The Skimmer on Marine Ecosystems and Management

Fisheries management is an important component of broader marine management, no matter the circumstances of place or the scale of EBM undertaken. But what is the relationship between ecosystem-based management in general and ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM) in particular? Would it be better to think of EBFM as an entry…

The Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem (BCLME) Programme is a multinational initiative conceived in 1995 and involving the southwest African governments of Angola, Namibia, and South Africa. It was designed to address the region’s transboundary marine challenges. Such challenges include the management of valuable fish stocks across national boundaries, harmful…

The multinational effort to protect the vast resources of the Antarctic marine environment is often cited as among the best working examples of marine EBM. This regional initiative is under the auspices of the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, which came into force in 1982 (www.ccamlr.org)….

By Daniel Pauly [Editor’s note: Pauly is head of the Sea Around Us Project at the University of British Colombia, Canada. E-mail: d.pauly@fisheries.ubc.ca] In the 1970s, when I was a student of fisheries biology in Kiel, Germany, we were taught from textbooks, by Beverton & Holt, Ricker, Gulland and others,…

By Mike Beck [Editor’s note: Beck is a senior scientist with The Nature Conservancy in Santa Cruz, California, U.S. E-mail: mbeck@tnc.org] Many countries are moving toward more ecosystem-based management of fisheries. These programs vary somewhat in name and approach, but I will refer to them broadly as EBFM for this…

By John F. Caddy [Editor’s note: Caddy is formerly of FAO and now an independent consultant based in Rome. E-mail: jfcaddy@yahoo.co.uk] I see EBFM (Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management) as a subset of EBM (Ecosystem-Based Management). Any kind of fisheries management that separates itself from changes in the ecosystem, the habitat, and…

Editor's note: The goal of The EBM Toolbox is to promote awareness of software tools for facilitating EBM processes, and to provide advice on using those tools effectively. It is brought to you by the EBM Tools Network (www.ebmtools.org), a voluntary alliance of leading tool users, developers, and training providers….

Global webinar on EBM & EBFM: 16 March 2009 (Note: This has been rescheduled from 23 February) MEAM and the EBM Tools Network will co-host a live Web-based seminar (or "webinar") on Monday, 16 March 2009, to explore the relationship between ecosystem-based management and ecosystem-based fisheries management. Speakers will include:…