Ecosystem-based fisheries management

Ecosystem-based fisheries management accounts for interactions among species, habitats, and human activities when setting fishing rules, rather than managing each fish stock in isolation.

Ecosystem approach to fisheries: A fisheries-management approach that incorporates ecosystem effects and dependencies into decisions about fishing. It translates ecosystem-wide goals into fisheries policies and operational decisions.
Fish stock: A population of fish treated as a distinct unit for assessment and management. Stock assessments remain a basic input even when management considers wider ecosystem interactions.
Integrated ocean management: A coordinated process for managing human activities across marine areas and sectors. It connects fisheries decisions with shipping, energy, conservation, and other ocean uses.
Single-species fisheries management: Fisheries management that evaluates and regulates target species or stocks separately. It is the narrower approach ecosystem-based management seeks to extend.
Food web: A network of feeding relationships through which energy and nutrients move among organisms. Predator–prey links can make changes to one fishery affect other species.
Marine protected area: A geographically defined marine area where human activities are regulated to conserve nature and resources. Spatial protection can safeguard habitats and ecological processes affected by fishing.
Marine spatial planning: A public process for organizing human activities in marine areas to meet ecological, economic, and social goals. Spatial planning can reduce conflicts between fishing, habitat protection, and other uses.
Maximum sustainable yield: The largest long-term average catch that can be taken from a population under specified conditions. A stock-level yield target can conflict with ecosystem needs or broader conservation goals.
Trophic cascade: An ecological chain reaction in which changes at one trophic level alter populations at other levels. Harvesting predators or prey can restructure the food web through cascading effects.
Precautionary principle: A policy principle that calls for protective action when serious harm is plausible despite scientific uncertainty. Ecosystem interactions are often uncertain, making precaution relevant to setting limits.

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