Responsible fisheries management is of increasing interest to the scientific community, resource managers, policy makers, stakeholders and the general public. Focusing solely on managing one species of fish stock at a time has become less of a viable option in addressing the problem. Incorporating more holistic considerations into fisheries management by addressing the trade-offs among the range of issues involved, such as ecological principles, legal mandates and the interests of stakeholders, will hopefully challenge and shift the perception that doing ecosystem-based fisheries management is unfeasible. Demonstrating that EBFM is in fact feasible will have widespread impact, both in US and international waters. Using case studies, underlying philosophies and analytical approaches, this book brings together a range of interdisciplinary topics surrounding EBFM and considers these simultaneously, with an aim to provide tools for successful implementation and to further the debate on EBFM, ultimately hoping to foster enhanced living marine resource management.

A key goal of fisheries management is to regulate extractive pressure on a resource so as to ensure social, economic and ecological sustainability. This text provides an accessible entry point for students and professionals to management science as developed in fisheries, in order to facilitate uptake of the latest ideas and methods. Traditional management approaches have relied upon a stock assessment based on existing understanding of resource status and dynamics, and a prediction of the likely future response to a static management proposal. However all such predictions include an inherent degree of uncertainty, and the last few decades have seen the emergence of an adaptive approach that uses feedback control to account for unknown future behaviour. Feedback is achieved via a control rule, which defines a relationship between perceived status of the resource and a management action. Evaluations of such rules usually include computer simulation testing across a broad range of uncertainties, so that an appropriate and robust rule can be selected by stakeholders and managers. The book focuses on this approach, which is usually referred to as Management Strategy Evaluation. The book is enriched by case study examples from different parts of the world, as well as insights into the theory and practice from those actively involved in the science of fisheries management.

Inspired by the work of the renowned fisheries scientist Daniel Pauly, this book provides a detailed overview of ecosystem-based management of fisheries. It explores the complex and interdisciplinary nature of the subject by bringing together contributions from some of the world's leading fisheries scientists, managers and conservationists. Combining both research reviews and opinion pieces, and reflecting the breadth of Pauly's influence within the field, the book illustrates the range of issues associated with the implementation of the ecosystem approach and the challenge of long-term sustainability. Topics covered include global biodiversity, the impact of human actions on marine life, the implications for economic and social systems and the role of science in communicating and shaping ocean policy to preserve resources for the future. This book provides a complete and essential overview for advanced researchers and those just entering the field.

Although the ocean-and the resources within-seem limitless, there is clear evidence that human impacts such as overfishing, habitat destruction, and pollution disrupt marine ecosystems and threaten the long-term productivity of the seas. Declining yields in many fisheries and decay of treasured marine habitats, such as coral reefs, has heightened interest in establishing a comprehensive system of marine protected areas (MPAs)-areas designated for special protection to enhance the management of marine resources. Therefore, there is an urgent need to evaluate how MPAs can be employed in the United States and internationally as tools to support specific conservation needs of marine and coastal waters. Marine Protected Areas compares conventional management of marine resources with proposals to augment these management strategies with a system of protected areas. The volume argues that implementation of MPAs should be incremental and adaptive, through the design of areas not only to conserve resources, but also to help us learn how to manage marine species more effectively.

"Sustainable use of aquatic ecosystems is high on regional, national and international agendas and central to the implementation of international agreements on biological diversity, responsible fisheries and fish stock management. Since 2001, when political commitments were made to implement the ecosystem approach, countries have begun to incorporate ecosystem considerations into their fisheries management and have met with varied success." "The Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries covers both theoretical andapplied aspects of sustainable management, with a particular emphasis on reviewing concepts and addressing implementation issues in the form of case studies from around the world. Personal experiences are considered from diverse backgrounds and discuss the constraints encountered, strategies identified and best practices to facilitate further implementation."--BOOK JACKET.

Fisheries supply a critically important ecosystem service by providing over three billion people with nearly 20% of their daily animal protein intake. Yet one third of the world's fish stocks are currently harvested at unsustainable levels. Calls for the adoption of more holistic approaches to management that incorporate broader ecosystem principles are now being translated into action worldwide to meet this challenge. The transition from concept to implementation is accompanied by the need to further establish and evaluate the analytical framework for Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management (EBFM). The objectives of this novel textbook are to provide an introduction to this topic for the next generation of scientists who will carry on this work, to illuminate the deep and often underappreciated connections between basic ecology and fishery science, and to explore the implications of these linkages in formulating management strategies for the 21st century. Fishery Ecosystem Dynamics will be of great use to graduate level students as well as academic researchers and professionals (both governmental and NGO) in the fields of fisheries ecology and management.