countries, it aims to present management measures for certain species and improve the existing institutional foundation. Still, in Korea, it aims to strengthen the comprehensive management of marine life and establish an institutional foundation for marine ecosystems. This study is expected to help understand the direction of domestic and overseas marine ecosystem management and establish a domestic marine ecosystem management plan in the future.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Fisheries and Ocean Technology
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.240-258
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• 2006

The potential of ecosystem-based fisheries management is recently recognized to be very important to improve the sustainability of fisheries resources. Under the depressed condition of many fisheries resources, this recognition has been expanded and more effort has been taken to improve this approach. Taking ecosystem concept includes the use of other tools of management in addition to fisheries regulation, such as stock and productivity enhancement, provision of physical structure, or marine protected areas. In the ecosystem-based fisheries management approach, it would require to holistically consider ecological interactions of target species with predators, competitors, and prey species, the effects of climate on fisheries ecology, the complex interactions between fishes and their habitat, and the effects of fishing on fish stocks and their ecosystem. Fisheries management based upon the understanding of these factors can prevent significant and potentially irreversible changes in marine ecosystems caused by fishing. A useful approach for analyzing tropho-dynamic interactions and mass-balance in marine ecosystems is introduced to demonstrate the complexity and usefulness of the ecosystem approach, which was applied to a small ecosystem in Korea. Korea should seriously consider to take the ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management, since most major fish stocks are currently depleted due to many reasons such as overfishing, land reclamation and coastal pollution.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.170-186
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• 2019

The marine ecosystem survey investigates and analyzes multi-parameters at various times from various sites. Therefore, it is very difficult to analyze the complex ecological data of multi-items effectively, and it is more difficult to identify the current status and diagnose the problems of ecosystem through data analysis. Therefore, this paper aims to provide an example of interpretation of complex ecological data through analysis of distribution characteristics and outliers of ecological survey data. The main contents of the study are to elucidate the background levels of coastal ecosystem parameters considering the distribution characteristics of data, and to establish ecosystem monitoring indicators and an adaptive management system for the coastal waters in Korean Peninsula. The data used in this paper are based on the coastal ecosystem survey of the National Marine Ecosystem Monitoring Program conducted by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF) and the Korea Marine Environment Management Corporation (KOEM), and the major citations are from year 2015 to 2017. This article is a preliminary study to establish the above processes and the final result will be derived in 2020 when the coastal ecosystem survey is completed three times along the Korean coast.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Fisheries and Ocean Technology
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.32-49
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• 2010

Ecosystem-based fisheries management requires a holistic assessment of the status of fisheries by integrating fishery ecosystem indicators for management objectives. In this study four objectives were identified such as the maintenance of the sustainability, biodiversity and habitat quality and socio-economic benefits. The ecosystem-based fisheries assessment (EBFA) model to assess fisheries and their resources at the ecosystem level developed for Korean fisheries (Zhang et al., 2009) has a number of indicators for three management objectives. However, it was found that there were some overlapping components among indicators and that there were difficulties in assessing some indicators in the EBFA model. This study identified problems of the approach and suggested more pragmatic and simpler indicators. It also presented alternative reference points to assess indicators and discussed issues associated with the application of the EBFA model to a marine ranching ecosystem. In this study a total of 24 indicators were used for the assessment which included 4 socio-economic indicators. New indicators and reference points were demonstrated by applying it to the Uljin marine ranch.

• Journal of Environmental Policy
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.1-24
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• 2002

Due to the recent increase in greenhouse gases in atmosphere, world climate is rapidly changing and in turn, the earth ecosystem responds upon the climate changes. Comparing the ecosystem in the past, the present shapes of ecosystem is the result of the serious modification. Fishery resources in marine ecosystem, which usually occupy the upper trophic level, are also inevitable from such changes, because they always react to the natural environmental conditions. The northwestern Pacific is the most productive ocean in the world producing about 30% of world catch. From time to time, however, it has been notified that abundance, distribution and species composition of major fish species were altered by climate events. Furthermore, primary productivity of the ocean is not stable under the changing environments, so that carrying capacity of the ocean varies from one climate regime to another. Major climate events such as global warming, atmospheric circulation pattern, climate regime shift in the North Pacific, and El Nino event in the Pacific tropical waters were introduced in relation to fisheries aspects. The current status and future projection of fishery production was investigated, especially in the North Pacific including Korean waters. This new paradigm, ecosystem response to environmental variability, has become the main theme in marine ecology and fishery science, and the GLOBEC-type researches might provide a solution far cause-effect mechanism as well as prediction capability. Ecosystem management principles for multi-species should be adopted for better understanding and management of ecosystem.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.497-506
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• 2011

