Perceptions of EBFM in the Recreational/for-Hire Sector

Almost all anglers support EBFM, yet there are different perceptions of what EBFM means.

 Recreational fishermen understand that an abundance of forage species, distributed along the coast, supports an abundance of predators, providing opportunities for anglers.  Understanding these ecological interactions, they expect EBFM to constrain forage-fish harvest, in order to support a greater abundance of larger, gamefish.  A good EBFM policy should also prevent new forage-fisheries from developing, until proven sustainable in an ecosystem context. 

However, some see EBFM as an opportunity to “engineer” ecosystems by managing for the most economically important species, ignoring those which don’t support significant fisheries and killing off those predators (e.g. dogfish, seals, cormorants) that are thought to compete with anglers.  Though considered “undesirable” we don’t know what consequences will result from removing them as they are also part of the ecosystem. 

 Enlightened anglers support managing for an abundant “intact” ecosystem, which will provide the greatest returns for us, and would better withstand natural variations in species’ abundance and the effects of climate change. Nevertheless, divergent interpretations of EBFM will pose a significant challenge to fishermen, managers and scientists as they attempt to bring EBFM to life on the water.