Marine Ecosystems
Marine Ecosystems
Marine Ecosystems
AND FISHERIES
Balancing Ecosystem Sustainability and
the Socio-Economics of Fisheries
This Report Is Part Of The Ocean On The Edge Series Produced By The Aquarium Of The Pacific As
Products Of Its National ConferenceOcean On The Edge: Top Ocean Issues, May 2009
2 MARINE ECOSYSTEMS AND FISHERIES
Ocean on the Edge:
Top Ocean Issues
Making Ocean Issues Come Alive for the Public
Support for the Ocean on the Edge Confer- and Robert Stickney, PhD. Participants fluctu-
ence: Top Ocean Issues was provided by ated during the various workshop sessions.
NOAA, the National Science Foundation, Corinne Monroe and Alexi Holford were
Southern California Edison, SAVOR, the Long the rapporteurs. Contributors to this report
Beach Convention Center, and the Aquarium who provided editorial comments were Mark
of the Pacific. Helvey and Craig Heberer of NOAA and
members of his staff. This report was facilitat-
We are grateful to the Conferences National ed by Corinne Monroe with assistance from
Advisory Panel that provided valuable guid- Erica Noriega.
ance in selecting participants and in review-
ing sections of this report.
D. James Baker
Tom Bowman
John Byrne
Michael Connor
James Cortina
Joseph Cortina
Robert Dalrymple
Lynn Dierking
William Eichbaum
John Falk
Alan Friedman
Martha Grabowski
Mary Nichol
William Patzert
Shirley Pomponi
William Reeburgh
Jonathan Sharp
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Humans are changing the oceans food web: the cascading effect
of species extinction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
We are over fishing the majority of our resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Fishing down aquatic food webs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
The Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Appendices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Appendix A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Recommended References and Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Appendix B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Conference Participants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
The ocean provides more than just fish. It multibillion dollar industries it supports is
contains a dazzling diversity of life and a increasingly threatened.
seemingly endless bounty of marine resourc-
es. Diving on coral reefs and swimming with As scientists have come to better understand
sharks and rays (some of which are replacing marine ecosystems, they have developed new
artisanal fishing operations) draw tourists to approaches to ocean management that seek
support growing ecotourism industries. Medi- to balance the human uses of coastal and
cines and other highly valuable commodities ocean environments while maintaining the
are harvested from the sea. Fish, crustaceans, integrity of the marine ecosystem. Scientific
and mollusks are caught for food, fertilizer, research on how marine ecosystems function
and many other products. and react to change has helped inform policy
decisions that promote the sustainable use
Despite the vastness of the ocean, it is not of marine resources. Continued investments
limitless. Ocean resources are under intense in research and strategic, long-term planning
pressure to satisfy expanding demands can help to ensure that future generations
caused by population growth and globaliza- will have an opportunity to experience and
tion. Many valuable fisheries around the enjoy the ocean and its many resources.
world have collapsed; invasive species have
disrupted marine food webs; and an increas-
ing number of species are in danger of extinc-
tion as a result of human activities. Changes
such as habitat loss and environmental deg-
radation pose significant threats to marine
life, while climate change has the potential
to modify entire marine ecosystems. The
oceans ability to continue to sustain the
It has been said that something lives in Species diversity is the variation in the num-
almost every cubic inch of the oceans 326 ber and frequency of species in a biological
million cubic miles (1,358,827,275.1 cubic assemblage or community. Species diversity
kilometers) of water with wildlife ranging in is the most commonly used synonym for
size from bacteria and viruses to microscopic biodiversity, where species richness (number
diatoms to the blue whale and the whale of species in a given habitat) is the main
shark. All are connected by feeding strate- index used for its measurement. The working
gies. Everything feeds on something else with estimate of the total number of species on
every ocean dweller, even the apex predators, earth is 12.5 million, exclusive of microbes.
vulnerable to predation by another animal at The discovery of enormous concentrations of
sometime in its life. microbial populations in the ocean sediments
down to several hundred feet have led to the
Biodiversity is composed of three main theory that as much as 50% of the biomass
categories: (1) genetic diversity, (2) species on earth resides in the deep sediments. There
diversity and (3) ecosystem diversity. These is a plethora of information on whales, dol-
different components show how biodiversity phins, porpoises and fish, while only recently
encompasses a number of different scales are scientists beginning to understand the
ranging from the gene to the ecosystem. extreme diversity present in microorganisms
such as bacteria and phytoplankton (i.e. the
Genetic diversity is the variation in the plants of the sea).
amount of genetic information within and
among individuals of a population, a species,
an assemblage, or a community. It is reflected
by the level of similarity or differences in the
genetic makeup of individuals, populations
and species.
