Characterizing and comparing marine fisheries ecosystems in the United States: determinants of success in moving toward ecosystem-based fisheries management

Abstract

To implement ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM), there is a need to comprehensively examine fundamental components of fisheries ecosystems and ascertain the characteristics and strategies facilitating this more systematic approach. Coupled natural and human factors, inherent biological productivities, and systematic governance measures all influence living marine resource (LMR) and socioeconomic status within a given socio-ecological system (SES). Determining the relative prominence of these factors remains a challenge. Examining these facets to determine how much EBFM and wise LMR management occurs is timely and warranted given the many issues facing marine fisheries ecosystems. Here we characterize major United States (U.S.) marine Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (

Changing how we approach fisheries: A first attempt at an operational framework for ecosystem approaches to fisheries management

“…There is a significant need for a framework like the one proposed here. Largely because we need to change the mindset when approaching fisheries issues from one of weighing or exploring every potential, optimized outcome to one of identifying workable solutions in the context of such oceanographic, ecological and socioeconomic complexity (Boyd, Lennartz, Glover, & Doney, 2015;Cheung et al, 2010;Fulton et al, 2019;Halpern et al, 2015Halpern et al, , 2008Hilborn, 2011;Hoegh-Guldberg & Bruno, 2010;Jackson et al, 2001;Link, 2018;Link et al, 2012aLink et al, , 2012bLink & Marshak, 2019;Marshall et al, 2017;Micheli, Leo, Butner, Martone, & Shester, 2014;Ruckelshaus, Klinger, Knowlton, & DeMaster, 2008;Tam et al, 2017). We propose the first ever framework to systematically, simultaneously, comparatively and relatively explore population diagnostics that link responses to main causal factors.…”

“…A general polar shift in fish biomass has been observed (Bell, Richardson, Hare, Lynch, & Fratantoni, ; Fogarty, Incze, Hayhoe, Mountain, & Manning, ; Lynch et al, ; Nye, Link, Hare, & Overholtz, ; Pinsky, Worm, Fogarty, Sarmiento, & Levin, ). This all occurs in the context of many other ocean uses (EAP, ; Link & Marshak, ; NEFSC, , ).…”

Atlantic Salmon Recovery Informing and Informed by Ecosystem‐Based Fisheries Management

“…Calls for taking a more ecosystem-based approach were renewed in the beginning of the 21st century (Ecosystem Principles Advisory Panel 1999; Pikitch et al 2004), and EBFM is now being implemented in marine fisheries nationally and globally (Pitcher et al 2009;Link and Marshak 2019). In the United States, NMFS recently released an EBFM Policy (NMFS 2016) that states the agency, "strongly supports implementation of Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management (EBFM) to better inform and enable better decisions regarding trade-offs among and between fisheries (commercial, recreational, and subsistence), aquaculture, protected species, biodiversity, and habitats."…”

Fisheries Volume 44 Number 9 September 2019

“…Calls for taking a more ecosystem-based approach were renewed in the beginning of the 21st century (Ecosystem Principles Advisory Panel 1999 ; Pikitch et al 2004 ), and EBFM is now being implemented in marine fi sheries nationally and globally (Pitcher et al 2009 ;Link and Marshak 2019 ). In the United States, NMFS recently released an EBFM Policy (NMFS 2016 ) that states the agency, " strongly supports implementation of Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management (EBFM) to better inform and enable better decisions regarding trade-offs among and between fi sheries (commercial, recreational, and subsistence), aquaculture, protected species, biodiversity, and habitats. "…”