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 An ecosystem approach to mixed fisheries: technical and biological interactions in the Portuguese multi-gear fleet

2015 ◽  
Vol 72 (9) ◽  
pp. 2618-2626 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inês Cardoso ◽  
Teresa Moura ◽  
Hugo Mendes ◽  
Cristina Silva ◽  
Manuela Azevedo
Keyword(s):  
Fisheries Management ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Ecosystem Approach ◽  
Biological Interactions ◽  
Management Measures ◽  
Species Vulnerability ◽  
Catch Composition ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The term “mixed fisheries” refers to fishing activities where more than one species are caught simultaneously and one species may be fished by different gears. Therefore, mixed fisheries present a harder challenge for fisheries management than single-species fisheries and the uncertainty can start at the definition of the target species. In these particular fisheries, we have a large group of species that are caught, being target or not, species with large landing values that are actually not target, and species with a high economic value that can fall in the bycatch category. Although the dynamics of such fisheries is poorly understood, they are known to have a relevant contribution to Portuguese fishers' revenue. The present demand on sustainable fishing activities to ensure marine ecosystem preservation has led towards an ecosystem approach where effort is being made to take into account biological and technical interactions on management measures and advice. In this work, logbooks data of the Portuguese multi-gear fleet were used to identify different fisheries based on catch composition and gears through cluster analysis (CLARA). Two identified fisheries were used to explore the impact of these fishing activities on the ecosystem scale. This approach was achieved by a productivity and susceptibility analysis and through foodweb analysis. The relation between species vulnerability and their functional role in the ecosystem were highlighted. Technical interactions among fishing gears, and species biological interactions, were explored within and among fisheries. We found and illustrated that these interactions go beyond the fleets and fisheries considered in the present work. This approach allows us to identify key elements that can, ultimately, be relevant to an ecosystem-based approach towards mixed fisheries management.

Fisheries management approaches as platforms for climate change adaptation: Comparing theory and practice in Australian fisheries

Marine Policy ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 71 ◽  
pp. 82-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily M. Ogier ◽  
Julie Davidson ◽  
Pedro Fidelman ◽  
Marcus Haward ◽  
Alistair J. Hobday ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Fisheries Management ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Management Approaches

scholarly journals Advancing ecosystem management strategies for the Gulf of Mexico's fisheries resources: implications for the development of a fishery ecosystem plan

2020 ◽  
Vol 96 (4) ◽  
pp. 617-640
Author(s):  
Andrea Dell'Apa ◽  
Joshua P Kilborn ◽  
William J Harford
Keyword(s):  
Fisheries Management ◽  
Ecosystem Management ◽  
Fishery Management ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Ecosystem Approach ◽  
Large Marine Ecosystems ◽  
The Us

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.

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 The necessity for response indicators in fisheries management

2010 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 559-566 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. J. Piet ◽  
H. M. J. van Overzee ◽  
M. A. Pastoors
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Fisheries Management ◽  
Ecosystem Approach ◽  
Management Process ◽  
Scientific Advice ◽  
Potential Response ◽  
Total Allowable Catch ◽  
New Developments ◽  
Management Measures ◽  
Response Indicators

Abstract Piet, G. J., van Overzee, H. M. J., and Pastoors, M. A. 2010. The necessity for response indicators in fisheries management. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 67: 559–566. Results are used from traditional fisheries management to explore two potential response indicators: (i) the extent to which scientific advice is incorporated in decision-making, and (ii) the compliance of industry and the relevant authorities to these decisions. Based on the most comprehensive set of data on the management process of 125 stocks for which ICES provided advice over the period 1987–2006, we explored these response indicators and found that for just 8% of the stocks, the official total allowable catch (TAC) equalled the scientific advice, and that in recent years the official TAC overshot scientific advice by >50%. Compliance levels appear to be reflected in the percentage of stocks for which landings exceeded the official TAC, decreasing from ∼8 to 2%. However, because the TAC appears not to be limiting, compliance may not be the most appropriate indicator. Without transparent decision-making that takes scientific advice into account, or the compliance of industry as reflected by the type of response indicators explored, the effectiveness of new developments in fisheries management, such as the application of an ecosystem approach, will be compromised, as has been the case with conventional fisheries management measures.

