International workshop on opportunities for ecosystem approaches to fisheries management in the Pacific Ocean tuna fisheries

Modern fisheries management encompasses ecosystem-wide perspectives, and sustainability is measured both in terms of the target stocks but also in terms of the direct and indirect impact that fishing practices may have upon populations of non-target, associated and dependent species and ecosystem structure and function (Garcia and Cochrane 2005). Implementing an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM) requires performance measures against criteria that can be used to assess overall ecosystem status, the impacts of human activities, and environmental variation. In single-species management these decision criteria are quantitative measures primarily based on stock assessment model outcomes which can guide management. Analogous decision criteria for non-target and ecosystem-level attributes are in a nascent stage of development (Samhouri et al. 2010). There is increasing effort by a range of organizations to collect detailed data on the structure and dynamics of the Pacific Ocean pelagic ecosystem. This has primarily occurred through observer programmes (e.g. bycatch composition and quantities), trophic ecology (e.g. stomach contents, stable isotopes), and mid-trophic level sampling (e.g. acoustics and net sampling of micronekton and zooplankton). Tuna fisheries from the tropical Pacific Ocean (Fig. 1) provide more than 50% of the global catch, and applying EAFM is explicit in the conventions of the Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) responsible for their management. The Global Environment Facility Oceanic Fisheries Management project recently brought together scientists who have been leading ecosystem research in the Pacific Ocean pelagic systems, by convening a workshop to synthesize past progress and identify future priorities within the scientific and monitoring component of EAFM. The workshop was hosted by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community at its headquarters in Noumea, New Caledonia in March 2011.