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Putting into practice an ecosystem approach to managing sea cucumber fisheries








FAO. Putting into practice an ecosystem approach to managing sea cucumber fisheries. Rome, FAO. 2010. 81 pp.


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    Book (stand-alone)
    Managing sea cucumber fisheries with an ecosystem approach 2010
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    Sea cucumbers are important resources for coastal livelihoods in more than 40 countries. Sadly, widespread overexploitation of wild stocks risks biodiversity loss and the long-term viability of fisheries. Spawned from an FAO international workshop of experts, this document presents a “roadmap” to guide fishery managers in choosing appropriate regulatory measures and management actions for sea cucumber fisheries. It elaborates on their use, limitations and modes of implementation, with Examples a nd lessons learned from various fisheries. Achieving sustainable management of sea cucumber fisheries requires an ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF), precautionary regulations, improved enforcement and stronger commitment of fishery managers and policy-makers.
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    Global review of orange roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus), their fisheries, biology and management 2018
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    This publication is intended to provide a range of stakeholders and interested parties with an understanding of orange roughy fisheries around the world. The report covers historical aspects of the regional development of orange roughy fisheries, biology, stock assessment, ecosystem interactions, and key management issues. Recent developments in science and approaches to management are specifically highlighted with respect to future management of sustainable deepwater orange roughy fisheries. The sustainability of orange roughy fisheries, or other fisheries for long-lived deepwater species, has been widely discussed. These reviews invariably draw on the common global experience of previous poor understanding about orange roughy productivity, rapid development of targeted industrial fisheries, the associated likelihood of overfishing and extended timescales for stock recovery, and an ensuing series of “boom and bust” orange roughy fisheries that frequently resulted in depleted stocks. The more recent experience, with greater knowledge, improved technology, better approaches to modelling population dynamics in orange roughy, and a more considered and robust approach to setting up the management framework (harvest strategy, management strategy evaluation, appropriately estimated limit and target reference points or ranges, and effective harvest control rules), provides a different paradigm. Essentially, many of the assumptions about the unmanageability of these fisheries are not supported by the more recent evidence. Provided appropriate steps are taken to set and deliver a low and appropriate level of fishing mortality, orange roughy fisheries can be both well managed and sustainable. The improved understanding of the productivity and population response of orange roughy now provides a basis for better estimating yields and fishery value that are both more realistic and compatible with sustainable fisheries. It is also of note that the regional fisheries management organizations that have the largest stocks and fisheries for orange roughy – the Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement and the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation – have been ramping up their efforts to manage the fishing for the target species and at the same time address the benthic and vulnerable marine ecosystem impacts of bottom fishing through developing science-based, spatial management. While there is still considerable discussion and opposed viewpoints on the sustainability of deepwater fisheries generally, aspects of the message have clearly changed: sustainable orange roughy fisheries are achievable. This review describes how, by making the right choices and employing the best science available, there are now some demonstrably sustainable orange roughy fisheries. Even with this rather more positive perspective of the sustainability of these deepwater orange roughy fisheries, there remain some considerable challenges to address. These include improving understanding of deepwater benthic communities in general, their genetics and population distributions, their dispersal, and their ability to recover from fisheries (and other) impacts. With regard to the direct management of the fisheries, there are important opportunities and needs to improve ageing and acoustic biomass estimation, and to better understand the genetics and population structure of the stocks of orange roughy that are fished and managed.
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    Book (series)
    Report on the FAO Workshop on Sea Cucumber Fisheries: An Ecosystem Approach to Management in the Pacific (SCEAM Pacific), Nadi, Fiji, 15-18 November 2011 2012
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    Widespread overfishing threatens the sustainability of sea cucumber fisheries and the important role they play in the livelihoods of coastal fishers. The SCEAM Pacific workshop was jointly funded and coordinated by the FAO, the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community and Southern Cross University in November 2011. The workshop brought together fishery managers from 13 Pacific island countries to foster improved management plans for PACIFIC sea cucumber fisheries. Seminars by the workshop facilitators presented contemporary fisheries science and new paradigms for management. Pre-workshop questionnaires, workgroup sessions and plenary discussions were used to help participants decide on appropriate objectives, regulatory measures and management actions for each fishery. The workshop outputs given in this report reveal the constraints and issues facing Pacific sea cucumber fisheries, and the proposed managemen t changes and research priorities of the fishery managers.

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