Two 天美影视传媒 professors are leading an effort to help U.S. fisheries consider the larger marine environment, rather than just a single species, when managing a fishery.
, a UW professor of aquatic and fishery sciences, and , a UW professor of practice and lead scientist at The Nature Conservancy, head a convened by the to guide managers on implementing ecosystem-based fisheries management. After two years of regional workshops, meetings and literature reviews, the group just released its recommendations .
Essington and Levin will take part in related briefings Nov. 16 on Capitol Hill and to the White House’s Council for Environmental Quality.
“This report is a blueprint for a ‘next generation’ of fisheries ecosystem plans,” said Essington, who chairs the group. “The taskforce envisioned a more action-oriented version of an existing mechanism in the U.S. system.”
U.S. fisheries management is organized around fishery management plans, traditionally focused on a single species or a group of related species. The ecosystem approach builds on single-species management by accounting for the relationships among all players 鈥� marine organisms, humans and the environment 鈥� in a holistic, integrated way.
Some regional fishery councils have adopted these plans, but they differ substantially, and there is no common standard for what they should contain. The report includes a flexible, five-step process to help councils and other management bodies formulate strong ecosystem-based plans.
The 12 additional taskforce members are social and natural scientists from universities across the country. The Lenfest Ocean Program began in 2004 and is managed by The Pew Charitable Trusts.