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|  Developments in engineering, some learnt from offshore oilrig construction, increase the possibilities for offshore aquaculture using robust cages. Sea ranching, the release of young fish into the wild to improve the harvest in capture fisheries, has also made a start but its long term viability is still to be assessed. Major advances are also being made in the technology of the production of aquafeeds, which generally require the combining of a large number of ingredients into very small feed pellets.Marine fisheries resources exist as part of marine and coastal ecosystems, that is, as part of functioning, interacting aquatic systems composed of living organisms and their environments. Conceptually the marine ecosystems can vary greatly in size, from encompassing the whole world ocean as a loosely integrated system, to a microscopic colony of organisms and its immediate surroundings. However, the more usual and useful use of the concept for fisheries relates to some intermediate ecosystem size, corresponding to the size of the social structures in charge of their stewardship. Ecosystem-based fisheries management could be considered at the level of a fishery (with its habitats, target, dependent and associated species), an estuary, a large bay, a coastal zone, an exclusive economic zone or a Large Marine Ecosystem. In each case, adjustments will be needed to account for the mismatch between the limits of the human jurisdictions and those of the species distributions and ecological processes.Wild fishery stocks are effected by other organisms found within the ecosystem and affect them, e.g. through predator-prey relationships or transfer of diseases. The same may happen, to a lesser extent perhaps, for species cultured in an extensive mode (e.g. through ranching). Fishery activities, to catch or raise fish, have an impact on the resource itself as well as on the associated and dependent species and the habitat. Impact by mobile gear on the bottom and the benthic flora and fauna can be particularly severe and longlasting. Both fisheries and aquaculture are affected by other industries, ocean- or land-based which pollute the marine ecosystem and induce environmental degradations which may be very long-lasting or irreversible, with significant effects on the production of fisheries and the quality of seafood. Natural variability is a feature of marine ecosystems and has very significant implications for the productivity of fish stocks and management of fisheries and aquaculture (e.g. El Nino). Environmental events may have positive or negative impacts, on exploited organisms and industries infrastructures. They may result in environmental emergencies. | | |  Understanding and predicting them, and taking them into account in management is a significant challenge of the next decade. | | | | |
 | | | | | | | Title | Ecologically Sustainable Development
( WEBSITE )
| | Description | A website dedicated to Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) with definitions, issues, current implementation and progress reports. | | Keywords | SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT; MANAGEMENT; GOVERNANCE; AUSTRALIA | | Geography Keywords | AUSTRALIA; SOUTH PACIFIC | | Content Language(s) | English | | Web Address (URL) | http://www.fisheries-esd.com/c/home/index.cfm | |
| Type of Website | Thematic website | | Contact | | | Email | rfletcher@fish.wa.gov.au | |
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| Serge Garcia
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1076 Topics - 5135 Related Knowledge - 2534 Members - 34 Editors |
