Fisheries agencies and marine biodiversity

In addition to the potential negative impacts on biodiversity from fishing activities, there are positive aspects as well. Fisheries agencies are among the best equipped organizations to examine questions involving marine biodiversity because of their long history of studying marine populations. Furthermore, expansion of their involvement in these questions is in the agencies' interest. Fisheries management depends not only on the accurate identification of target species, but also on understanding the ecosystems from which they come. Systematics is the base from which many questions about biodiversity must be addressed. Taxonomy is a critical tool for ecologists. Therefore, in addition to training new systematists, the systematics community must develop better ways to disseminate the information it develops and train other biologists to be proficient in taxonomy. Closer cooperation between fisheries and systematics is urgently needed to develop the knowledge and skills necessary for assessment and maintenance of marine biological diversity.