New Frameworks for Reconciling Conservation with Fisheries: Incorporating Uncertainty and Ecosystem Processes into Fisheries Management

摘要

Substantial progress has been made in recent years in the development of decision tools that account for uncertainties. Decision analytic methods, including Bayesian decision analysis, as well as adaptive management and the simulation testing of management strategies, now allow quantitative predictions about the potential consequences of management actions to be made. Decision rules and management frameworks have been developed that are robust to uncertainty and, thus, embody the precautionary approach while seeking to achieve management objectives such as sustaining fisheries yield. These decision support techniques and the management frameworks that use these tools can be very effective and should be applied more widely. One limitation of these methods is that they have generally been applied in the context of single-species management. Given the growing recognition of the importance of taking an ecosystem-based approach to fishery management, it is necessary to develop frameworks, decision tools, and management strategies that are robust to uncertainties at the ecosystem level. The framework of fishery management must be broadened to consider environmental effects, food—web interactions, and the ecological impacts of fishing. The scientific and legal basis for ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM) has advanced to the stage that EBFM is a viable framework for current practice.