Yellow Sea and East China Seareported by PICES

and Korean Monitoring program

Chul ParkChungnam National University

Feburuary 21-23, 2012chulpark@cnu.ac.kr

Contents

Introduction of North Pacific Ecosystem Status Report

Briefing of the chapter on Yellow Sea and East China Sea

Korean Monitoring Program

Items to be considered for the Regular Process

Global International Waters Assessment

GIWA report (2006)published by the UNEP in collaboration with GEF, the Univ. of Kalmar and the Municipality of Kalmar, Sweden, and theGovernments of Sweden, Finland, and Norway.

CITATIONUNEP, 2006. Challenges to International Waters – Regional Assessments in a

GlobalPerspective. United Nations Environment Programme, Nairobi, Kenya.

GIWA report

Large Marine Ecosystem Report

LME report (2009)

Coordinated by UNEP Regional Seas Programme and the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from land-based Activities in the Hague, Netherlands.GEF and NOAA also involved.

CITATIONSheman, K. Hempel, G. (Editors) 2009. The UNEP Large Marine Ecosystem Report: A perspective on changing conditions in LMEs of the world’s Regional Seas. UNEP Regional Seas Report and Studies No. 182. United Nations Environment Programme. Nairobi, Kenya.

LME report

Marine Ecosystems of the North Pacific Ocean 2003-2008

Referred as NPESRNorth Pacific Ecosystem Status Report

1st version was published in 2004result of working group activityedited by I. Perry and 7 scientists

2nd version was published this yearwith slight modification in format,edited by Stewart M. McKinnell and

Michael J. Dagg

Marine Ecosystems of the North Pacific Ocean 2003-2008

2nd version

SynthesisOceanicCalifornia CurrentAlaska currentBering SeaSea of OkhotskOyashioKuroshioYellow Sea/East China SeaReferences

Contents of NPESR

1st version

SynthesisOcean and climate changesYellow Sea/East China SeaJapan/East SeaOkhotsk SeaOyashio/KuroshioWestern Subartic GyreBering SeaGulf of AlaskaCalifornia CurrentGulf of CaliforniaTransition ZoneTunaPacific HalibutPacific SalmonReferences

Marine Ecosystems of the North Pacific Ocean 2003-2008

2nd version

highlightsIntroductionAtmosphere and HydrologyPhysical and Chemical Ocean PhytoplanktonZooplanktonFishes and InvertebratesMarine Birds and MammalsBenthosReferences

Chapter formats (Yellow Sea and East China Sea)

1st version

highlightsbackgroundStatus and Trends

HydrographyChemistryPlanktonBenthosFish and invertebratesMarine Birds and Mammals

issuescritical factors causing change

(References integrated at the end)

Marine Ecosystems of the North Pacific Ocean 2003-2008

highlightsIntroduction2.0 Atmosphere and Hydrology

2.1 Wind and pressure2.2 Precipitation and hydrology

3.0 Physical and Chemical Ocean 3.1 Hydrography3.2 Water properties

4.0 Phytoplankton4.1 Light4.2 Phytoplankton

5.0 Zooplankton6.0 Fishes and Invertebrates7.0 Marine Birds and Mammals8.0 BenthosReferences

Chapter on Yellow Sea and East China Sea

lead author: Sinjae YooMarine Living Resources DivisionKorea Ocean Research and Development Institute Ansan, Republic of Korea

Marine Ecosystems of the North Pacific Ocean 2003-2008

1. Introductionshape of the sea (area, depth),circulation pattern, water masses,productivity, species numbers,human activities, etc.

2. Atmosphere and hydrologywind and pressureprecipitation

Yellow and East China Sea

Marine Ecosystems of the North Pacific Ocean 2003-2008

Yellow and East China Sea

3. Physical and Chemical Ocean

3.1 hydrographySeawater temperatures

3.2 Water propertiesOxygen and pHNutrientsOrganic sedimentationContaminants

The long-term trend of the temperature in April at the surface and 50 m in: (a) central Yellow Sea, (b) shelf of northern East China Sea, and (c) Tsushima Current area. The data were taken bimonthly at the stations of Korea Oceanographic Data Center (http://kodc.nfrdi.re.kr/page?id=eng_index) .

Marine Ecosystems of the North Pacific Ocean 2003-2008

Yellow and East China Sea

Surface distribution of salinity and horizontal distributions of Dissolved Inorganic Nitrate (DIN), phosphate and silicate (all in μM) in the upper water of the YS and the ECS in August 1998 (adapted from Wang et al. 2003).

Yellow and East China Sea

Long-term trend of the nutrients along a transect across 36°N in the Yellow Sea.(a) Dissolved Inorganic Nitrate (DIN), (b) phosphates, (c) silicates, (d) N:P ratio. Modified from Lin et al. (2005).

