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Integrated ecological-economic fisheries models - evaluation, review and challenges for implementation

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Abstract

Marine ecosystems evolve under many interconnected and area-specific pressures. In order to fulfill society's intensifying and diversifying needs whilst ensuring ecologically sustainable development, more effective marine spatial planning and broader-scope management of marine resources is necessary. Integrated ecological–socioeconomic fisheries models (IESFM) of marine systems are nee¬ded to evaluate impacts and sustainability of potential management actions and understand, and anti¬ci¬pate ecological, economic, and social dynamics at a range of scales from local to national and regional. To make these models most effective, it is important to determine how model characteristics and methods of communicating results influence the model implementation, the nature of the advice that can be provided and the impact on decisions taken by managers. This paper presents a global review and comparative evaluation of 35 IESFM´s applied to marine fisheries and marine ecosystem resources to identify the characteristics that determine their usefulness, effectiveness and implementation. The focus is on fully integrated models that allow for feedbacks between ecological and human processes though not all the models reviewed achieve that

Bio‐economic models Comparative model evaluation Fisheries management advice Integrated ecological–economic fisheries models Marine spatial planning and cross‐sector management Performance criteria and scales and risks Use and acceptance and implementation and communication and flexibility and complexity