Course Catalogue

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This final year course will allow the participants to explore the complex issues involved in managing human activities in the sea. They will be provided with opportunities to learn technical information about how fisheries, aquaculture and conservation work, and hear from the people who work in these fields. Through field trips they will see first-hand how the sea is used in practice.

This option is assigned to block Semester 2-C. There are normally 1 x 2-hour and 1 x 1-hour sessions on Thursdays, with a full day field trip on a day to be agreed with the partners being visited. 

Normally, only available to final-year Life Sciences students in an Animal Biology programme. Visiting students may be allowed to enrol, at the discretion of the Life Sciences Chief Adviser and the Course Coordinator.

None

The course will be assessed by a 2-hour examination (70%) and in-course assessment consisting of a Marine Spatial Plan (30%).

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. Where, exceptionally, reassessment on Honours courses is required to satisfy professional/accreditation requirements, only the overall course grade achieved at the first attempt will contribute to the Honours classification. For non-Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below. 

This course aims to develop knowledge and understanding of contemporary issues in marine ecosystem management and to develop analytical skills to prepare students for careers in fisheries, aquaculture and conservation

By the end of this course, students will be able to: 

■ Critically evaluate the costs and benefits of different uses of the marine environment, in particular fisheries and aquaculture;

■ Critically evaluate approaches to the conservation of marine biodiversity and the management of wild fisheries;

■ Critically evaluate economic approaches to conservation and management problems;

■ Discuss the Scottish, UK and EU legislation, and international agreements to which we are signatories;

■ Design marine spatial management schemes balancing competing uses;

■ Discuss the concepts of sustainability and ecosystem services in the context of aquaculture and fisheries management.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.