Marine Ecosystems of the North Pacific Ocean 2003-2008

Marine Ecosystems of the North Pacific Ocean 2003-2008

Yellow and East China Sea

4. Phytoplankton

4.1 light

4.2 Phytoplanktonspecies numberchlorophyll distributionharmful algal bloom events

Distribution of phytoplankton species numbers in the Yellow Sea, September 1992 (J.-H. Noh, unpublished data).

Changes in the satellite chlorophyll a in the central region of the Yellow Sea.

Marine Ecosystems of the North Pacific Ocean 2003-2008

Yellow and East China Sea

4. Phytoplankton

4.2 Phytoplankton

harmful algal bloom events

Frequency of algal blooms along the Chinese and Korean coasts inthe Yellow Sea during 1999-2008.

Marine Ecosystems of the North Pacific Ocean 2003-2008

Yellow and East China Sea

4. Phytoplankton

Number and area of HAB occurrences in the Chinese coastal areas on the southern East China Sea shelf including the Changjiang River vicinity during 1980-2004. Adaptedfrom Tang et al. (2006).

Marine Ecosystems of the North Pacific Ocean 2003-2008

Yellow and East China Sea5. Zooplankton

Biomass

Standardized (SCOR-WG 125) time series of monthly zooplankton biomass (ln[mg·m-3) in the eastern Yellow Sea. Small circles indicate missing data. See Kang et al. (2009) for further details of the analysis.

Marine Ecosystems of the North Pacific Ocean 2003-2008

Yellow and East China Sea5. Zooplankton

Biomass

Seasonal and interannual comparison of copepods, euphausiids, amphipods and chaetognaths in the eastern Yellow Sea.

Marine Ecosystems of the North Pacific Ocean 2003-2008

Yellow and East China Sea5. Zooplankton

Biomass

Seasonal and interannual comparison of copepods, euphausiids, amphipods and chaetognaths in the northern East China Sea.

Marine Ecosystems of the North Pacific Ocean 2003-2008

Yellow and East China Sea6. Fishes and Invertebrates

List of major commercial species

Demersal and semi-demersal fishes

Common Name SpeciesSmall yellow croaker Pseudosciaena polyactisHairtail Trichiurus lepturusFilefish Stephanolepis cirrhiferPomfret Pampus argenteusCorvenias Collichthys niveatusLarge yellow croaker Pseudosciaena croceaWhite croaker Argyrosomus argentatusBrown croaker Miichths miiuyRoundnose flounder Eopsetta grigorjewiBastard halibut Paralichthys olivaceusCommon seabass Epinephelus septemfasciatusPacific cod Gadus macrocephalusPuffers TetraodontidaeSharptoothed eel Muraenesox cinereusRed seabream Pagrus majorSea-devil Lophiomus setigerusBigeyed herring Herklotsichthys zunasiRockfish Sebastes inermisFlathead Platycephalus indicusSkateray Raja kenojei

Marine Ecosystems of the North Pacific Ocean 2003-2008

Yellow and East China Sea6. Fishes and Invertebrates

List of major commercial species (3 categories)

Pelagic fishes

Common Name SpeciesAnchovy Engraulis japonicaSardine Sardinops melanostictusPacific herring Clupea pallasiiCommon mackerel Scomber japonicusHorse mackerel Trachurus japonicusSpanish mackerel Scomberomorus niphonius

Shellfish

Common Name SpeciesCuttlefish Sepia esculentaBlue crab Portunus trituberculatusLarge shrimp Penaeus orientalisCommon squid Todarodes pacificus

Marine Ecosystems of the North Pacific Ocean 2003-2008

Yellow and East China Sea

6. Fishes and Invertebrates

Catch data for major target fisheries

Long-term trend in the catch by Korean fisheries in the Yellow Sea (YS), East China Sea (ECS) and the sum of the two seas (YES).

Marine Ecosystems of the North Pacific Ocean 2003-2008

Yellow and East China Sea

6. Fishes and Invertebrates

Trends in catch efforts

Long-term trend of effort by Korean fisheries in the Yellow Sea (YS) and the East China Sea (ECS).

Marine Ecosystems of the North Pacific Ocean 2003-2008

Yellow and East China Sea

6. Fishes and Invertebrates

Changes in trophic levels

Mean trophic level of the fisheries catch in the Yellow Sea. It increased in 2003-2008 period due to increased catch of demersals and cephalopods.

Marine Ecosystems of the North Pacific Ocean 2003-2008

Yellow and East China Sea

6. Fishes and Invertebrates

Changes in trophic levels

Mean trophic level of the fisheries catch in the East China Sea. Although it has decreased in the long term, it is similar in 1997-2002 and 2003-2008.

