Utilizing Ecosystem Concepts in Fisheries Management Strategies

Author(s):  
K.D. Lynch ◽  
W.W. Taylor ◽  
J.M. Robertson ◽  
K.D. Smith
2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brady K. Quinn ◽  
Joël Chassé ◽  
Rémy Rochette

We used a bio-physical model to estimate for the first time the effect of larval drift on potential connectivity among American lobster (Homarus americanus) fisheries management areas over the geographic range of the species. The model predicted drift of larvae over distances of 50-805 km (mean = 129 km), which connected many management areas and caused marked spatial heterogeneity in retention and self-seeding versus export and import of larvae by different fisheries areas. Including mortality functions in the model resulted in less drift and settlement, and had complex effects on the amount, but not the incidence, of potential connectivity among fisheries. The model’s predictions received support from comparison of predicted settlement to landings six or seven years later in some (but not all) parts of the model domain. Although improvements are still needed to capture larval behaviours and spatial variability in larval release and mortality across the species’ range, this information is important to lobster fisheries management because the amount and direction of connectivity between fisheries can inform cooperative management strategies to sustain interconnected fisheries.


2013 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 768-781 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Marchal ◽  
Youen Vermard

Abstract Marchal, P., and Vermard, Y. 2013. Evaluating deepwater fisheries management strategies using a mixed-fisheries and spatially explicit modelling framework. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 70: 768–781. We have used in this study a spatially explicit bioeconomic modelling framework to evaluate management strategies, building in both data-rich and data-limited harvest control rules (HCRs), for a mix of deepwater fleets and species, on which information is variable. The main focus was on blue ling (Molva dypterygia). For that species, both data-rich and data-limited HCRs were tested, while catch per unit effort (CPUE) was used either to tune stock assessments, or to directly trigger management action. There were only limited differences between the performances of both HCRs when blue ling biomass was initialized at the current level, but blue ling recovered more quickly with the data-rich HCR when its initial biomass was severely depleted. Both types of HCR lead, on average, to a long-term recovery of both blue ling and saithe (Pollachius virens) stocks, and some increase in overall profit. However, that improvement is not sufficient to guarantee sustainable exploitation with a high probability. Blue ling CPUE did not always adequately reflect trends in biomass, which mainly resulted from fleet dynamics, possibly in combination with density-dependence. The stock dynamics of roundnose grenadier (Coryphaenoides rupestris), black scabbardfish (Aphanopus carbo) and deepwater sharks (Centrophorus squamosus and Centroscymnus coelolepis) were little affected by the type of HCR chosen to manage blue ling.


2012 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 415-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denis Roy ◽  
Thomas R. Hurlbut ◽  
Daniel E. Ruzzante

Understanding the factors generating patterns of genetic diversity is critical to implementing robust conservation and management strategies for exploited marine species. Yet, often too little is known about population structure to properly tailor management schemes. Here we report evidence of substantial population structure in white hake ( Urophycis tenuis ) in the Northwest Atlantic, perhaps among the highest levels of population structure exhibited by a highly exploited, widely dispersed, long-lived marine fish. We show that depth plays a role in this extensive and temporally stable structure, which does not conform to previously established fisheries management units. Three genetically distinguishable populations were identified, where all straddle several management divisions and two (Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence and Scotian Shelf) overlap in their range, coexisting within a single division. The most highly exploited population in the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence was also the most isolated and likely the smallest (genetically effective). This work shows that conservation and management priorities must include population structure and stability in establishing effective species recovery strategies.