The rapid industrial and technological development has made the human activities for the utilization of marine resources more complex. Marine spatial management is a space-based approach. It is a comprehensive and integrated management approach. The ultimate goal of marine spatial management is the "sustainable use" of marine resources. The partial approach is applied in the existing marine spatial management, mainly coastal zones which involves integrated approach. Also this showed various limitations including restricted mostly to coastal zones, and limitation to implementation tools. However, for marine spatial management to have a reasonable approach that attaches importance to the relationship between humans and the holistic ecosystem, it is important to internalize a central principle in marine spatial management that focuses on the sustainable use of marine resources. In the present study, four central principles are proposed that will eventually be applied through marine spatial management planning tools. These principles are 1) the establishment of a cooperative decision making and planning system that is based on stakeholder participation; 2) scientific assessment of the current status and impact on the basis of ecology, sociology, and economics; 3) reasonable and optimal spatial assignment based on the forecasting of future-use characteristics and environmental changes; and 4) ascribing importance to the implementation of the results of rational planning processes.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.233-244
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• 2015

Marine ecosystem modelling has become a more widely used decision-making tool in coastal ecosystem-based management. However, it is not trivial to develop a well calibrated/validated model with potential applicability and practicality because understanding ecological processes with complexities is a pre-requisite for developing robust ecosystem models and this accompanies a great deal of well coordinated efforts among field-going ecologists, laboratory scientists, modelers, stake-holders and managers. This report aims to provide a brief introduction on two different approaches in marine ecological models: deterministic (mechanistic) and stochastic (statistical) approach. We also included definitions, historical overview of past researches, case studies, and contextual suggestions for coastal management in Korea. A long list of references this report included in this study might be used as an introductory material for those who wish to enter ecosystem modelling field.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.158-172
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• 2022

The distribution of seabirds was investigated in 24-34 major coastal wetlands in Korea from 2015 to 2019. During the study period, seven orders, 16 families, and 111 species were observed, and the largest number of species (51-89 species) was recorded in 2018. 92,821-265,783 individuals per year were observed with the largest number in 2018. The largest number of species (55-72 species) was observed in the southern sites of Jeollado, and the largest number of individuals (annual average of 62,542 individuals) was found in Chungcheong regions. The largest number of seabird species (68 species) was observed at the Suncheon Bay site in 2016, and the largest number of individuals (95,399 individuals) was observed at Biin and Jangan sites in 2018. In terms of the habitat type of seabirds, at the family level, shorebirds appeared most frequently with an average of 38%, followed by waterfowl, wading birds, seabirds, and raptors. With regard to legally protected species, eight protected marine species, 19 endangered wildlife species (Level I: six species, Level II: 13 species), and twelve natural monument species were observed. Overall, there was a significant difference in the number of species and individuals of seabirds in the Korean coastal wetlands during the research period. This suggests the importance of conducting systematic and continuous seabird surveys and developing a conservation policy considering habitat characteristics.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.249-260
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• 2022

This mini review examines the habitat connectivity and effectiveness of Korean Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the Yellow Sea Large Marine Ecosystem (YSLME) region. We first reemphasize that the Korean region of the YSLME is a single ecosystem (ecoregion) given the biophysical distribution patterns. The MPAs within the YSLME contribute about 50% to the total MPAs in Korea, accounting for about 10% of the territorial sea waters of Korea and 20% of the waters of YSLME on the Korean side. By area, national parks account for nearly 45% of the MPAs, followed by the wetland protected areas at 25%, with other types of MPA comprising the remaining 30%. Large MPA (> 100 km²) is the dominant type of MPA, accounting for 90% of the total area. We find that MPAs in the region are connected physically and perhaps also genetically. However, the level of protection was found to be low, and a no-take zone is rarely implemented. In addition, interrupted freshwater discharge caused by river-mouth dams poses a major hindrance to the physical connectivity of the MPAs. Restoration of the river-mouth dams and strengthened regulation on MPAs, with further expansion of MPAs in line with the current development of post-2020 global biodiversity frameworks, should be priorities for better management of marine resources. The newly revised law incorporating the concept of "Marine Ecosystem Axis Management" would reinforce the processes, and their effectiveness together with overall management of MPAs in Korea should be evaluated by designing appropriate measurement tools.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.194-207
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• 2021

It is necessary to assess and manage the different elements of the marine ecosystem, such as climate change, habitat, primary and secondary production, energy flow, food web, potential yield, and fishing, to maintain the health of the ecosystem as well as support sustainable development of fishery. We set up an ecosystem model around the Korean peninsula to produce scientific predictions necessary for the assessment and management of marine ecosystems and presented the usability of the model with scenario experiments. We used the Atlantis ecosystem model based on the marine food web; Atlantis is a three-dimensional end-to-end model that includes the information and processes within an entire system, from an abiotic environment to human activity. We input the ecological and biological parameters, such as growth, mortality, spawning, recruitment, and migration, to the Atlantis model via functional groups using existing research and local measurements. During the simulation period (2018-2019), we confirmed that the model reproduced the observed data reasonably and reflected the actual ecosystem characteristics appropriately. We thus identified the usability of a marine ecosystem model with experiments on different environmental change scenarios.