scholarly journals Ecological data from observer programmes underpin ecosystem-based fisheries management

2017 ◽  
Vol 74 (6) ◽  
pp. 1481-1495 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Gilman ◽  
Mariska Weijerman ◽  
Petri Suuronen
Keyword(s):  
Fisheries Management ◽  
Mortality Data ◽  
Ecological Communities ◽  
Target Species ◽  
Ecological Data ◽  
Ecosystem Models ◽  
Management Measures ◽  
Ecological Risk Assessments ◽  
Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management ◽  
Data Requirements

Abstract Data required from fisheries monitoring programmes substantially expand as management authorities transition to implement elements of ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM). EBFM extends conventional approaches of managing single fishery effects on individual stocks of target species by taking into account the effects, within a defined ecosystem, of local to regional fisheries on biodiversity, from genotypes to ecological communities. This includes accounting for fishery effects on evolutionary processes, associated and dependent species, habitats, trophic food web processes, and functionally linked systems. Despite seemingly insurmountable constraints, through examples, we demonstrate how data routinely collected in most observer programmes and how minor and inexpensive expansions of observer data fields and collection protocols supply ecological data underpinning EBFM. Observer data enable monitoring bycatch, including catch and mortality of endangered, threatened and protected species, and assessing the performance of bycatch management measures. They provide a subset of inputs for ecological risk assessments, including productivity–susceptibility analyses and multispecies and ecosystem models. Observer data are used to monitor fishery effects on habitat and to identify and protect benthic vulnerable marine ecosystems. They enable estimating collateral sources of fishing mortality. Data from observer programmes facilitate monitoring ecosystem pressure and state indicators. The examples demonstrate how even rudimentary fisheries management systems can meet the ecological data requirements of elements of EBFM.

scholarly journals A Case Study in Connecting Fisheries Management Challenges With Models and Analysis to Support Ecosystem-Based Management in the California Current Ecosystem

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Desiree Tommasi ◽  
Yvonne deReynier ◽  
Howard Townsend ◽  
Chris J. Harvey ◽  
William H. Satterthwaite ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fisheries Management ◽  
West Coast ◽  
California Current ◽  
Fishing Communities ◽  
Target Species ◽  
Ecosystem Models ◽  
Protected Species ◽  
Forage Species ◽  
The U.S

One of the significant challenges to using information and ideas generated through ecosystem models and analyses for ecosystem-based fisheries management is the disconnect between modeling and management needs. Here we present a case study from the U.S. West Coast, the stakeholder review of NOAA’s annual ecosystem status report for the California Current Ecosystem established by the Pacific Fisheries Management Council’s Fisheries Ecosystem Plan, showcasing a process to identify management priorities that require information from ecosystem models and analyses. We then assess potential ecosystem models and analyses that could help address the identified policy concerns. We screened stakeholder comments and found 17 comments highlighting the need for ecosystem-level synthesis. Policy needs for ecosystem science included: (1) assessment of how the environment affects productivity of target species to improve forecasts of biomass and reference points required for setting harvest limits, (2) assessment of shifts in the spatial distribution of target stocks and protected species to anticipate changes in availability and the potential for interactions between target and protected species, (3) identification of trophic interactions to better assess tradeoffs in the management of forage species between the diet needs of dependent predators, the resilience of fishing communities, and maintenance of the forage species themselves, and (4) synthesis of how the environment affects efficiency and profitability in fishing communities, either directly via extreme events (e.g., storms) or indirectly via climate-driven changes in target species availability. We conclude by exemplifying an existing management process established on the U.S. West Coast that could be used to enable the structured, iterative, and interactive communication between managers, stakeholders, and modelers that is key to refining existing ecosystem models and analyses for management use.

Ecosystem Considerations in Fisheries Management: Theory and Practice

2005 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 381-422 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Parsons
Keyword(s):  
Fisheries Management ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Ecosystem Approach ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Target Species ◽  
Management Measures ◽  
Species Analysis ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Fishing Fleets ◽  
Management Approaches

AbstractThis article examines recent developments with respect to the development and application of an ecosystem approach in marine fisheries management. A number of international fisheries legal instruments now include explicit references to ecosystem considerations. While there has been general agreement on the need to take ecosystem considerations into account, there is no clarity or consensus on how this can best be done. Various definitions of an ecosystem approach emphasise that the focus must be on managing the human activities, which are part of, and impact on, marine ecosystems. An ecosystem approach is neither inconsistent with, nor a replacement for, existing fisheries management approaches—it is not a panacea for the problems confronting world fisheries. Realistically, we can only move to an ecosystem approach incrementally, starting with more rigorous/cautious application and extension of single species methods. A key element of any ecosystem approach will likely be to set harvest rates for target species at even lower conservative levels than might be suggested by single species analysis. Fisheries management measures should also ensure the protection not only of target species, but also of non-target, associated or dependent species. Reducing the killing power of the world's fishing fleets is an essential component of ecosystem-based fisheries management.

