State of the Ecosystem (SOE) reporting
Improving ecosystem information and synthesis for fishery managers
Ecosystem indicators linked to management objectives (DePiper, et al., 2017)
- Contextual information
- Report evolving since 2016
- Fishery-relevant subset of full Ecosystem Status Reprorts
Open science emphasis (Bastille, et al., 2020)
Used within Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council's Ecosystem Process (Muffley, et al., 2020)
The IEA Loop1
Proposed ecosystem synthesis themes for 2021
Characterizing ecosystem change for fishery management: plain language summary for 2 pager
- Multiple drivers of abundance, defined by the competing factors that influence the amount of fish in the ocean;
- Regime shifts, or ecosystem change can happen rapidly as multiple drivers change; and,
- Reorganization of the ecosystem, multiple factors that interact that change the structure and organization of the ecosystem, e.g. Tropicalization
Example: Seafood production objective
Indicator: Total landings Trend: Decreasing
Mid-Atlantic
New England
Why: multiple drivers: stock status/management, engagement, markets, fish population drivers
Multiple drivers of fish production analysis in progress: environment - fish condition - market price linkages
- Identify multiple and changing drivers of condition and market prices over time
Recognize regime shifts and potential system reorganization
Work in progress has identified the following potential drivers
- Temperature?
- Zooplankton...? Laurel and team to specify
Example: Profits objective
Indicator: Total Revenue
Mid-Atlantic
New England
Why: multiple drivers: price and volume
Mid-Atlantic
New England
Example: Recreational opportunities objective
Indicator: Recreational Landings
Mid-Atlantic
New England
Why: multiple drivers: Diversity Mid-Atlantic
Example: Stability objective
Indicator: Diversity in fishery/species
Fishery (Mid-Atlantic)
Indicator: Zooplankton/Ichthyoplankton diversities
Example: Social and cultural objectives
Indicator: Recreational Vulnerability
Mid-Atlantic communities
Indicator: Commercial Vulnerability
Example: Protected species objectives--add the "Why" linking to other SOE indicators
Indicators: Species By-catch
Indicators: Endangered Species Populations
Example: Climate risks: multiple potential impacts on management
Indicators: Gulf Stream index, bottom and surface temperature, heat waves
Trends:
Why this matters: Habitat change from multiple drivers alters:
- species distributions--allocation
- system productivity--fishery resource productivity
Example: Climate risks to species distribution--allocation issues
- Changing species distributions
- Habitat conditions, habitat vulnerability
Example: Climate risks to species production--fishery yields
- OA impact on shellfish growth
- Areas of low pH identified in surfclam and scallop habitat
- Lab work in progress identified pH thresholds for surfclam growth: approaching threshold
Ecosystem productivity link to fishery productivity
- Condition links work in progress
- Forage energy density
- Other examples?
Diversity changes (tropicalizaton? affects species available for fishing, FMPs)
- Recreational catch diversity in Mid supported by "southern" species
Predation increasing? sharks, seals
- Shark bycatch stable
- Seal population increasing, diet work in progress
Example: Other ocean uses (Wind): area covered, fisheries impacted
