Ecosystem-based fishery management for the northeast U.S. Continental Shelf: Options for implementation

There is an emerging global consensus on the need to adopt an ecosystem approach to management of human activities in marine systems.  Key elements of the approach include the recognition that humans are an integral part of the ecosystem, that management must consider inter-relationships among components of the system and the effects of environmental forcing, and that management units should be based on ecological rather than political boundaries.  We will review progress toward defining an ecosystem approach to fishery management on the Northeast U.S. continental shelf.  This approach must necessarily be complemented by related management considerations for the nearshore environment and for the cumulative effects of multiple environmental stressors.  One approach under development at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center focuses on the delineation of ecological subregions of the northeast shelf, the identification and estimation of production processes and fishery production potential for the system, the specification of sustainable ecosystem exploitation rates, and an allocation strategy to define allowable harvest levels of individual species subject to constraints designed to protect ecosystem structure and function.  We will provide an overview of progress on each of these topics and outlook for the future.