Ecosystem Approaches in the Southeast: Our Incremental Approach

The Reauthorized Magnuson-Stevens Act allows for fishery management councils to explore an ecosystem approach to management, but did not require it.   However, the reauthorized Magnuson-Stevens Act tightened the timing required to end overfishing and required the establishment of annual catch limits (ACLs) and accountability measures (AMs) for every managed species, both of which further solidify the use of single species fisheries management and shift the focus away from an EBM approach.    

Despite fulfilling statutory obligations to address overfishing and establish ACLs, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council has taken incremental steps in moving toward an ecosystem approach to fisheries management including development of numerous amendments that incorporate ecosystem principles. 

This presentation will give an overview of the Southeast Regions attempts at moving toward an ecosystem approach including the implementation of the Comprehensive Ecosystem Based Amendment 1, the development of the Fishery Ecosystem Plan, and an on-going project to develop a suite of ecosystem indicators.