2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rujia Bi ◽  
Yan Jiao ◽  
Can Zhou ◽  
Eric Hallerman

One prerequisite for sustainable fisheries management is to match management actions with biological processes. Stocks are fundamental units for fisheries management. Understanding the spatial structure of fish stocks is critical for conducting defensible stock assessments, applying efficient management strategies, and ensuring the sustainability of fish stocks. Yellow perch (Perca flavescens) is an important fishery in the Great Lakes. The appropriateness of its management units (MUs) has been identified as of high concern by the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission. Here we established integrated nested Laplace approximations and stochastic partial differential equations as two powerful tools for modeling spatiotemporal patterns of fish relative biomass. These fast computational approaches were applied to fit a Bayesian hierarchical hurdle model to occurrence and positive mass of yellow perch caught in gill-net surveys. Yellow perch relative biomass index has clear temporal variation and spatial heterogeneity, with the two middle MUs for yellow perch within Lake Erie merging together. The method explicitly models the spatiotemporal correlation structure inherent in biomass survey data at a reasonable computational cost, and the estimated spatiotemporal correlation informs stock structure.


2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (7) ◽  
pp. 2045-2059 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chuanbo Guo ◽  
Caihong Fu ◽  
Robyn E Forrest ◽  
Norm Olsen ◽  
Huizhu Liu ◽  
...  

Abstract In the context of ecosystem-based fisheries management, which should consider changing and uncertain environmental conditions, the development of ecosystem-based biological reference points (EBRPs) to account for important multi-species (MS) interactions, fishery operations, and climate change, is of paramount importance for sustainable fisheries management. However, EBRPs under varying plankton productivity states and fisheries management strategies are seldom developed, and the ecosystem effects of these changes are still largely unknown. In this study, ecosystem-based FMSY (fishing mortality rate at MSY) values were estimated within an end-to-end ecosystem model (OSMOSE) for three focused fish species (Pacific Herring, Clupea pallasii; Pacific Cod, Gadus macrocephalus; Lingcod, Ophiodon elongatus) under three plankton productivity states of differing plankton biomass at high, current, and low levels. In addition, ecosystem effects were compared across different plankton productivity and fisheries management strategies with the latter consisting of two fishery scenarios (i.e. single-species-focused (SS) and MS-focused), various fishing mortality rates, and two harvest policies (with and without harvest control rules, HCRs). Main findings of this study include: (i) plankton productivity change affected the values of ecosystem-based FMSY, which increased as plankton productivity states changed from low to high plankton biomass; (ii) ecosystem-based FMSY for Pacific Herring and Pacific Cod stocks increased when fishery scenarios shifted from SS-focused to MS-focused; (iii) fisheries management incorporating HCR yielded more stable system catch and system biomass; and (iv) high plankton biomass combined with fisheries management using HCR could maintain stable ecosystem production and sustainable fisheries. Based on our findings, we highlight possible adaptive fisheries management strategies in the face of future climate and ocean changes. Overall, EBRPs complement SS stock assessments by incorporating key ecological processes and ecosystem properties, thus providing supporting evidence for better incorporation of ecosystem considerations into scientific advice for sustainable fisheries management.


2007 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 640-646 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. T. Kell ◽  
I. Mosqueira ◽  
P. Grosjean ◽  
J-M. Fromentin ◽  
D. Garcia ◽  
...  

Abstract Kell, L. T., Mosqueira, I., Grosjean, P., Fromentin, J-M., Garcia, D., Hillary, R., Jardim, E., Mardle, S., Pastoors, M. A., Poos, J. J., Scott, F., and Scott, R. D. 2007. FLR: an open-source framework for the evaluation and development of management strategies. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 64: 640–646. The FLR framework (Fisheries Library for R) is a development effort directed towards the evaluation of fisheries management strategies. The overall goal is to develop a common framework to facilitate collaboration within and across disciplines (e.g. biological, ecological, statistical, mathematical, economic, and social) and, in particular, to ensure that new modelling methods and software are more easily validated and evaluated, as well as becoming widely available once developed. Specifically, the framework details how to implement and link a variety of fishery, biological, and economic software packages so that alternative management strategies and procedures can be evaluated for their robustness to uncertainty before implementation. The design of the framework, including the adoption of object-orientated programming, its feasibility to be extended to new processes, and its application to new management approaches (e.g. ecosystem affects of fishing), is discussed. The importance of open source for promoting transparency and allowing technology transfer between disciplines and researchers is stressed.


