How to provide scientific advice for ecosystem-based management now

n this paper, I argue that we have at hand what is needed to provide scientific advice for ecosystem-based management of small pelagics and other species groups now. The ingredients for this advice are (i) large marine ecosystems as spatial management units; (ii) maintaining ecosystem productivity a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Fish and Fisheries
Main Author: Trenkel, Verena
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2018
Subjects:
Online Access:https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00416/52784/53851.pdf
https://doi.org/10.1111/faf.12263
https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00416/52784/
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Summary:n this paper, I argue that we have at hand what is needed to provide scientific advice for ecosystem-based management of small pelagics and other species groups now. The ingredients for this advice are (i) large marine ecosystems as spatial management units; (ii) maintaining ecosystem productivity and exploiting at multispecies maximum yield as overarching management objectives; (iii) assessment of ecosystems by evaluating changes in primary productivity; (iv) an operational management procedure in which single-species catch proposals are adjusted to ecosystem productivity using a set of control rules. Inspection of historic landings for small pelagics and other small species in the Northeast Atlantic (ICES area) reveals that most likely fisheries exploitation does not, and never did, exceed system productivity in most LMEs and is therefore overall sustainable, although not necessarily for individual stocks.