Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management Information Needs for Alaska Fisheries: A Management Perspective

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC or Council) has long taken a proactive approach to ecosystem-based fishery management by employing conservative harvest rates, bycatch limits, protected areas, restrictions on fishing timing, location, and gear types, and extensive monitoring of fishing activities. The NPFMC established an Ecosystem Committee to evaluate methods to further integrate ecosystem information into the decision-making process. The committee has tracked the progress of ecosystem science for the Council and also provides guidance to ecosystem scientists regarding fishery management needs. In this talk, I review several recent NPFMC management initiatives involving ecosystem information and models and make suggestions for future development of ecosystem science and models to support fishery management needs.

Ecosystem-level scientific information has been reviewed alongside single species stock assessments within the NPFMC’s annual management process since 1995 in the Ecosystem Considerations section of the Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation document. Ecosystem model results have been presented to the Council to assist with stock-specific decision-making, and played an important role in the development of the Aleutian Islands Fishery Ecosystem Plan (2007).

The future of ecosystem based fishery management in Alaska will require improvements in data, models, and regulatory processes. I conclude by outlining ideas for incorporating this improved ecosystem information into the management decision process.