Marine Ecosystems of the North Pacific Ocean 2003-2008

Yellow and East China Sea

7. Marine Birds and Mammals7.1 Pinnipeds

7.2 CetaceansMinke whale numbers

7.3 Seabirds

Census of spotted seal (Phoca larga) around Bak-ryoung island in 2000 to 2002 and 2006 to 2008.

Annual fluctuation in the number of species and individuals of wintering populations of water birds in South Korea.

Marine Ecosystems of the North Pacific Ocean 2003-2008

Yellow and East China Sea

8. Benthos

Composition and abundance at higher categories (zoobenthos)

Macrobenthos in the central Yellow Sea: total species composition in winter and summer 2008.

Comparison of macrobenthos abundance (ind.·m-2) in the central Yellow Sea in 1999-2000 and 2008.

Marine Ecosystems of the North Pacific Ocean 2003-2008

Highlights

�� The Yellow Sea and East China Sea have undergone drastic changes in the past decades (species shifts, outbreaks of HABs, jellyfish blooms, macroalgal blooms, eutrophication, appearance of an hypoxic area).

����Changjiang River discharge has been reduced with an accompanying impact onecosystem productivity and structure in the vicinity of the river mouth.

��The most prominent pressures to the ecosystem in the past decades were overfishing, eutrophication and disturbances in the freshwater budget.

��A recent survey indicates that the volume of the Yellow Sea Bottom Cold Wateris reduced. ��A complicated network of pressures, anthropogenic as well as natural, is at work in these ecosystems.

These changes are expected to have a significant impact on the resource utilization of the Yellow Sea and East China Sea.

Yellow and East China Sea

Korean Monitoring Program

Responsible AdministrationMinistry of Environment(MOE) since 1994Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries(MOMAF) since 1996Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs(MLTM) since 2008

Three Major Programs +Serial Oceanographic ObservationCoastal Environmental MonitoringMarine Ecosystem Investigation

+ HAB monitoring, Jellyfish monitoringFixed real time oceanographic observation tower (station)

Outline- 1921 ~ Present (NFRDI)- Station number: 208 stations- Survey period: Bi-monthly or

Seasonally- Parameters: Water Temperature,

Salinity, DO, Nutrients, Chlorophyll a, Phytoplankton, Zooplankton etc.

Korean Monitoring Program

Serial Oceanographic Observation

Korean Monitoring Program

Coastal Environmental Monitoring

Sampling station number : 296 - offshore : 40, coastal area : 256

Sampling period : Seasonal survey- offshore : Summer

Result service : Website and reports

Scientific committee : Annual meeting

Korean Monitoring Program

Coastal Environmental Monitoring

Required monitoring components

General items SST, Salinity, pH, DO, COD, TN, TP, NO2 - N, NO3 -N, NH4 - N, PO4 - P, SS, Oil & Grease

Trace metal Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd, Cr+6, total Hg, As, CNSEAWATER

Organic contaminants PCBs, TBT

General items Particle size, IL, AVS, COD

Trace metal Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd, Cr+6, total Hg, As, CNSEDIMENT

Organic contaminants PCBs, TBT, Pesticides, PAHs, PCDDs/DFs

General items Chl a

Trace metal Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd, Cr+6, total Hg, As, CNORGANISM

Organic contaminants PCBs, TBT, Pesticides, PAHs, PCDDs/DFs

Ecosystem componentsPhytoplankton, Zooplankton, Benthic algae, Benthic animal, Fishes, Marine Birds and mammalsProtozoansEnvironmental factors

Every 10 years by Law

Designation of Marine Protected Area

Korean Monitoring Program

Marine Ecosystem Investigation

B1

B2

B3

B4

B5

B6

Format of the report

Definition of the Target area (at Sea level)Sulu Sea, Bay of Bengal, Gulf of Thailand, South China Sea, Yellow Sea,

Subdivision of the sea ?? (Habitat type)Widespread Habitats (seafloor and water column):

Coastal areas, Continental Shelves and slopes, Open Ocean Deep-Sea, Enclosed and Semi-enclosed seas

Specialised habitats:Coral (and other biogenic) reefs, Estuaries and deltas,Mangroves and other macro-vegetation areas,Seamounts, CanyonsOceans and seas covered in ice for much of the year, Hydrothermal ventsKelp forests

To be considered for future reporting

Decision of items to be included in the reportGeneral feature of the sea areaGeological aspects, atmospheric conditions, Physical, chemical properties of the sea,Biological components

Data collectionkinds, format, space-time scale, degree of precision etc.

Contact pointsshared sea area

Description style

To be considered for future reporting