Fisheries Management

Fisheries play an essential role by providing a vital source of food in a sustainable manner. Fisheries are also a source of employment, recreation, trade, and economic well-being for people throughout the world. Globally, fisheries feed billions of people and offer jobs and livelihoods for millions more. The global market value of marine and coastal resources and industries is estimated at three trillion dollars annually.^[1]  Over three billion people depend upon the oceans to provide their primary source of protein, and marine fisheries directly or indirectly employ over 200 million people.^[2]  In the United States alone, fishing generates over $200 billion in sales each year and more than 1.7 million jobs rely on commercial and recreational fisheries.^[3] Marine fisheries management is a complex process incorporating fisheries science and fish stock status information, food web and “predator/prey relationships, habitat needs, socioeconomic needs of recreational and commercial fishermen, and law enforcement issues.”^[1]

The primary objective of fisheries management is to “allow enough harvest to sustain and build the fishing and seafood industries while protecting the productivity and sustainability of the marine ecosystems.”^[2] Fisheries management actions are wide-ranging but generally involve establishing a harvest target or limit for a species using time, area, and gear restrictions. Harvest limits are often established by the managers with input from many other research or dockside staff and in consultation with other agencies and treaties. Limits on harvests can come in many forms, “such as individual quotas, total allowable catch, and area, gear, or season allocations. Fisheries managers are responsible for hitting the harvest limits without going too far over or under.”^[3]

What is a Fishery

A fishery is a geographic area that is associated with a population of aquatic organisms (fish, mollusks, crustaceans, etc.) which are harvested for various economic endeavors.^[4] Generally, a fishery exists for the purpose of providing human food, although other aims are possible, such as sport or recreational fishing), obtaining ornamental fish, or producing fish products such as fish oil. Industrial fisheries are fisheries where the catch is not intended for direct human consumption.^[5]

What is a Fish Stock

Fish stock is the living resources in the community or population from which catches are taken in a fishery. The use of the term fish stock usually implies that the particular population is more or less isolated from other stocks of the same species and hence self-sustaining.^[6] However, fish stocks are not the same as fish populations. A population is a group of fish of the same species, but a fish stock can be a population, a smaller subset of one population, or can include more than one population. Fish stocks are often identified by management areas, which are defined  geographical regions. They are typically fish of the same species, although individual fish in different stocks might mix or migrate between different areas.^[7]

When assessing a fish stock, fisheries scientists estimate how many fish are in a management area in a given period, as well as the expected impacts and benefits of proposed fisheries management measures for that stock. Information from stock assessments helps fisheries scientists make decisions about rules or directions to follow for specific management areas or fisheries.^[8]

Fisheries Management v. Aquaculture

While fisheries management and aquaculture are closely linked, there are some significant differences between the two. Aquaculture involves cultivating aquatic organisms in controlled environments, while fisheries capture wild fish and other aquatic species. Unlike fisheries, aquaculture does not pertain to cultivating and harvesting fish alone. Aquaculture is a science that involves all aspects of marine life and is a business that involves the production and marketing of shrimp, oysters, and other animals.^[9] In addition, aquaculture can produce a consistent seafood supply, while fisheries depend on the availability of wild stocks. Finally, aquaculture significantly impacts the environment due to its concentrated nature, while fisheries face challenges of overfishing and bycatch bycatch is the term for unwanted fish caught during a harvest).^[10]

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation And Management Reauthorization Act Of 2006

Marine fish managers in the United States must follow the regulations set out by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation And Management Reauthorization Act Of 2006. These include:

• Preventing overfishing while ensuring the best harvest possible.
• Relying upon the best scientific information.
• Managing each fish stock as a single unit when possible.
• Treating multiple closely interrelated fish stocks as a single unit.
• Preventing infringement by policies of one state upon the rights of another state.
• Keeping in mind the unique nature of each fishery — what’s appropriate for one fishery may not work for another.
• Balancing conservation with the economic impact fishing restrictions have upon the community.
• Reducing bycatch as much as possible.
• Promoting safety.

Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries

Adopted in 1995 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries is a voluntary code that recognizes the nutritional, economic, social, environmental and cultural importance of fisheries and the interests of all those concerned with the fishery sector. The Code sets out principles and international standards of behavior relating to the world’s fish stocks with a view to ensuring the effective conservation, management and development of living aquatic resources, with due respect for the ecosystem and biodiversity. And although the Code itself is voluntary, some of the principles expressed in the Code are based on existing rules of international law. The Code applies to all fishing operations, including research, processing, trade, and fish-farming. The Code covers the capture, processing and trade of fish and fishery products, fishing operations, aquaculture, fisheries research and integration of fisheries into coastal area management.^[11]

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Citations

1. Life Below Water, United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
2. Life Below Water, United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
3. Fisheries Economics of the United States, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.
4. Fisheries Science 101, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.
5. Fisheries Management, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.
6. So you want to be a fishery manager?, Coastal Fisheries Ecology Lab.
7. What are Fisheries?, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.
8. Fishery, New World Encyclopedia.
9. Fish Stock, European Environment Agency.
10. Fisheries Science Overview, Government of Canada.
11. Fisheries Science Overview, Government of Canada.
12. Fish Farming and Aquaculture, Science & Technology in Action.
13. Difference Between Aquaculture and Fisheries, Ask Any Difference.
14. Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.