Ecosystem approach to management: definitions, principles and experiences from implementation in the North Sea.

2009 ◽  
pp. 209-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. R. Skjoldal ◽  
O. A. Misund
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Ecosystem Approach ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea

scholarly journals OSPAR Ecological Quality Objectives: the utility of health indicators for the North Sea

2008 ◽  
Vol 65 (8) ◽  
pp. 1392-1397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Heslenfeld ◽  
E. Lisette Enserink
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
Ecosystem Approach ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Test Case ◽  
Ecological Quality ◽  
Marine Research ◽  
The North ◽  
History Of ◽  
The North Sea

Abstract Heslenfeld, P., and Enserink, E. L. 2008. OSPAR Ecological Quality Objectives: the utility of health indicators for the North Sea. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 65: 1392–1397. Committed to the ecosystem approach to management, OSPAR has accumulated 15 years of experience in developing a conceptual framework for ecological indicators and objectives, and in applying the framework to the North Sea as a test case. These Ecological Quality Objectives (EcoQOs) have become a model for the implementation of the new European Marine Strategy Framework Directive. We describe the history of EcoQO development, its current status, and future needs. We also present our positive and negative experiences in developing the approach, and conclude that regional sea conventions and marine research institutes in Europe should join forces to accelerate the development of ecosystem indicators and objectives, using existing concepts.

Combined analyses reveal environmentally driven changes in the North Sea ecosystem and raise questions regarding what makes an ecosystem model’s performance credible?

2014 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Mackinson
Keyword(s):  
Primary Production ◽  
North Sea ◽  
Ecosystem Model ◽  
Ecosystem Approach ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Fish Stock ◽  
Supporting Evidence ◽  
Sea Temperature ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea

When an ecosystem model of the North Sea is calibrated to data from multiple trophic levels, the model estimated the primary production required to support the food web correlates temporally with observed changes in sea temperature and nutrient levels, supporting evidence from empirical analyses. However, a different result is given from an alternative calibration using fish stock data only. The inference taken from the emergent primary production – temperature relationship and empirical data are that, on balance, there is stronger overall evidence to support the calibration constrained at multiple trophic levels. Two important implications of the findings are (i) that the relative importance of fishing and environmental effects is likely to be interpreted differently depending on the calibration approach and (ii) the contrasting model calibrations would give different responses to fishing policies. It raises questions regarding how to judge the performance (and credibility) of an ecosystem model and the critical importance of conducting empirical and modelling analyses in parallel. Adopting a combined approach to ecosystem modelling is an important step in the pursuit of operational and defensible tools to support the ecosystem approach to management.

scholarly journals Ecosystem-based management objectives for the North Sea: riding the forage fish rollercoaster

2013 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 128-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Dickey-Collas ◽  
G. H. Engelhard ◽  
A. Rindorf ◽  
K. Raab ◽  
S. Smout ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Ecosystem Approach ◽  
Integral Approach ◽  
Forage Fish ◽  
Ecosystem Based Management ◽  
The North ◽  
Management Objectives ◽  
The North Sea

Abstract Dickey-Collas, M., Engelhard, G. H., Rindorf, A., Raab, K., Smout, S., Aarts, G., van Deurs, M., Brunel, T., Hoff, A., Lauerburg R. A. M., Garthe, S., Haste Andersen, K., Scott, F., van Kooten, T., Beare, D., and Peck, M. A. Ecosystem-based management objectives for the North Sea: riding the forage fish rollercoaster. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 71: . The North Sea provides a useful model for considering forage fish (FF) within ecosystem-based management as it has a complex assemblage of FF species. This paper is designed to encourage further debate and dialogue between stakeholders about management objectives. Changing the management of fisheries on FF will have economic consequences for all fleets in the North Sea. The predators that are vulnerable to the depletion of FF are Sandwich terns, great skua and common guillemots, and to a lesser extent, marine mammals. Comparative evaluations of management strategies are required to consider whether maintaining the reserves of prey biomass or a more integral approach of monitoring mortality rates across the trophic system is more robust under the ecosystem approach. In terms of trophic energy transfer, stability, and resilience of the ecosystem, FF should be considered as both a sized-based pool of biomass and as species components of the system by managers and modellers. Policy developers should not consider the knowledge base robust enough to embark on major projects of ecosystem engineering. Management plans appear able to maintain sustainable exploitation in the short term. Changes in the productivity of FF populations are inevitable so management should remain responsive and adaptive.

scholarly journals Are spatial closures better than size limits for halting the decline of the North Sea thornback ray, Raja clavata?

