Progress on Implementing Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management in the United States Through the Use of Ecosystem Models and Analysis

Howard Townsend,Sarah Gaichas,Chris J Harvey,Stephani G Zador,Isaac C Kaplan,Yvonne Dereynier,Mariska Weijerman,Dawn Davis,Elliott L Hazen

doi:10.3389/fmars.2019.00641

Abstract

Worldwide fisheries management has been undergoing a paradigm shift from a single-species approach to ecosystem approaches. In the U.S., NOAA has adopted a policy statement and Road Map to guide the development and implementation of ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM). NOAA’s EBFM policy supports addressing the ecosystem interconnections to help maintain resilient and productive ecosystems, even as they respond to climate, habitat, ecological, and social and economic changes. Managing natural marine resources while taking into account their interactions with their environment and our human interactions with our resources and environment requires the support of ecosystem science, modeling, and analysis. Implementing EBFM will require using existing mandates and approaches that fit regional management structures and cultures. The primary mandate for managing marine fisheries in the U.S. is the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Many tenets of the Act align well with the EBFM policy; however, incorporating ecosystem analysis and models into fisheries management processes has faced procedural challenges in many jurisdictions. In this paper, we review example cases where scientists have had success in using ecosystem analysis and modeling to inform management priorities, and identify practices that help bring new ecosystem science information into existing policy processes.

Highlights

Worldwide thinking on fisheries management priorities has been moving away from the mid-20th century paradigm of fishing down our fish stocks with the expectation that we can achieve maximum sustainable yield from all stocks in all ecosystems simultaneously (Larkin, 1996; Link, 2018)
The ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM) Policy defines EBFM to the FAO’s definition for the ecosystem approach to fisheries: “a systematic approach to fisheries management in a geographically specified area that contributes to the resilience and sustainability of the ecosystem; recognizes the physical, biological, economic, and social interactions among the affected fishery-related components of the ecosystem, including humans; and seeks to optimize benefits among a diverse set of societal goals” (NOAA, 2016)
Regardless of the particular definition of an ecosystem approach to fisheries or EBFM, managing natural marine resources while taking into account their interactions with their environment and our human interactions with our resources and environment requires the support of ecosystem science

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Worldwide thinking on fisheries management priorities has been moving away from the mid-20th century paradigm of fishing down our fish stocks with the expectation that we can achieve maximum sustainable yield from all stocks in all ecosystems simultaneously (Larkin, 1996; Link, 2018). Models were developed by PIFSC scientists in collaboration with scientists from UH, the United States federal Environmental Protection Agency, Gulf Ecology Division, Oregon State University for HIReefSim, and with staff from The Nature Conservancy and DAR for EwE In both cases, the developed models were used as examples of how ecosystem models can be used as decision support tools in the face of climate change by quantifying socio-ecological tradeoffs of alternative fisheries and land-based management policies. DAR’s positive reception of the regional ecosystem models, provides a useful example of how to incorporate ecosystem models into the decision making process and will facilitate the ongoing discussion between UH, PIFSC and DAR about “effective” coastline management into the future For this final case study, we return to the fishery management council process to look at bycatch minimization off the United States West Coast (Figure 7). While this case study illustrates successful development of an ecosystem model and tools appropriate to fisheries management, it shows that management processes often face challenges to using ecological models that are not at all associated with the quality or utility of the models themselves

Findings

DISCUSSION

CONCLUSION