What Does the Management Side Really Want from Ecosystem Modelers?

In the past 15 years, there have seen multiple recommendations, reports, and legislation that have stressed the need to move toward fisheries "ecosystem-based management" on the scientific as well as the management front. There has been notable progress on the scientific side, with the move within NOAA toward Integrated Ecosystems Assessments a recent example.  However, the progress on the management side, while not missing in action, has been slower.  Part of the reason for this is that there has been little exploration on the necessary linkages between management and science in order to move toward ecosystem based management.  There are three basic components of this that will be discussed: the need for managers and their supporting scientists to talk about what "ecosystem information" is needed by managers versus what information is available; on what scales of time and space is this information needed by managers versus what can scientists deliver; and, what are the specific products in which this information will be developed and presented in the management arena.