Integrated Assessment of Fisheries
Many aquatic food resources worldwide are not sustainable because of overfishing and improper resource management. There is widespread political agreement that sustainable development of fisheries requires a comprehensive, ecosystem-based approach that looks beyond the traditional focus on yields and profits. Much research needs to be done to develop evaluation strategies for fisheries management that are based on integrated assessments.
To move toward this goal, fishery systems must be recognized as being comprised of at least four subsystems that are connected in a powerful feedback loop – the natural system, the resulting ecosystem services, the management system, and the relevant socioeconomic system. Each subsystem consists of complex components that deal with everything from multi-species population dynamics to multi-fleet fisheries.
This project addresses the missing interdisciplinary links in fisheries science and develops tools for integrated bio-socio-economic assessments of fishery systems.
The goal is to alter the widespread practice of assessing a fishery’s biological subsystem in quantitative detail, while human dimensions and ecosystem services are considered only qualitatively. As a proof of principle, a case study of the Norwegian cod and capelin fisheries has demonstrated how integrated assessments can reconcile conflicting interests by identifying management regulations that satisfy seemingly disparate objectives across a variety of stakeholders.