Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Science in a Data-Limited Region
April 18, 2023
We suggest ways to make meaningful progress toward developing the science needed for equitable ecosystem-based fisheries management decisions in the Pacific Island Region.
Ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM), a relatively new concept, is a science- and data-hungry enterprise. Given its size and remoteness, the Pacific Islands region (PIR) is particularly data limited. Because of substantial new resources will likely not be allocated to this effort in the near term. Therefore, the authors attempt to outline existing EBF science efforts at PIFSC and highlight some of the more intractable data deficiencies and analytical challenges in our region. We then suggest ways to make meaningful progress toward developing the science needed to advance effective and equitable ecosystem-based fisheries management decisions in the PIR in the face of climate, habitat, ecologic, and socioeconomic changes.
The Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center of NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service uses the NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-PIFSC series to disseminate scientific and technical information that has been scientifically reviewed and edited. Documents within this series reflect sound professional work and may be referenced in the formal scientific and technical literature.
Parke M, Lumsden B, Biedron I, Rykaczewski R, Woodworth-Jefcoats P, Wren J, Tanaka K, Aryans R, Ruzicka J, O'Malley J, Dombrow C. 2023. Ecosystem-based Fisheries Science in a Data-limited Region. U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA Technical Memorandum NOAA-TM-NMFS-PIFSC-141, 37 p. https://doi.org/10.25923/2aec-eb81.