Formal use of the word biodiversity started in 1986. Since that time it has become the most commonly used
word of scientists, conservationists, educators, and policy makers to describe a scientific discipline and approach as
well as a criticalindeed life-threateningissue. We know that because we are losing biodiversity at an alarming
rate. (Ellis, 2003)
Fig. 2. Arctic pelagic food web. The marine animal food web is very
complex and multilayered.. This is a quick reference to represent the
complete food pelagic food web in Arctic waters.(Source: UNEP/GRID-
Arendal): http://maps.grida.no/go/graphic/arctic-pelagic-food-web)
There are few true boundaries in the marine vorite feeding ground or place to spawn. For
ecosystems of the global ocean. The hunters example, Pacific salmon are born and spend
and grazers of the ocean often swim great a few months to four years in freshwater and
distances in pursuit of food and sheltering estuaries, then migrate to the open ocean
habitats. Many marine species move to new where they live for two to six years, returning
locations with each new stage of life, re- to the freshwater rivers and streams where
productive cycle, season, or change in food they spawn and die. Such long-range mobil-
supply. Night-feeding dwellers of the deep ity of marine animals, some of which utilize
swim toward the surface to feed, and return a variety of ecosystems, creates challenges for
to the darkness below at dawn. Some marine scientists determined to observe and monitor
creatures travel great lengths to return to a fa- these populations.
With the continued depletion of many spe- fishery. This does not necessarily mean that
cies, extinction becomes a distinct possibility. these species have disappeared, but it does
Due to the complexity of marine ecosystem indicate a large drop in yield (and thus, ease
food webs, the long term consequences of of capture) necessary to support an industry,
removing a single species are unknown. Ma- with the corollary that highly reduced popu-
rine ecosystems are exceptionally dynamic lations are now much more extinction-prone
and there is a possibility that a disturbance if they fall below their minimum viable
such as an extinction, could proliferate quite population size. The corollary is that many
dramatically and rapidly. marine species not considered suitable for
human consumption, or even pet animals,
Seafood is an important source of protein 50 years ago are now considered top-quality
globally. More than 3.5 million vessels cur- market delicacies. An examplemany species
rently fish the ocean waters worldwide, and of sharks that are now being overfished.
NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmo-
spheric Administration) projects that the The classic Tragedy of the Commons is ap-
global seafood demand will more than triple plicable to fisheries. People tend to react in
by 2025. support of rescuing charismatic animals such
as polar bears, dolphin, and whales but the
Fishing on a massive and global commercial reduction in fish worldwide, a biodiversity
scale has decreased the populations of some crisis in progress that impacts their food sup-
species to the point where it is no longer plies and perhaps their health, does not get
economically viable to sustain a targeted the same attention.
In the past, many fisheries managers thought ined. The escalating demand in this decade
that fishing had a built-in safety value. As for the luxury seafood in the forms of sushi
stocks of fish declined, it would be harder and sashimi has driven up the price and put
and more expensive to capture the remain- more pressure on the dwindled population.