scholarly journals Reply to Andersen et al. (2016) “Assumptions behind size-based ecosystem models are realistic”

2016 ◽  
Vol 73 (6) ◽  
pp. 1656-1658 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rainer Froese ◽  
Carl Walters ◽  
Daniel Pauly ◽  
Henning Winker ◽  
Olaf L. F. Weyl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fisheries Management ◽  
Real World ◽  
Size Spectrum ◽  
Marine Science ◽  
Ecosystem Models ◽  
Guiding Principle ◽  
Fishing Strategies ◽  
Erroneous Statement ◽  
Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management ◽  
Short Section

Abstract In a recent publication (Froese et al., ICES Journal of Marine Science; 73: 1640–1650), we presented a critique of the balanced harvesting (BH) approach to fishing. A short section dealt with the size-spectrum models used to justify BH, wherein we pointed out the lack of realism of these models, which mostly represented ecosystems as consisting of a single cannibalistic species. Andersen et al. (ICES Journal of Marine Science; 73: 1651–1655) commented on our paper and suggested that we criticized size-spectrum models in general and that we supposedly made several erroneous statements. We stress that we only referred to the size-spectrum models that we cited, and we respond to each supposedly erroneous statement. We still believe that the size-spectrum models used to justify BH were highly unrealistic and not suitable for evaluating real-world fishing strategies. We agree with Andersen et al. that BH is unlikely to be a useful guiding principle for ecosystem-based fisheries management, for many reasons. The use of unrealistic models is one of them.

scholarly journals Developing an operational reference framework for fisheries management on the basis of a two-dimensional index of ecosystem impact

2005 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 585-591 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergi Tudela ◽  
Marta Coll ◽  
Isabel Palomera
Keyword(s):  
Fisheries Management ◽  
Canonical Discriminant Analysis ◽  
Factorial Correspondence Analysis ◽  
Ecological Indices ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Quantitative Index ◽  
Ecosystem Models ◽  
Reference Framework ◽  
Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management ◽  
Reference Functions

Abstract A composite quantitative index for the percentage of primary production required to sustain fisheries and the average trophic level of catch (%PPR–TLc) was employed to develop ecosystem-based reference functions suitable for fisheries management. Established ecosystem models, characterized by pairs of %PPR–TLc, were classified as either sustainably exploited or ecosystem overfished, on the basis of the results of factorial correspondence analysis applied to selected ecological indices, and on information from various sources. Canonical discriminant analysis of these pairs was applied to establish the discriminant function to separate the two exploitation classes. Next, reference functions related to different probabilities of ecosystem overfishing were developed to obtain an operational framework for ecosystem-based fisheries management. Values of ecosystem-based maximum sustainable catches associated with different probabilities of belonging to a sustainable situation were calculated. Overall, results show that most current fishing scenarios entail high risks of ecosystem overfishing.

scholarly journals The isotopic niche of Atlantic, biting marine mammals and its relationship to skull morphology and body size

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Massimiliano Drago ◽  
Marco Signaroli ◽  
Meica Valdivia ◽  
Enrique M. González ◽  
Asunción Borrell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Fisheries Management ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Trophic Position ◽  
Sympatric Species ◽  
Isotopic Niche ◽  
Apex Predators ◽  
Skull Morphology ◽  
Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management

AbstractUnderstanding the trophic niches of marine apex predators is necessary to understand interactions between species and to achieve sustainable, ecosystem-based fisheries management. Here, we review the stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios for biting marine mammals inhabiting the Atlantic Ocean to test the hypothesis that the relative position of each species within the isospace is rather invariant and that common and predictable patterns of resource partitioning exists because of constrains imposed by body size and skull morphology. Furthermore, we analyze in detail two species-rich communities to test the hypotheses that marine mammals are gape limited and that trophic position increases with gape size. The isotopic niches of species were highly consistent across regions and the topology of the community within the isospace was well conserved across the Atlantic Ocean. Furthermore, pinnipeds exhibited a much lower diversity of isotopic niches than odontocetes. Results also revealed body size as a poor predictor of the isotopic niche, a modest role of skull morphology in determining it, no evidence of gape limitation and little overlap in the isotopic niche of sympatric species. The overall evidence suggests limited trophic flexibility for most species and low ecological redundancy, which should be considered for ecosystem-based fisheries management.

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