Fisheries Management : Progress toward Sustainability

Fisheries management draws on fisheries science in order to find ways to protect fishery resources so sustainable exploitation is possible.

Modern fisheries management is often referred to as a governmental system of appropriate management rules based on defined objectives and a mix of management means to implement the rules, which are put in place by a system of monitoring control and surveillance.

Effective management is essential if marine resources are to be utilized in a sustainable and a responsible manner.

Sustainable and responsible fisheries management is of a fundamental importance as fisheries are one of the main pillars of the economy through ecologically and economically sustainable management of the living marine resources.

Fish and fisheries are an integral part of most societies and make important contributions to economic and social health and well-being in many countries and areas.

There are many reasons for this unacceptable state of affairs, but the primary reasons all come down to a failure in fisheries governance in most countries.

The responsibility for declining stocks and falling economic returns and employment opportunities in fisheries must be shared amongst fishers, fisheries management authorities, fishery scientists and those involved in environmental degradation.

Not all of the underlying problems lie within the realm of fisheries management, but the fisheries manager is the person who is most often in the best position to observe and record what is happening in the fisheries under his or her jurisdiction, to establish the underlying cause or causes of any problems, to rectify those within their jurisdiction, and to bring the others to the attention of both the interested parties in fisheries and those with a responsibility covering the external causes.

However, all too often the fisheries manager remains either unaware of the state of the resources, or fails to act sufficiently as the fisheries slip further and further into decay and crisis, or both.

This is rarely, if ever, a deliberate choice and more often comes down to a lack of available information, an incomplete understanding of the nature of the task of fisheries management, and inadequate resources, structures and support to address the problems and utilize the resources in a planned and efficient manner.

Fisheries have been explicitly managed in some places for hundreds of years.

More than 80 percent of the worlds commercial exploitation of fish and shellfish are harvest from natural occurring populations in the oceans and freshwater areas.

This monograph explores the possibilities for effective and sustainable fisheries management across the globe.