How do harvest strategies relate to ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM)?

November 23, 2024

AuthorShana Miller

Harvest strategies can incorporate broader ecosystem considerations into fishery management decisions. Essential elements of successful harvest strategies include management objectives that outline a vision for the future of a fishery, which often includes reference points to define sustainability and harvest control rules (HCR) that set fishing opportunities. Critically, these elements can be structured to account for ecosystem considerations. For example, a management objective might call for leaving a certain amount of fish in the water for the species’ predators.

Like EBFM, harvest strategies are a form of “adaptive management”—that is, they promptly respond to ecosystem conditions to promote fishery stability, resilience, and long-term sustainability. To learn more about how ecosystem considerations can be integrated into a harvest strategy, check out this factsheet.