ing fish; thus, fishermen would simply switch
to harvesting more abundant species. But In 2007, the breeding population of bluefin
seafood demand, new technologies, and tuna, which includes fish over four years old
expansion of fishing fleets have made it and weighing over 77 pounds (35 kg), was at
economical to fish even depleted stocks, lead- 25% of levels in the mid-1900s, and the aver-
ing to the decline of such major commercial age size of mature tunas dropped to less than
populations as cod and bluefin tuna. In 2006, half the size since the 1990s. An electronic
the Food and Agriculture Organization of the tagging program on western bluefin tuna
United Nations reported that 2030 percent revealed that the stock migrates freely across
of the worlds fish species are overexploited the international stock boundary into the
or depleted. The bluefin tuna is an example. eastern Atlantic, where they are vulnerable
to European fisheries; and known spawn-
Bluefin tuna, an Example of a ing grounds. Management of this highly
Critically Endangered Species migratory species that crosses international
The western north Atlantic bluefin tuna boundaries is problematic and extinction
stock is now at just three percent of its 1960s may indeed be reached before the govern-
abundance. The dramatic decline in bluefin ments involved act to save the stocks.
populations is attributed to overfishing and
fishing methods including post-harvesting As this example shows improved fisher-
loss, and longlines all of which contribute ies management around the globe, which
to removing massive amounts of fish from involves a variety of stakeholders and many
the ocean at one time. Spotter planes locate governments, will be essential to ensur-
schooling and spawning fish. Juvenile fish ing that these resources will be sustain-
are being harvested before they have a able, and available to future generations.
chance to become sexually mature and repro- It may already be too late for the Atlantic
duce. Bluefin tuna are now being caught at bluefin tuna.
every stage of their life cycle, killing them off
more quickly than anyone could have imag-
Captive fisheries and freshwater and marine recently almost all of our seafood has been
aquaculture supplied the world with about obtained by fishingessentially hunting
121 million tons (110 million metric tons) at sea and in freshwater rivers, lakes, and
of fish in 2006, a per capita supply of 37 lb streams. However, as demand has increased
(16.7 kg), and the highest on record. Of this and the availability of wild fish has declined,
total, 53 percent was wild caught and 47 interest in aquaculture has increased, with
percent came from aquaculture. Seafood is new technologies being developed to raise
an appealing and healthful source of pro- a greater variety of fish and shellfish for the
tein and as the world population grows, seafood trade.
the demand for this protein will continue
to increase. Clearly, to meet the growing With the Earths burgeoning human population
demand, there needs to be a sustainable sup- to feed, we must turn to the sea with new under-
ply of seafood that protects our ocean and standing and new technology. We need to farm
its resources while still providing the world the ocean as we farm the land.
with an adequate supply of healthy food. Jacques Cousteau, 1973
This can happen only if fisheries and aqua-
culture operations are managed properly on If Jacques Cousteau were to make that state-
a global scale. ment today, he would probably add a word
such as sustainably and his son or grandson
Coming to Terms with Seafood might say: We need to farm the ocean more
Sustainability sustainably than we have farmed the land.
Agriculture is our main source of food from
Society is now starting to demand sustainable
the land. More than 10,000 years ago, hu-
seafood whether wild or farmed to meet the
mankind learned how to cultivate crops and
needs of future generations without compro-
domesticate animals for food. Aquaculture
mising the ability of future generations to
started in China 4,000 years ago with the
meet their needs.
cultivation of carp. On the other hand, until
Over the past 50 years the art of fishing has species in each stage of its life cycle. Essential
been mastered to the point that the ability to fish habitat is defined as those waters and sub-
extract fish has outpaced the ability of nature strate necessary to fish for spawning, breeding,
to replenish itself. Modern technology such feed, or growth to maturity. Activities that dam-
as global positioning systems, sophisticated age the habitat must also be identified.
fishing gear, sonar, factory ships, and heli-
copter spotting has proven to be so effective EFH can consist of both the water column
that the global ocean is over-harvested to the and the underlying seafloor of a particular
point that many are predicting extinction of area. Certain properties of the water column
most of the large species. It is estimated that such as temperature, nutrients, and salinity
over 70 percent of fish stocks are overfished are essential to various species. Some species
or fully exploited and 90 percent of large may require specific bottom types such as
predatory fishes such as tuna, swordfish, sandy or rocky, vegetation such as sea grass
and Atlantic cod are gone, throwing off the or kelp, or structurally complex coral or
balance of ecosystems and putting much of oyster reefs.
the marine ecosystem at risk. The cost of our
success in catching finfish and shellfish is NOAA Fisheries handles the listing, protec-
devastating in many ways. Whether mea- tion and recovery of threatened and endan-
sured in environmental degradation or the gered marine, estuarine and anadromous
impact on biological degradation or the eco- species. The ESA requires federal agencies
nomic consequences, the demand for seafood to use all reasonable methods available to
comes with a price tag higher than most of conserve endangered and threatened species,
the public realizes. But a wakeup call is being to facilitate an increase in their populations
sounded and responded to. and to improve the quality of their habitats.
