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Ecosystem Approaches to Management

Maintained by NOAA

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Ecosystem approaches to fishery management

Habitat damage: the swath of a boat propeller is clearly visible in this Florida Keys seagrass bed

Management actions aimed at conserving the structure and function of marine ecosystems, in addition to conserving the fisheries resource.

An ecosystem approach to fishery management aims to protect and rebuild ecosystems, including species and their habitats. It adds to, rather than replaces, the approach of managing fish stocks one by one, or “single species” management.

Fisheries management will:

be adaptive,
be geographically specified,
take account of ecosystem knowledge and uncertainties,
consider multiple external influences, and
strive to balance diverse societal objectives.

The transition to an ecosystem approach to management needs to be incremental and collaborative. Although scientists have been studying ecosystem processes for decades, long term scientific research is still needed.

The precautionary approach and risk-averse policies have been advocated globally as essential to fisheries management. One approach is to demonstrate that fishing practices will not damage the stock, habitat or other ecosystem properties before allowing fishing to increase. This will assist the ecosystem approach to sustain and restore both fisheries and their ecosystems.

Based on Making “Ecosystems” part of NOAA’s shared vocabulary. November 2003.

Photo title: Habitat damage: the swath of a boat propeller is clearly visible in this Florida Keys seagrass bed

Photo credit: Harold Hudson, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary

Impacts of fisheries on ecosystems

Impacts of fisheries on ecosystems are sometimes difficult to separate from environmental effects on ecosystems. Some of these possible fisheries effects include:

direct impacts of overfishing
modifying community species composition and genetic diversity through selective targeting on species and particular size classes
impacts on non-target species through low selectivity of certain gears
incidental mortality from lost or abandoned gear
direct impact on the sea bed through trawls and dredges
destructive illegal “fishing gear” such as dynamite and poisoning.

Marine protected areas (MPAs) can make an important contribution to integrated coastal zone management and ensure improved management of ecosystems. There is a new website promoting the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries (EAF) in developing countries.

Shrimp trawling results in bycatch and waste, up to 12 times bycatch for every 1 lb or kilo of shrimp.

Photo title: Shrimp trawl catch

Photo credit: Norbert Wu, Pew Collection

Other human impacts on ecosystems

Of course, there are human impacts on the marine ecosystem, other than fishing, described within the UN Atlas: