Wendee, have a look at www.ccamlr.org for an example of ecosystem-based management. The Commission to the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) regulates fishing and other resource-utilization activities in the Southern Ocean. (Patagonian toothfish, Antarctic toothfish & southern bluefin tuna are some of the lucrative fisheries in the Southern Ocean.) Assessments by the Working Group on Ecosystem Monitoring and Management, the Working Group on Fish Stock Assessment and CCAMLR’s Scientific Committee form the basis of the regulatory measures, and they are developed in accordance with an ecosystem approach to management that acknowledges the interlinked and complex ecological systems of the Southern Ocean biomes. The conservation principles that guide CCAMLR’s management include “prevention of decrease in the size of any harvested population to levels below those which ensure its stable recruitment […]; maintenance of the ecological relati! onships between harvested, dependent and related populations of Antarctic marine living resources and the restoration of depleted populations […]; and prevention of change(s) or minimisation of the risk of change(s) in the marine ecosystem which are not potentially reversible over two or three decades, taking into account the state of available knowledge of the direct and indirect impact of harvesting, the effect of the introduction of alien species, the effects of associated activities on the marine ecosystem and of the effects of environmental changes, with the aim of making possible the sustained conservation of Antarctic marine living resources”. The incorporation of these principles into CCAMLR’s management practices is integral to CCAMLR’s aim to follow both a precautionary approach and an ecosystem approach to regulation of the harvesting of Antarctic marine living resources. In keeping with these principles, the CCAMLR Ecosystem Monitoring Program (CEMP) was created in 1984 to “(i) detect and record significant changes in critical components of the ecosystem, to serve as a basis for the conservation of Antarctic marine living resources and (ii) to distinguish between changes due to harvesting of commercial species and changes due to environmental variability, both physical and biological”. The Working Group on Ecosystem Monitoring and Management coordinates the efforts of the CEMP. Standard methods for data collection and analysis were first established in 1987 and revised in 1997. Via these methods, CCAMLR has collected and analyzed ecosystem data from numerous sites, species and other parameters.
The CCAMLR Catch Documentation Scheme (CDS) for Antarctic toothfish is an example of application of an ecosystem approach and a precautionary approach to governance of living resources. The CDS aims to “(i) monitor the international toothfish trade (ii) identify the origins of toothfish imports or exports, (iii) determine whether toothfish catches have been made in accordance with CCAMLR conservation measures, and (iv) gather catch data for the scientific evaluation of toothfish stocks”. This program promotes responsible fishing techniques and accountability in the commercial fishing industry. The CDS operates in conjunction with CCAMLR monitoring programs for krill, finfish and sea birds in order to provide a more comprehensive view of the ecosystem health. Additionally, survey data (from fisheries and fishery-independent surveys) and strategic modeling are methods utilized by the CCAMLR Scientific Committee to assess ecosystem status. If you want more info, I'd be happy to send you the references for the above info or the paper (from which the above text is culled... sorry if it's still a bit too much for this forum). The CCAMLR website is well-written, and you'll find a wealth of information there. For other regional fisheries management organizations, some good information can be found at the following sites: http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/research/eedp/current_projects/rfmo/ http://www.illegal-fishing.info/item_single.php?item=document&item_id=171&approach_id=8http://www.sams.ac.uk/research/ecology/research/research-themes/properity-from-marine-ecosystems Best of luck with your research on this. I hope to be able to read your findings! Cheers,Jen Jennifer RhemannPolar Law MA Candidate, University of Akureyri, IcelandAssociation of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS) Polar Policy/Law Discipline Coordinator > Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2010 20:43:07 -0500 > From: Wendee Holtcamp <[email protected]> > Subject: ecosystem based fisheries management > > Are there any fisheries in the world that are actually managed using an > ecosystem approach versus single-species stock assessment models? I know > there's debate over whether the Bering Sea fisheries could become that way. > The comprehensive research done there feeds into their regional fishery > council's decisions, but I don't think it's truly an ecosystem-based > approach in terms of analyzing how many of say Pollock are needed not just > to feed people but also to feed the fur seals, the seabirds, etc to prevent > ecosystem collapse. > > But my question is not about the Bering Sea but about whether there is ANY > fishery that is actually managed in an ecosystem approach or whether it's > still theoretical at this stage? > > Wendee
