Possible ecosystem impacts of applying MSY policies from single-species assessment

Walters, Carl J.; Christensen, Villy; Martell, Steven J. D.; Kitchell, James F.

doi:10.1016/j.icesjms.2004.12.005

Cited by 286 publications

(198 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…However, in the case of our HollingTanner prey-predator system, fishing of the prey species at the MSY level may be a sustainable fishing policy. Also, Walters et al [2] showed that the widespread application of single species MSY policies would in general cause severe deterioration in the ecosystem structure, in particular the loss of top predator species. However, we observe that the predator species can survive even if the fishing reaches the MSY level on the prey species and hence we found an exception to the rule that Walters et al [2] stated.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maximum sustainable yield and species extinction in a prey–predator system: some new results

Ghosh

Kar

2013

J Biol Phys

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Though the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) approach has been legally adopted for the management of world fisheries, it does not provide any guarantee against from species extinction in multispecies communities. In the present article, we describe the appropriateness of the MSY policy in a Holling-Tanner prey-predator system with different types of functional responses. It is observed that for both type I and type II functional responses, harvesting of either prey or predator species at the MSY level is a sustainable fishing policy. In the case of combined harvesting, both the species coexist at the maximum sustainable total yield (MSTY) level if the biotic potential of the prey species is greater than a threshold value. Further, increase of the biotic potential beyond the threshold value affects the persistence of the system.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maximum sustainable yield and species extinction in a prey–predator system: some new results

Ghosh

Kar

2013

J Biol Phys

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“…The Congressional mandates, as interpreted by environmental organizations, courts, and government lawyers, make it difficult for stock assessments to address spatial and temporal heterogeneity, such as variables relating to benthic habitat, oceanographic conditions, trophic relations, fishing gear usage, or species cycles of migration, growth, and reproduction. Assessment scientists generally assume that their datasets have sufficient spatial and temporal coverage to incorporate these variables, despite extensive evidence to the contrary (Ludwig et al 1993;Wilson et al 1999;Jackson et al 2001;Ames 2004;Walters et al 2005). More concerning, "limited access" and "catch share" policies promoted increasingly by federal managers since the 1980s, and intended to maintain maximum sustainable yield, discourage fishermen from adapting to dynamic marine systems by shifting fishing effort among a number of target species (Wilson et al 1991;Brewer 2011).…”

Section: Fishing Practices and Policiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Revisiting Maine’s lobster commons: rescaling political subjects

Brewer

2012

Int J Commons

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Calls for cross-scalar theoretical and methodological approaches are not new to commons scholarship. Such efforts might be hastened by channelling poststructuralist and critical theory perspectives through the geographic subfield of political ecology, including attention to political scales and subjects. Toward this end, this paper reconsiders Maine's lobster fishery. This case has provided rich material for watershed commons scholarship, demonstrating the ability of social groups to conserve resources independent of government or markets, and it continues to offer new findings. Recent fieldwork shows that as lobster boat captains advance collective interests through state-supported co-management governance arrangements, concerns of crew and non-fishing community members may be marginalized. Regulatory exclusion prevents broader distribution of resource benefits at a time when employment alternatives are scarce. More pluralistic approaches to commons theory and its policy application have utility well beyond the lobster case.

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“…Local stock depletions are not detected until the estimate of total biomass falls outside the confidence limits for the entire stock assessment. This limitation is inherent in the assessment procedure and explains why local depletions have repeatedly been able to cascade into widespread stock collapses (Walters et al 2004).…”

Section: Constraints On Recoverymentioning

confidence: 99%

Multispecies Coastal Shelf Recovery Plan: A Collaborative, Ecosystem‐Based Approach

Ames¹

2010

Mar Coast Fish

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Abstract.-This article explains the integration of an ecosystem into a collaborative management plan to restore New England's depleted multispecies groundfish stocks and decimated coastal fishery. Applying lessons learned from Maine's successful fishery for lobsters Homarus americanus, the Downeast Groundfish Initiative (an eclectic group of fishermen, scientists, and concerned individuals) created a new groundfish management approach designed to nest seamlessly within existing federal and state management systems and be compatible with a total allowable catch (TAC) approach, though it does not require TAC as the primary management tool. The plan resolves fine-scale issues affecting the fishery's biological productivity and addresses the economic, social, and cultural factors confronting fishing communities. The inadequacy of systemwide assessments in detecting local changes in marine ecosystems led to the creation of smaller, contiguous coastal shelf management units each of which encompasses the subpopulation of a key species such as Atlantic cod Gadus morhua. Each unit would have an inshore core layer encompassing the species' spawning grounds and nursery habitats while providing a limited, small-scale fishery for local fishermen using selective, habitat-friendly gear. A buffer layer outside the core area that brackets coastal shelf migration routes would also support a fishery using all legal gear types but with constraints, and an outer layer would provide a fishery operating under current federal regulations. The core and buffer areas would be collaboratively managed to enhance local stock recovery by local advisory councils of fishermen functioning under state administration and regional council oversight. The coastal shelf plan synchronizes the needs of coastal ecosystems and fishermen by restoring species diversity and protecting critical habitats while rebuilding commercial stocks. The approach can create robust, sustainable fisheries for all user groups, resolve equity issues among fishermen, and revitalize the economies of fishing communities of all sizes.A major challenge facing fisheries managers has been how to establish an integrated management approach that simultaneously deals with both the ecological needs of depleted fish stocks and the economic needs of diverse stakeholders. The consequence of the failure to meet this challenge has been repeated cycles of economic dislocation, collapsed fish stocks, and degraded habitats. A corrective approach urged by Hilborn (2007) and others requires managers to ''learn from successful fisheries that have been made sustainable.'' In accordance with that theme, the strategies that made one Gulf of Maine (GOM) fishery sustainable have been used to develop an alternative management approach for another that has been repeatedly depleted: New England's multispecies groundfish fishery.The Multispecies Coastal Shelf Recovery Plan (MCSRP) has been designed to provide management capacity at multiple scales via a contiguous series of ecologically appropriate coasta...

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Possible ecosystem impacts of applying MSY policies from single-species assessment

Cited by 286 publications

References 17 publications

Maximum sustainable yield and species extinction in a prey–predator system: some new results

Maximum sustainable yield and species extinction in a prey–predator system: some new results

Revisiting Maine’s lobster commons: rescaling political subjects

Multispecies Coastal Shelf Recovery Plan: A Collaborative, Ecosystem‐Based Approach

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