Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries

Abstract

The Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries (EAF) is an important initiative that complements the existing fisheries management approaches. EAF requires fisheries manager to: have better understanding of the compiled ecological and socio-economic environments in which fish and fisheries exist, the effects of fisheries management on the ecosystem, and the effects that changes in the ecosystem will have on fisheries, perceive the interactions of target fish stocks with predators, competitors, and prey species; the effects of weather and climate on fisheries biology and ecology; the complex interaction between fishers and their habitats; and the effects of fishing on fish stocks and the habitats.