Wesley S. Patrick

Myths that Continue to Impede Progress in Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management

Ecosystem-based fisheries management has been perceived as something desirable but pragmatically unachievable due to several impediments identified earlier during its implementation phase. Over the years, many of these impediments have been resolved but not well communicated to stakeholders, managers, scientists, and policymakers. As a result, several past impediments to implementing ecosystem-based fisheries management have taken on a mythical status. Here we identify six common myths, address why they in fact no longer impede ecosystem-based fisheries management, and propose solutions for moving forward. We assert that these myths need not continue to exist and that improved approaches for fisheries are indeed feasible.

Assessing the quality of life history information in publicly available databases

Single-species life history parameters are central to ecological research and management, including the fields of macro-ecology, fisheries science, and ecosystem modeling. However, there has been little independent evaluation of the precision and accuracy of the life history values in global and publicly available databases. We therefore develop a novel method based on a Bayesian errors-in-variables model that compares database entries with estimates from local experts, and we illustrate this process by assessing the accuracy and precision of entries in FishBase, one of the largest and oldest life history databases. This model distinguishes biases among seven life history parameters, two types of information available in FishBase (i.e., published values and those estimated from other parameters), and two taxa (i.e., bony and cartilaginous fishes) relative to values from regional experts in the United States, while accounting for additional variance caused by sex- and region-specific life history traits. For published values in FishBase, the model identifies a small positive bias in natural mortality and negative bias in maximum age, perhaps caused by unacknowledged mortality caused by fishing. For life history values calculated by FishBase, the model identified large and inconsistent biases. The model also demonstrates greatest precision for body size parameters, decreased precision for values derived from geographically distant populations, and greatest between-sex differences in age at maturity. We recommend that our bias and precision estimates be used in future errors-in-variables models as a prior on measurement errors. This approach is broadly applicable to global databases of life history traits and, if used, will encourage further development and improvements in these databases.

Relating Mandates in the United States for Managing the Ocean to Ecosystem Goods and Services Demonstrates Broad but Varied Coverage

There are numerous ecosystem goods and services (EGS) provided by the ocean. There are also multiple mandates to address this suite of EGS. Which facets of the ocean EGS does this portfolio of mandates collectively address? How are these mandates interrelated? Are there gaps in their coverage of EGS? Are there areas of reinforcement? To elucidate this set of issues, we characterize the portfolio of mandates that a leading U.S. governmental ocean agency, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the subset of those that one of its Line Offices, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA-Fisheries), is responsible for implementing. We link these mandates to a suite of EGS, evaluating the relative degree that each mandate addresses each EGS. The weighted overlap across mandates with respect to EGS was also estimated. Of the nearly 100 NOAA mandates, and the subset of 50 NOAA-Fisheries mandates, there was broad coverage of ocean EGS; every EGS has at a minimum of 9 NOAA mandates that addressed that topic. Food production, habitat provision, genetic resources, recreation, tourism, historical and heritage value, and knowledge and science value were the EGS that had the highest amount of coverage at 30, 42, 50, 39, 38, 34, and 60 NOAA mandates, respectively. There was some reinforcement across mandates, particularly for the top EGS, suggesting that the multiple facets of these EGS are being reasonably well addressed. Seventy percent of mandates informed the same EGS via implementation of the top 10 mandates considered to be the most important for NOAA. The large number of mandates and the overlap in the EGS they address suggest that some form of coordination is warranted, particularly via adoption of an ecosystem-based approach to management.

Comparative analysis of U.S. federal fishery management to the FAO ecolabelling guidelines : a self-assessment

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Examining the 10-year rebuilding dilemma for U.S. fish stocks.

Worldwide, fishery managers strive to maintain fish stocks at or above levels that produce maximum sustainable yields, and to rebuild overexploited stocks that can no longer support such yields. In the United States, rebuilding overexploited stocks is a contentious issue, where most stocks are mandated to rebuild in as short a time as possible, and in a time period not to exceed 10 years. Opponents of such mandates and related guidance argue that rebuilding requirements are arbitrary, and create discontinuities in the time and fishing effort allowed for stocks to rebuild due to differences in productivity. Proponents, however, highlight how these mandates and guidance were needed to curtail the continued overexploitation of these stocks by setting firm deadlines on rebuilding. Here we evaluate the statements made by opponents and proponents of the 10-year rebuilding mandate and related guidance to determine whether such points are technically accurate using a simple population dynamics model and a database of U.S. fish stocks to parameterize the model. We also offer solutions to many of the issues surrounding this mandate and its implementation by recommending some fishing mortality based frameworks, which meet the intent of the 10-year rebuilding requirement while also providing more flexibility.

Validating and Improving Life History Data in FishBase

ABSTRACTLife history parameters of fish stocks are central to ecological research and management, including the fields of macro-ecology, fisheries science, and ecosystem modeling. The need for such information has led to several life history databases being developed to support and disseminate this information publicly. However, there has been little independent evaluation of the precision and accuracy of the life history values in these databases. This article summarizes a recent evaluation of FishBase, one of the largest and oldest life history databases, by distinguishing biases among seven life history parameters, two types of information available in FishBase (i.e., Entered vs. Generated data), and two taxa (i.e., Teleost vs. Chondrichthyan). In general, the study shows that certain types of information like data “entered” by experts are relatively accurate and precise, while empirically “generated” were not. We conclude with some ideas on how American Fisheries Society members can improve upon the d...