Resources for Using Ecosystem Indicators in Practical Ecosystem-based Fisheries Management
Extraction of resources from nature has an inevitable ripple effect. Managers, policymakers, scientists, and communities aim to reduce pressures on the system to sustain natural resources long-term. But the ultimate question remains - how much pressure is too much pressure? An expert Working Group on Benchmarks for Ecosystem Assessment was assembled with policymakers, scientists, and managers from various regions – Alaska, U.S., southeast Australia, central Chile, and southwest India – to explore how to move from ecosystem approaches in fisheries management (EAFM) to ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM).
Collaborators in each country worked together to test the accuracy of indicators for ecosystem structure and function across a range of ecological and management contexts. Their results provide a practical roadmap for how countries can modify current management strategies from EAFM to EBFM. While methods were applied in a fisheries management setting, these concepts are transferable to a wide variety of management jurisdictions seeking to integrate stronger ecosystem approaches, including climate adaptation, protected species management, and habitat conservation.
Papers about the Indicators
- Shifting baselines and deciding on the desirable form of multispecies maximum sustainable yield
- Ecosystem-based fisheries management requires broader performance indicators for the human dimension
Papers about implementing Indicators
- Determining target species for assessment in multispecies and multigear fisheries: insights from an expanded CMFRI-NMFDC database
- Enhancing the quality and utility of India’s Marine Fish Landing Data Collection and Processing System using spatial information
Read the Executive Summary
Citations
- E.A. Fulton et al., “Shifting Baselines and Deciding on the Desirable Form of Multispecies Maximum Sustainable Yield” (2022), https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsac150
- E. Varghese et al., “Determining Target Species for Assessment in Multispecies and Multigear Fisheries: Insights from an Expanded Cmfri-Nmfdc Database” (2021), http://eprints.cmfri.org.in/id/eprint/15784
- S. Padua et al., “Enhancing the Quality and Utility of India’s Marine Fish Landing Data Collection and Processing System Using Spatial Information” (2021), http://eprints.cmfri.org.in/15092/
- S. Hornborg et al., “Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management Requires Broader Performance Indicators for the Human Dimension” (2019), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2019.103639