Bycatch of chondrichthyans in a coastal trawl fishery on Chubut province coast and adjacent waters, Argentina

2016 ◽  
Vol 98 (3) ◽  
pp. 605-616 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Ruibal Núñez ◽  
N. D. Bovcon ◽  
P. D. Cochia ◽  
M. E. Góngora
Keyword(s):  
Single Species ◽  
Ecosystem Approach ◽  
Squalus Acanthias ◽  
Fishing Gear ◽  
Target Species ◽  
Trawl Fishery ◽  
Merluccius Hubbsi ◽  
By Products ◽  
Discopyge Tschudii ◽  
Mustelus Schmitti

Chondrichthyans are usually caught incidentally in fisheries for species of high commercial value and then discarded on board or landed as by-products. On the coast of Chubut province and adjacent waters (43°00′S–44°56′S) a bottom trawl fishery has developed targeted at the Patagonian shrimp (Pleoticus muelleri) and common hake (Merluccius hubbsi). Since 2005, this fishery has been monitored by the On-board Observers Program of Chubut province (POBCh). With the aim of advancing towards an ecosystem approach, POBCh not only collects information about target species but also about all the species caught by the trawl nets of the province fisheries. From the information collected by this programme it was possible to identify and record the chondrichthyan species vulnerable to the fishing gear used by the coastal fleet that operates from Puerto Rawson. The composition of the fleet catch was characterized according to the target species during the 2005–2014 period. In the analysis of 3786 hauls, 23 species of chondrichthyans (seven species of sharks, 15 species of batoids and a single species of Holocephali) were identified. Seven species showed a frequency of occurrence greater than 10% (Callorhinchus callorynchus, Discopyge tschudii, Mustelus schmitti, Sympterygia bonapartii, Psammobatis normani, Squalus acanthias and Zearaja chilensis). Species spatial distribution was evaluated and five areas of species assemblages were established. Besides the aspects related to bycatch, these analyses have contributed to the knowledge of the chondrichthyan biodiversity in the provincial coast where the fleet operates, a region with incomplete and mostly dispersed and outdated information.

scholarly journals Direct and indirect community effects of rebuilding plans

2010 ◽  
Vol 67 (9) ◽  
pp. 1980-1988 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ken H. Andersen ◽  
Jake C. Rice
Keyword(s):  
Indirect Effects ◽  
Management Development ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Ecosystem Approach ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Fishing Mortality ◽  
Community Effects ◽  
Target Species ◽  
Expected Increase ◽  
Single Species Model

Abstract Andersen, K. H., and Rice, J. C. 2010. Direct and indirect community effects of rebuilding plans. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 67: 1980–1988. Many fish communities are heavily exploited and rebuilding plans need to be implemented for depleted species. Within an ecosystem approach to management, development of rebuilding plans should include consideration of the expected consequences of the rebuilding of the target species on the rest of the marine community. Using size- and trait-based single-species and community models, a general assessment is made of the direct and indirect ecological consequences of a rebuilding plan based on a reduction in fishing mortality. If fishing mortality is sufficiently reduced, the time-scale of rebuilding is in the order of the time to reach maturation of an individual, and the expected trajectory can be reliably predicted by a single-species model. Indirect effects of increased abundance are a decrease in individuals in the trophic levels above and below the target species. The decrease in biomass of the neighbouring trophic levels is expected to be much smaller than the increase in the target species and to be largest in species on the trophic level above. We discuss which effects could be responsible when a rebuilding plan does not result in the expected increase and how our results could be applied in a practical management situation.

scholarly journals Evaluating Impacts of Trophic Interactions on the Effectiveness of Single-Species Fisheries Management

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Xing ◽  
Yong Chen ◽  
Bai Li ◽  
Kisei R. Tanaka ◽  
Robert Boenish ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fisheries Management ◽  
Trophic Level ◽  
Trophic Interactions ◽  
Jiaozhou Bay ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Fishing Pressure ◽  
Target Species ◽  
Important Species ◽  
Predation Mortality

