Ecosystem-based management: Background Information
There are many definitions of ecosystem-based management. The definition currently used by the Council is:
“Ecosystem-based fishery management recognizes the physical, biological, economic and social interactions among the affected components of the ecosystem and attempts to manage fisheries to achieve a stipulated spectrum of societal goals, some of which may be in competition.”
This definition was developed during a panel discussion sponsored by the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission in June 2006.
In November 2006 the Council moved to begin development of a fisheries ecosystem plan (FEP) (now called a ecosystem fishery management plan, or EFMP). This was one of the first steps toward the “evolutionary” process of adopting ecosystem-based management. Currently, however, there is no funding dedicated to this process. If an EFMP is eventually created, it will likely take the form of an umbrella plan that integrates ecosystem considerations across existing FMPs, but does not replace them. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council has already taken this approach. The Council Staff White Paper on Ecosystem Management discusses questions, concerns, and steps to be taken in relation to the EFMP.
Recent Activities
In 2009, funding to initiate EFMP development became available and the Council made significant progress on implementing an ecosystem plan. The Council appointed members of an Ecosystem Plan Development Team and an Ecosystem Advisory Subpanel and provided guidance on the initial tasks for these two new advisory groups.
The Ecosystem Plan Development Team (EPDT) is a 13-member group of State, Federal, and Tribal scientists and policy analysts whose primary responsibility will be to provide analyses and recommendation to the Council on the latest science in support of ecosystem-based fishery management principles and to develop goals, objectives, and policy alternatives for Council consideration as the EFMP takes shape over the next few years. The Ecosystem Advisory Subpanel (EAS) is an 11-member multi-disciplinary group representing industry, policy, and conservation interests from the States and Tribes.
The Council reviewed assigned the following initial tasks to the EPDT and the EAS:
- Schedule presentations by scientists from the NMFS Northwest and Southwest Fisheries Science Centers on the state of the science in support of ecosystem-based fishery management.
- Review the Council record of dialogue on ecosystem-based fishery management including statements by the Council, its Advisory Bodies, and the public.
- Review the existing Council fishery management plans (FMP) to identify existing approaches and commonalities regarding ecosystem approaches to management.
- Inventory ecosystem-related management tools for their applicability to the EFMP process.
- Review existing ecosystem-based management efforts of other regional fishery management councils.
- Prepare a report to the Council that includes statement of purpose and need; a list of initial goals and objectives; a range of options on the geographic range of the EFMP, the regulatory scope of the EFMP, and the management unit species within the EFMP; and list miscellaneous issues to be addressed by an EFMP.
