Symposium Summary: Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management: It’s Not as Daunting as Some Think

“Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management: It’s Not as Daunting as Some Think” provided an overview from resource managers, scientists, and fishing industry representatives about what’s already being done to move ecosystem-based management from theory to practice. Panelists focused on new tools and practices revolving around the relationship between predators and prey, a critical piece of information for fishery managers shifting away from traditional single-species management toward a more comprehensive ecosystem-based approach. For example, Amber Szoboszlai and Julie Thayer of the Farallon Institute shared a new predator-prey database for the California Current marine ecosystem. NOAA scientist Isaac Kaplan reviewed a comprehensive computer model capable of beginning to reveal how shifts in ocean conditions and variations in abundance of key forage species like sardine will reverberate throughout the ecosystem. Fellow NOAA research scientist Stephani Zador showed how the Alaska Fisheries Science Center is using more than 100 ecosystem indicators to guide adaptive management of fisheries. Additionally, Skyler Sagarese, from the University of Miami, demonstrated how ecosystem considerations are being factored into stock assessments in the southeastern United States. Fishing representatives endorsed the concept of ecosystem-based management, including Patrick Paquette of the Massachusetts Striped Bass Association and Ben Martens of the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association. They both noted that fishermen are among the first to grasp large-scale changes under way, including major shifts in the distribution of fish species coinciding with rapid warming of the Gulf of Maine. — Erik Robinson, The Pew Charitable Trusts, [email protected] Read the symposium abstracts here.