Single-species fisheries management (SSFM) is applied to many fisheries ecosystems around the world. The associated ecological impacts are usually not well understood due to the lack of considering trophic interactions among species in the ecosystem. This impedes the implementation of SSFM in an ecosystem context and reduces our ability to understand the possible ecological impacts of fishing activities. This study focuses on two economically important species in the Jiaozhou Bay, China: the short-lived, fast-growing, and relatively abundant Japanese mantis shrimp (Oratosquilla oratoria) and the long-lived, slow-growing, and less abundant Korean rockfish (Sebastes schlegelii). We evaluated how varying trophic interactions influenced O. oratoria and S. schlegelii (i.e., target-species) who were managed under constant fishing pressure. The increase of fishing pressure to other species (i.e., non-target species) was beneficial to O. oratoria and S. schlegelii. O. oratoria was more sensitive to the decrease of fishing pressure to other species. The predation mortality of age-0 O. oratoria increased with the increased fishing pressure to other species. The predation mortality of age-1 O. oratoria and age-0 S. schlegelii had negative relationships with the fishing pressure to other species. Age-1 S. schlegelii seemed not to be sensitive to the changes in trophic interactions. The predation mortality of O. oratoria and S. schlegelii had bigger changes than the starvation mortality after fishing changed. It suggested the prey-predator relationship had a bigger impact than the food competition. The increase of high-trophic-level fish Johnius belangerii fishery positively impacted O. oratoria, but negatively impacted S. schlegelii. S. schlegelii was more sensitive to the changes of the low-trophic-level fish Pholis fangi fishery. Given the complex dynamics of ecosystems, this study highlights the importance of species-specific responses of fishes to shifting trophic interactions in fisheries management.

scholarly journals Best practices on the differential expression analysis of multi-species RNA-seq

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Chung ◽  
Vincent M. Bruno ◽  
David A. Rasko ◽  
Christina A. Cuomo ◽  
José F. Muñoz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Differential Expression ◽  
Expression Analysis ◽  
Differential Expression Analysis ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Rna Seq ◽  
Species Analysis ◽  
Differential Gene ◽  
Multiple Species ◽  
Downstream Analysis

AbstractAdvances in transcriptome sequencing allow for simultaneous interrogation of differentially expressed genes from multiple species originating from a single RNA sample, termed dual or multi-species transcriptomics. Compared to single-species differential expression analysis, the design of multi-species differential expression experiments must account for the relative abundances of each organism of interest within the sample, often requiring enrichment methods and yielding differences in total read counts across samples. The analysis of multi-species transcriptomics datasets requires modifications to the alignment, quantification, and downstream analysis steps compared to the single-species analysis pipelines. We describe best practices for multi-species transcriptomics and differential gene expression.

scholarly journals Public Officials’ Knowledge of Advances and Gaps for Implementing the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries in Chile

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2703
Author(s):  
Rodrigo A. Estévez ◽  
Stefan Gelcich
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Fisheries Management ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Ecosystem Approach ◽  
Social Dimensions ◽  
Public Officials ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
Effective Implementation ◽  
Mandatory Requirement ◽  
Support Decision Making

The United Nations calls on the international community to implement an ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF) that considers the complex interrelationships between fisheries and marine and coastal ecosystems, including social and economic dimensions. However, countries experience significant national challenges for the application of the EAF. In this article, we used public officials’ knowledge to understand advances, gaps, and priorities for the implementation of the EAF in Chile. For this, we relied on the valuable information held by fisheries managers and government officials to support decision-making. In Chile, the EAF was established as a mandatory requirement for fisheries management in 2013. Key positive aspects include the promotion of fishers’ participation in inter-sectorial Management Committees to administrate fisheries and the regulation of bycatch and trawling on seamounts. Likewise, Scientific Committees formal roles in management allow the participation of scientists by setting catch limits for each fishery. However, important gaps were also identified. Officials highlighted serious difficulties to integrate social dimensions in fisheries management, and low effective coordination among the institutions to implement the EAF. We concluded that establishing clear protocols to systematize and generate formal instances to build upon government officials’ knowledge seems a clear and cost effective way to advance in the effective implementation of the EAF.

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