Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management

The Council defines Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM) as a fishery management approach which recognizes the biological, economic, social, and physical interactions among the components of ecosystems and attempts to manage fisheries to achieve optimum yield taking those interactions into account.  The ultimate goal of EAFM is to manage for ecologically sustainable utilization of living marine resources while maintaining ecosystem productivity, structure, and function. 

EAFM Guidance Document

In August 2016, the Council approved an EAFM Guidance Document. The purpose of this document is to enhance the Council’s species-specific management programs with more ecosystem science, broader ecosystem considerations and management policies that coordinate Council management across FMPs and the relevant ecosystems. The EAFM guidance document is intended to provide a framework for considering policy choices and trade-offs as they affect FMP species and the broader ecosystems.

WORKSHOPS

During the development of the EAFM Guidance Document, the Council held a series of workshops which brought together scientists, managers and stakeholders to discuss ecosystem-related issues and best management practices.

Current EAFM Activities

Mid-Atlantic State of the Ecosystem Report

As part of a NOAA-wide initiative to integrate all components of the ecosystem into the management process and help advance the implementation of Ecosystem Based Management, the Integrated Ecosystem Assessment Program has partnered with the regional Councils to help develop ecosystem products to be used within the management process. Scientists from the NMFS Northeast Fisheries Science Center have worked with the Mid-Atlantic Council and its Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) to develop annual State of the Ecosystem reports which provide information on management objectives assessed by a variety of linked indicators. These indicators evaluate the status and trends of relevant ecological, environmental, economic and social components of the Mid-Atlantic Bight ecosystem. The first State of the Ecosystem report was provided to the Council in 2017 with annual updates presented each April. Many of the indicators and analyses in the State of the Ecosystem report are used to update and evaluate the Council’s EAFM risk assessment (described below).

EAFM Risk Assessment

EAFM Structured Decision Framework
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As part of the EAFM Guidance Document, the Council agreed to adopt a structured framework in order to account for and incorporate ecosystem considerations into its science and management programs (see figure). A risk assessment was identified as the first step in this process in order to identify ecosystem indicators and risk elements of highest priority. The initial risk assessment was approved by the Council in December 2017 to help the Council decide where to focus limited resources to address priority ecosystem considerations in its science and management programs. The risk assessment is an adaptive document that gets updated annually to incorporate new scientific information and analyses, updated stock assessment results, and recent management activities and outcomes.

Summer Flounder Conceptual Model Development

Development of conceptual models to address management questions regarding the highest priority ecosystem factors is the second step in the Council’s EAFM structured decision framework. These models are built to ensure that key relationships throughout the system are accounted for and identify specific management priorities. In 2019, the Council developed a conceptual model to consider risk factors and ecosystem elements affecting summer flounder and its fisheries. The conceptual model and interactive visualization tool developed by a technical workgroup identified the key ecosystem elements and their associated linkages, documented available and missing data sources, and scoped out priority summer flounder management questions and objectives in which to focus limited resources. Additional background information is available on the December 2019 Council Meeting page (scroll down to the EAFM Summer Flounder Conceptual Model section).

Management Strategy Evaluation: Summer Flounder Recreational Discards

Management strategy evaluation (MSE) is the third step in the EAFM structured framework process and utilizes simulation model(s) to evaluate different management approaches within an ecosystem context to determine if the outcomes associated with the different approaches achieve management goals and objectives. Building off the information developed during the conceptual model scoping process, the Council selected the following management question for further development and analysis through an MSE: “Evaluate the biological and economic benefits of minimizing discards and converting discards into landings in the recreational sector. Identify management strategies to effectively realize these benefits.” The Council completed the MSE in 2022. Learn more at the link below.

Documents and Additional Resources