Under the act NMFS is required to identify
Hearing The Wakeup Call: The re-autho- critical habitats which the ESA defines as
rization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery the specific areas within the geographical
Conservation Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act or area occupied by the species at the time it is
MSA) in 2006 contains revisions requiring listed on which are found those physical or
NOAA Fisheries to end commercial and recre- biological features essential to the conserva-
ational overfishing in US waters by 2010 in- tion of the species that may require special
cluding rebuilding and maintaining healthy management considerations or protection
shark populations. Revisions also require and/or specific areas outside the species cur-
all fisheries to be regulated under annual rent geographic range that are determined
catch limits, with accountability measures to to be essential to its conservation. Economic
ensure that catches do not exceed the limits. impacts must be taken into account when
In addition, the new law elevates the impor- designating critical habitat.
tance of following scientific advice in fishery
management decisions, so the new guidelines States may and do designate critical and
will address the role of science in establishing essential habitat within their jurisdiction.
annual harvest caps.
Scientists collect data on the abundance of In its report titled Improving the Use of the
fish from field surveys and from the catch Best Scientific Information Available Standard
statistics of the fishing industry. Using in Fisheries Management (2004), the National
sophisticated statistical techniques and Research Council recommended that scien-
modeling methods, scientists assess the data tific reports explicitly identify the level of
to determine the health of the stocks and uncertainty in results, explain the sources of
to estimate the number of fish that can be uncertainty, and assess the relative risks of
caught each year without reducing the capac- a range of management options. That way,
ity of the population to replenish itself. The fisheries managers will be better equipped to
term maximum sustainable yield describes the take into account both short- and long-term
theoretical limit for harvesting a given fish effects of management actions with a clearer
population sustainably. Fisheries managers understanding of the level of uncertainty
can use maximum sustainable yield esti- involved.
mates and other types of scientific data to
guide their decisions. Ideally, target harvest Despite the dramatic declines in the yields
limits are set below the estimated maximum of some fisheries, there is reason for opti-
sustainable yield to prevent accidentally har- mism. Management measures that more fully
vesting too many fish and to account for the account for uncertainty in determining the
level of uncertainty in the data and models. acceptable level of exploitation to ensure
that the catch is at a sustainable level have
In the real world, many variables affect the been demonstrated to effectively boost even
actual sustainable yield from fisheries. For depleted stocks. Today, fisheries managers
instance, spawning success and survival of in the United States and around the world
juvenile fish vary from year to year, and fish acknowledge the value of the precautionary
populations frequently show fluctuations in approach, in which uncertainty is handled
abundance as a result of ecosystem interac- by setting conservative target catch levels.
tions or other environmental factors. Some- Although managers are not always successful
times, information about a particular species in implementing precautionary manage-
is limited, and the resultant model estimates mentoften because of concerns about
for maximum sustainable yield will contain a the economic and societal impacts of the
high degree of uncertainty. If a management regulationsrisk adverse management is now
plan does not account for that uncertainty, generally accepted as the goal for fisheries.
harvesting at the estimated maximum sus-
tainable yield could result in overfishing
the stock.
