The Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries (EAF) is becoming the main reference framework for managing fisheries and implementing the principles of sustainable development. As per the following working definition (FAO 2003):
‘An Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries strives to balance diverse societal objectives, by taking into account the knowledge and uncertainties about biotic, abiotic, and human components of ecosystems and their interactions and applying an integrated approach to fisheries within ecologically meaningful boundaries’
The principles that underpin EAF clearly emerged in the 1995 Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF), inherited from the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), its Agenda 21 and the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
EAF was more explicitly addressed in the Reykjavik Declaration, which was adopted at the Reykjavik Conference on Responsible Fisheries in the Marine Ecosystem, Reykjavik, 14 October 2001, organized jointly by the Government of Iceland and FAO with the cosponsorship of the Government of Norway. The Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), Johannesburg, 2002, encourages nations to apply the ecosystem approach by 2010 with specific reference to the Reykjavik Declaration. The Twenty-fifth Session of COFI in 2003 supported the role of FAO in facilitating the process of adoption of the ecosystem approach as agreed during the WSSD.
While there is still some uncertainty about exactly what the implementation of an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries entails, there is a general recognition that the conventional approaches to fisheries management, focusing more or less exclusively on the target species and the objective of sustainable yields, has been inadequate for conservation and sustainable use of ecosystems as a whole.
The broad ecological issues that must be addressed and reconciled in managing fisheries within an ecosystem approach are:
- direct impacts of fishing, such as:
- overfishing of target species
- threat to endangered or emblematic species (taken as bycatch)
- degradation of critical habitats through destructive practices
- living conditions of fisher communities
- direct impacts of the ecosystem on fisheries:
- short and medium-term oscillations in productivity
- consequences of extreme and environmental events (e.g., hurricane, tsunami)
- indirect impacts from fishing and other users:
- long-term climate changes.
- degradation of habitat, fish health, and food safety, e.g., through extractive uses and pollution
- modification of the food chain
- inter-sectoral conflicts for space and resources
Activities to promote implementation of EAF
Most of the Fisheries Department work is dedicated to promoting and monitoring responsible fisheries development and management, consistent with the CCRF.
Guidelines and other FAO Publications
The FAO Technical Guideline for Responsible Fisheries directly address the issue of EAF implementation by providing guidance on how to translate the economic, social and ecological policy goals and aspirations of sustainable development of EAF into operational objectives, indicators and performance measures. Other publications that deal with the broader aspects of EAF or address and expand on specific aspects of its implementation are also prepared.Broad encompassing and focussed EAF projects
Several projects and other FAO activities address EAF through concerted efforts aimed at simultaneously achieving progress in several if not most of the relevant aspects of EAF in selected locations or ecosystems.Among other, projects are interesting location in the Benguela Current area, the Lesser Antilles, the African region, the Mediterranean and also dealing with sea turtles and fisheries interactions; reduction of shrimp bycatch; deep sea fishing; marine protected areas; reduction of incidental catch of seabirds; conservation and management of sharks; assessment and mapping of fishery resources; species identification; biodiversity index estimation; safety at sea; marking of fishing vessels; participatory approaches, socio-economic and institutional aspects of EAF.
Meetings and related activities
Further to the 2001 Reykjavik Conference, FAO organises or supports several meetings to specifically address EAF, these include:
- Expert Consultation on the Economic, Social and Institutional Considerations of Applying the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management, Rome, 6–9 June 2006
- International Conference on Implementing an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries, Bergen, 26-28 September 2006
- Conference on Reduction of Environmental Impact of Shrimp Fisheries (2007)
Workshop on Application of the Ecosystem Approach to Inland Fish Production (2007).