2011 ◽  
Vol 62 (6) ◽  
pp. 722 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Wiegand ◽  
Ewan Hunter ◽  
Nicholas K. Dulvy
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Relative Effectiveness ◽  
Ecosystem Approach ◽  
Thames Estuary ◽  
Trawl Fishery ◽  
The North ◽  
Thornback Ray ◽  
Raja Clavata ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Size Limits

A key challenge of the ecosystem approach to fisheries management is to sustain viable populations of large-bodied less-productive vulnerable elasmobranchs that are the by-catch of fisheries that target more productive species. The North Sea population of the thornback ray (Raja clavata) is now mainly confined to the Thames Estuary and surrounding SW North Sea, which is subject to a flatfish trawl fishery. We explored the relative effectiveness of seasonal closures versus size-based landing restrictions using a four-season age-structured model. More than a third of adult thornback rays are currently removed by fishing each year, and without effective management, a further 90% decline within 30 years is likely. A three-season closure of the Thames Estuary was the shortest closure that ensured thornback ray recovery and minimal loss of fishery yield. Minimum and maximum landing size restrictions are nearly as effective at recovering thornback rays but less so at improving yield. While long seasonal closures and full marine protected areas are more effective at ensuring the recovery of thornback rays, length restrictions may be simpler to implement under the current institutional framework and may have less impact on the multispecies trawl fisheries operating in the area.

scholarly journals Development of the large fish indicator and associated target for a Northeast Atlantic fish community

2014 ◽  
Vol 71 (9) ◽  
pp. 2403-2415 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larissa Modica ◽  
Francisco Velasco ◽  
Izaskun Preciado ◽  
Maria Soto ◽  
Simon P. R. Greenstreet
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Fish Community ◽  
Ecosystem Approach ◽  
Time Lags ◽  
Bay Of Biscay ◽  
Large Fish ◽  
Biodiversity Indicator ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea

AbstractThe large fish indicator (LFI) was developed to support the North Sea fish community Ecological Quality Objective (EcoQO) pilot study, intended to establish an operational ecosystem approach to management. Subsequently, procedures established in the North Sea were applied to the Celtic Sea to derive an LFI and target specific to this region. The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) requires EU Member States sharing marine regions to cooperate using the Regional Seas Conventions, and using indicators already adopted by them. The MSFD explicitly suggests the LFI as a foodweb indicator, but it could equally well be used to monitor biodiversity. Here, we apply the established rationale to develop an LFI and target specific to the southern Bay of Biscay. Despite declining in the 1990s, the LFI subsequently recovered to near original values in 2008. Previously, relationships between the LFI and fishing pressure have involved lengthy time-lags. We observe a similar relationship, but with shorter lag. The nature of the larger species responsible for much of the change in the LFI may explain this difference, and might also suggest that, in the Bay of Biscay, the LFI is more appropriately used as a biodiversity indicator, rather than a foodweb indicator.

Applying a decision tree framework in support of an ecosystem approach to fisheries: IndiSeas indicators in the North Sea

2017 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 1009-1020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma M Lockerbie ◽  
Christopher P Lynam ◽  
Lynne J Shannon ◽  
Astrid Jarre
Keyword(s):  
Decision Tree ◽  
North Sea ◽  
Environmental Variability ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Ecosystem Approach ◽  
Marine Ecosystems ◽  
Ecological Indicator ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea

Abstract As one of the most economically important marine ecosystems, the North Sea has been impacted by numerous anthropogenic activities. A move towards an ecosystem approach to fisheries is key in developing sustainable fisheries in marine ecosystems. The application of a previously tested decision tree framework that employs a suite of indicators suggested in the IndiSeas project with additional indicators of environmental variability has been used in this study. Trends in indicators were used to identify ecosystem trends across three periods: 1983–1992, 1993–2003, and 2004–2010. A score-based approach was adopted, assigning scores to indicators based on direction and significance of trends. Ecological indicator scores were adjusted to account for impacts of fishing and environmental variability. Overall ecosystem scores assigned the ecosystem into one of five possible categories: improving, possibly improving, no improvement/deterioration, possibly deteriorating or deteriorating. Results indicated no improvement or deterioration over Period 1 (1983–1992); whereas Periods 2 (1993–2003) and 3 (2004–2010) showed a possible improvement of the ecosystem. Use of a structured decision tree framework, including extensive literature reviews and knowledge from ecosystem experts, allows the determination of ecosystem trends in a way consistent with ecological theory.

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