Implementing the ecosystem approach in Australian Commonwealth (federally) - managed fisheries.

Abstract

AbstractIn the 5 years since the 2001 Iceland conference on 'Responsible Fisheries in the Marine Ecosystem', Australia developed, researched and made good progress on implementing many of the elements of an ecosystem approach to fisheries management. However, it was in early 2007 that the integration of all the relevant elements of the ecosystem approach would take place for Australia's 21 Commonwealth-managed fisheries. It is noteworthy that the decision to do this was effectively a major policy decision of the Australian Government, with significant inputs from science, fishery management and industry. The main elements of the approach include: implementing formal harvest strategies for target and by-product stocks in every fishery; undertaking fishery-level ecological risk assessments (ERAs) and developing an ecological risk management response; implementing large-scale spatial management (via both fisheries regulation and conservation-oriented MPAs); enhancement of fisheries data collection and management; and enhancing liaison and communication capacity for the EBFM approach. In particular, the ecological risk assessments will guide fishery-level priorities for research, data collection and management. These assessments identify the level of risk of causing undesirable impacts to all components of the marine ecosystem in each fishery, including species, habitats and ecological communities. The ERA methodology we have developed can be applied in both data-rich and data-poor fisheries, and uses a hierarchical approach that moves from qualitative through to a fully quantitative assessment. This chapter will provide an overview of the policy development and implementation approach being taken, as well as examples of how the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA), with scientific support from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), is implementing ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM) in Australian fisheries.