The Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management in the USA

United States marine fisheries are highly diverse, exploiting resources in ecosystems ranging from the arctic to the tropics, and in both the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. Protecting, restoring and managing the use of coastal and ocean resources is one of the strategic goals of National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA Fisheries is the agency with primary responsibility to achieve this goal. A variety of ecosystem approaches have been used in fisheries management, but improvements are needed in the understanding of ecosystems and their dynamics. The general approach is to establish strategic fishery ecosystem plans (FEP) that describe goals, the current state of information and knowledge and priorities for research; establish a management framework to utilize existing ecosystem knowledge; improve ecosystem science and models on an ongoing basis; and utilize the best available scientific information in management decisions. Important challenges still remain and include providing management with decision support tools to deal with increased complexity of objectives and information, the need for better communication and outreach to the public and to policy makers and the need to strengthen the statutory basis for the ecosystem approach to fisheries management (EAFM). Finally, ocean governance issues are challenging, involving multiple levels of government with overlapping, but differing, geographic scope and legal authority.