2017 ◽  
Vol 74 (10) ◽  
pp. 1549-1563 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brady K. Quinn ◽  
Joël Chassé ◽  
Rémy Rochette

We used a biophysical model to estimate for the first time the effect of larval drift on potential connectivity among American lobster (Homarus americanus) fisheries management areas over the geographic range of the species. The model predicted drift of larvae over distances of 50–805 km (mean = 129 km), which connected many management areas and caused marked spatial heterogeneity in retention and self-seeding versus export and import of larvae by different fisheries areas. Including mortality functions in the model resulted in less drift and settlement and had complex effects on the amount, but not the incidence, of potential connectivity among fisheries. The model’s predictions received support from comparison of predicted settlement to landings 6 or 7 years later in some, but not all, parts of the model domain. Although improvements are still needed to capture larval behaviours and spatial variability in larval release and mortality across the species’ range, this information is important to lobster fisheries management because the amount and direction of connectivity among fisheries can inform cooperative management strategies to sustain interconnected fisheries.


2020 ◽  
Vol 96 (4) ◽  
pp. 617-640
Author(s):  
Andrea Dell'Apa ◽  
Joshua P Kilborn ◽  
William J Harford

Recent global improvements to fisheries sustainability have been made through the adoption of more holistic management frameworks, such as the ecosystem approach to fisheries management (EAFM) and ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM), and a concurrent transition from a focus on single species or stocks to multispecies and ecosystems. In the US, federal and regional fisheries management encompass multiple layers of comprehensive, ecosystem focused management strategies for living marine resources within its network of large marine ecosystems (LMEs). Here, we provide an overview for the US portion of the Gulf of Mexico large marine ecosystem (GOM-LME) by examining multiple aspects of its fishery management scheme through the lenses of EAFM, EBFM, and the integrated ecosystem assessment (IEA) framework that has been used worldwide to advise, inform, and operationalize ecosystem management. The US-GOM's fishery management and ecosystem community appears to be keeping pace with other US regional efforts. However, more tools like fishery ecosystem plans (FEPs), which are conducive to the effective integration of ecosystem considerations into fishery management processes, are needed to inform and guide the work of regional managers, decision-makers, and stakeholders. Therefore, we propose a structured planning process aimed at advancing the development and implementation of a GOM-FEP, and describe two case studies of EAFM and EBFM applications, respectively, that can help to navigate through our proposed planning process. This work offers strategic guidance and insights to support efforts of regional fishery managers to translate ecosystem management principles, approaches, and objectives into an "action oriented" FEP in the GOM-LME.


2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (34) ◽  
pp. e2100695118
Author(s):  
Dustin J. Marshall ◽  
Michael Bode ◽  
Marc Mangel ◽  
Robert Arlinghaus ◽  
E. J. Dick

Marine fisheries are an essential component of global food security, but many are close to their limits and some are overfished. The models that guide the management of these fisheries almost always assume reproduction is proportional to mass (isometry), when fecundity generally increases disproportionately to mass (hyperallometry). Judged against several management reference points, we show that assuming isometry overestimates the replenishment potential of exploited fish stocks by 22% (range: 2% to 78%) for 32 of the world’s largest fisheries, risking systematic overharvesting. We calculate that target catches based on assumptions of isometry are more than double those based on assumptions of hyperallometry for most species, such that common reference points are set twice as high as they should be to maintain the target level of replenishment. We also show that hyperallometric reproduction provides opportunities for increasing the efficacy of tools that are underused in standard fisheries management, such as protected areas or harvest slot limits. Adopting management strategies that conserve large, hyperfecund fish may, in some instances, result in higher yields relative to traditional approaches. We recommend that future assessment of reference points and quotas include reproductive hyperallometry unless there is clear evidence that it does not occur in that species.


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