The Lenfest Fishery Ecosystem Task Force: Providing a Blueprint for Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management

Ecosystem based fisheries management (EBFM) is a coordinated management process that considers outcomes and risks from management decisions over a wide range of ecological, economic and social objectives. Despite its recognized importance, implementation of EBFM in fisheries has lagged. Fishery Ecosystem Planning (FEP) is a tool to better ensure that the promises of EBFM can be met. FEPs can allow for improved coordination of decisions across fishery sectors, ensure that cumulative ecosystem impacts are considered, identify externalities that threaten or augment fisheries productivity, and provide guidance and recommended procedures for how the ecosystem considerations are included in decision making. Critically, an FEP should make EBFM actionable. For that reason, it should clearly specify the rules, processes, and considerations that govern fisheries management decisions.  We have convened a panel with broad expertise to provide a blueprint for fisheries ecosystem planning with the goal of fostering the adoption of ecosystem principles into fisheries management.  The task force is relying on collective experiences – both successes and failures – around the world to highlight the science tools, policy instruments, and governance structures that can be used for EBFM, and to provide a framework for choosing among them.