Moving Towards Ecosystem Management

From deepwater canyons off the Carolinas to the shallow tropical waters surrounding the Florida Keys, marine habitats of the South Atlantic are as diverse as the species that inhabit them. To address this diversity, the South Atlantic Council is adopting an ecosystem approach to fisheries management with the development of a Fishery Ecosystem Plan and Comprehensive Ecosystem Amendment that will amend all the Council's Fishery Management Plans. The South Atlantic Council continues to be at the forefront of habitat conservation and risk-averse management through:

• Adoption of a proactive approach to protect and enhance Essential Fish Habitat for all managed species under its jurisdiction
• Adoption of precautionary and proactive management plans

Ultimately, by broadening the scope of management, the Council will achieve long-term sustainability of fisheries and of the ecosystem as a whole.

The Fishery Ecosystem Plan will evolve from the Council's Habitat Plan. The transition from single species management to ecosystem management will involve incremental steps to better characterize the system and understand the complex relationships among humans, harvested fish and prey, all marine life and essential habitat and environmental characteristics of the South Atlantic Ecosystem. This effort will provide the Council with a foundation from which to attain a more comprehensive understanding of habitat and biology of species, fishery information, social and economic impacts of management and ecological consequences of conservation and management. The Fishery Ecosystem Plan will specify research and monitoring needed to fully address ecosystem management.

Building on the recommendations outlined in the Ecosystem Report to Congress, the Council's Fishery Ecosystem Plan and Comprehensive Ecosystem Amendment will include the following:

1. Define the ecosystem boundaries; 
2. Characterize the ecological (biological, chemical and physical), human and institutional elements of the ecosystem;
3. Describe the habitat needs of different life history stages for all managed species;
4. Develop a conceptual model of the food web;
5. Calculate and characterize total fishery removals (i.e., landings, discards, bycatch);
6. Develop indices of ecosystem health;
7. Recommend research and monitoring activities (Council FMP needs, searchable databases, federal and state programs, ocean observing systems/fisheries oceanography)
8. Develop appropriate management such as catch limits, gear regulations and area management.