Key concepts
Published: 06/06/2005Coasts and oceans support an enormous amount of marine biodiversity and provide substantial services to humans, from nutrient cycling to fisheries production. Ecologically unsound fishing practices threaten the existence of commercial fish stocks, damage the marine environment and often result in by-catch. The following concepts form the backbone to policy making and development of future strategies in management of fishery.
Contents:
- Precautionary principle/approach
- Ecosystem-based management, EBM
- Quotas/stock reference
- Large Marine Ecosystems, LMEs
- Fishing down the food web
1. Precautionary principle/approach
There are many definitions of the precautionary principle. Precaution is caution in advance, or ‘caution practised in the context of uncertainty’. It is a moral and political principle stating that precaution should be taken in management of resources when information and data is scarce. If you cannot predict the result of an action the action should not be taken.
In February 2000, the European Commission issued a Communication on the precautionary principle, in which it adopted a procedure for the application of this concept, but without giving a detailed definition of it. After the adoption of the precautionary principle, the principle has come to inform much EU policy, including that in areas beyond that of environmental policy.
Several natural resources like fish stocks are now managed by precautionary approach, based upon the precautionary principle. In classifying endangered species, the precautionary principle means that if there is doubt about an animal's or plant's exact conservation status, the one that would cause the strongest protective measures to be realized should be chosen.
Contents:
- Precautionary principle/approach
- Ecosystem-based management, EBM
- Quotas/stock reference
- Large Marine Ecosystems, LMEs
- Fishing down the food web
2. Ecosystem-based management, EBM
EBM is a concept under development. It is used by many and owned by no one. It thereby marks its position as an important management issue under development. In practise, EBM calls for highly organized management since all processes are datadriven. We need sufficient data to make predictions and cannot afford to work on prejudices any more. Ecosystem-based management relies on the following key principles:
- Partnerships and citizen participation
- Science-based approach
- Long-term view
- Comprehensive perspective
Ecosystem-based management by FAO:
- The main implication is the need to cater both for human, as well as ecosystem, well-being. This means conservation of ecosystem structures, processes and interactions through sustainable use. It further entails consideration of a range of frequently conflicting objectives - and the required consensus may not be achievable without equitable distribution of benefits.
- Ecosystem Management is management driven by explicit goals, executed by policies, protocols, and practices, and made adaptable by monitoring and research based on our best understanding of the ecological interactions and processes necessary to sustain ecosystem composition, structure, and function. (The Ecological Society of America (ESA) (Christenson et al. 1996))
Ecosystem Management includes the following elements according to ESA:
- Sustainability
- Goals
- Sound ecological models and understanding
- Complexity and connectedness
- The dynamic character of ecosystems
- Context and scale
- Humans as ecosystem components
- Adaptability and accountability
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3. Quotas/stock reference
ICES provides advice on the status of fish and shellfish stocks in the North Atlantic Ocean in the form of a report. The information forming the basis of this advice is collected by marine scientists in the ICES member countries. (ACFM report)
ACFM advice covers over 135 separate fish and shellfish stocks. The advice for each stock usually includes an estimate of historical trends in landings, spawning stock biomass, recruitment and fishing mortality rate, a description of the 'state of the stock' in relation to historical levels, the likely medium term development of the stock using different rates of fishing mortality and a short term forecast of spawning stock biomass and catch. (ICES)
Contents:
- Precautionary principle/approach
- Ecosystem-based management, EBM
- Quotas/stock reference
- Large Marine Ecosystems, LMEs
- Fishing down the food web
4. Large Marine Ecosystems, LMEs
A global effort is underway by the World Conservation Union (IUCN), the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC), other United Nations agencies, and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)to improve the long-term sustainability of resources and environments of the world's Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs) and linked watersheds. (NOAA)
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5. Fishing down the food web
Fishing down the food web, or food chain, is a concept used to describe the trend of the commercial fishing industry moving on to exploit the second most valuable fish species after having over-exploiting the most valuable fish species, and then moving further down the food web.
In the case of the Baltic Sea, this means that after the larger, longer-lived species like cod are depleted, the fishing fleets are increasingly concentrating on catching smaller, shorter-lived, plankton-eating species, which are nearer the bottom of the food chain.