Why are harvest strategies important?

November 23, 2024

AuthorSara Pipernos
Program Associate, International Fisheries

Effective long-term management of the world’s fish stocks requires science, stakeholder engagement, and advanced planning. Harvest strategies can help enable effective fisheries management by:

• Enabling sustainability by setting pre-agreed rules and objectives that help maintain fish populations and catches at target levels over the long term
• Improving decision-making by accounting for natural variability and uncertainty, avoiding time-consuming and costly political negotiations, and enabling managers to act precautionarily and swiftly.
• Facilitating greater transparency by providing all stakeholders with a clear, long-term vision of a sustainable stock and fishery.
• Increasing market stability and improving the industry’s ability to plan because management decisions are predictable.

Check out our animation, “Fishing for the Future: The Case for Harvest Strategies,” and our blogs to learn more about the benefits of harvest strategies.