13:00

Introduction to ICES and SIIECS
Taraneh Westergerling, SIIECS member  

Presentations followed by feedback sessions

Long-term growth rate changes in two populations of west coast steenbras (Lithognathus aureti) in the northern benguela
Angelika Mba​​zuvirua Veii, Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources Namibia (MFMR), University of Namibia (UNAM)   

​13:25
Marine Prosperity Areas: Integrating conservation and socio-economic well-being for ocean sustainability
Angela Solanilla, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego 

​13:40
Approaches to understanding and monitoring sources, distribution, and fates of plastic waste generated on the Peruvian coast (Poster)
Sara Purca, Instituto del Mar del Peru (IMARPE)

​13:50
Wrap up
Taraneh Westergerling, SIIECS member 

Otolith biochronologies allow us to reconstruct long-term growth series from otoliths in the absence of the collection of past biological data and assess the response of marine fish populations to environmental variability and fishing pressure simultaneously. With Namibian water being home to the highly environmentally variable Benguela current system – which is impacting individual physiology, growth, and survival of the marine species in this area – it is essential to document the physiological responses of species within this area to be able to predict potential consequences of climate change. Endemic to southern Africa, west coast steenbras faces over-exploitation due to slow growth, late maturation, and protandrous hermaphroditism. Updated biological data vital for its conservation, especially as the second-most-important shore-angling species in Namibia, are essential for understanding its response to environmental variability. Otolith samples were collected from fish caught by anglers off the shore of Namibia. The 44-year BLUP, developed from mixed linear models of mean annual growth (mm) calculated from 1 491 increment measurements from 158 fish, was compared to sea surface temperature (SST) and upwelling (wind) indices as well as annual catch-per-unit effort and total catches to indicate which factors significantly influence growth variation of West coast steenbras. There was a positive correlation between the growth rate and SST from south and central areas in February to April, and March to May, respectively. For the upwelling index, a positive correlation was observed for the northern and central regions during June and July (Winter) and a negative correlation for the southern region during February. There was no relation with southern oscillation index or steenbras CPUE. Thus, it can be concluded that SST and upwelling are impacting the growth of west coast steenbras.​

Bio: Angelika is a fisheries research technician at the MFMR (UNAM). She is in her final year of her Master's of Science in Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, doing her research project on Age and Growth of a linefish species. She is still to submit her thesis and defend it, hence would like to practice and get rid of the presentation jitters before that.

Marine Prosperity Areas: Integrating conservation and socio-economic well-being for ocean sustainability​

Angela Solanilla, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego

This event will announce the creation of an alliance to establish a network of 10 Marine Prosperity Areas (MPpAs) over the next 10 years to support 100 coastal communities in the Gulf of California. The discussion will explore how MPpAs integrate conservation with socio-economic development, drawing from successful case studies in Mexico.

Bio: Angela is an economist and policy expert dedicated to ocean conservation and climate action. With a background in environmental economics, she has worked across government, academia, and international organizations to promote sustainable growth and responsible resource management.

​​​​​