An approach that has gained increasing trac- models should be used to evaluate alternative
tion is the idea of ecosystem-based manage- policy and management scenarios. However,
ment. In this approach, the many aspects many believe that stepwise, incremental
of human interactions with the ocean implementation of appropriate ecosystem-
fishing, shipping, water quality, extraction based management measures, such as
and transport of oil and gas, and invasive considering the needs of other species when
species, among othersare taken into con- allocating harvest levels, can be undertaken
sideration as a whole in fishery management now. For example, fisheries managers can
decisions. Although fisheries management help boost populations of predatory fish by
is not its only application, ecosystem-based limiting harvests of their prey species, even
management represents a new approach with relatively little data on the needs of the
to harvesting marine resources. Ecosystem- predatory fish populations.
based management recognizes the complex
interactions among fished species, their Marine protected areas and especially,
predators and prey, and other aspects of the marine protected area networks that provide
marine environment. It is believed that an for the connectivity of a fishs life cycle, show
ecosystem-based approach would improve promise as components of an ecosystem
the prospects for long-term sustainability of based approach for conserving living marine
marine fisheries. Information about predator- resources. Although the species-by-species
prey relationships, food webs, habitats, and approach seems less complex, it does not
the effects of climate variation, ocean circula- resolve the difficulties of either managing
tion patterns, chemistry, seafloor terrain and multiple stocks or accurately assessing the
fish distributions, for instance, should assist status of fish populations. Marine protected
attempts to improve fisheries management. areas could provide some assurance against
accidental overharvesting and also provide
While the approach is promising, more data an effective way to protect vulnerable habi-
and new methods are needed to support tats, such as coral reefs, from the effects of
ecosystem-based strategies. Dynamic food fishing and other human activities.
webs, species interaction, and ecosystem
In most fisheries at least some bycatch is re- Fishing activities physically damage
turned live to the ocean and there is now an habitats
emerging practice in which bycatch is kept Many marine organisms, including com-
and sold. Much of the bycatch includes com- mercially valuable species, depend on seabed
mercial fish that are below market size. In habitats at some point in their life cycle, es-
such cases, the bycatch is not only wasteful pecially for spawning and early development.
it can deplete the fishery of larger, older fish. Many fishing practices particularly trawling
and dredging can disturb these important
For example, in the Gulf of Mexico, the seafloor habitats. The Gulf of Mexico, for
shrimp trawl fishery presents the largest example, is one of the most intensely bot-
human threat to survival of juvenile red tom trawled areas off the coast of the United
snapper. In this case, management of the red States, with some areas being swept 37 to 75
snapper fishery must include implementing times per year.
solutions to reduce snapper bycatch from
shrimp trawls. The situation is not as simple As newer, and larger fishing trawl gear is
as one might think. Red snapper are an issue, used in modern fisheries, increasingly larger
though the impact of trawling is still a bit swaths of seabed habitats are being affected.
controversial in terms of how much trawling Changes to the physical structure of biologi-
impacts the population. Protecting the large cal communities on seafloor habitats can
spawners may be more effective. But most of have potentially wide-ranging consequences
the Gulf of Mexico bycatch is short-lived spe- and can indirectly affect food webs. The
cies that are not under any threat from trawl- damage that occurs on trawled bottoms var-
ing. There is also the theory that by putting ies significantly depending on bottom type.
bycatch back into the water provides a source Mud bottoms seem to be less affected than
of nutrients that helps support the shrimp hard bottoms. Also, there have been some
fishery, much like dead salmon provide new trawl doors (modified from North Atlan-
nutrients to the oligotrophic stream waters tic doors used off Iceland) that seem to have
in which the fish reproduce that support the less impact on the bottom. Those are being
plankton on which the young salmon feed. adopted by a considerable portion of the
Texas shrimp fleet. Studies need to be con-
Other sources of fishing mortality that are ducted to verify that the doors are actually
not counted in landing statistics include more environmentally friendly than standard
illegal fishing, underreporting, deaths of wooden trawl doors.
fish that escape from fishing gear, and ghost
NOAA is now working with stakeholders on The choice of a rights-based management ap-
replacing the individual quota system for proach will depend on many factorssocial,
some fisheries with rights-based manage- economic, political, and biological. If this
ment. In the United States, the public trust approach is taken, managers and fishermen
doctrine states that the American people must work together to identify the form of
own the fish in the Exclusive Economic Zone rights-based management that will work
(EEZ). Public trust includes the idea of free best for the fishery based on its history, the
access or the public right to fish. But no one attitudes of the fishermen and the nature of
can have exclusive ownership of the fish un- the resource.
til they are captured. It is the governments
responsibility to act as a representative of the
people to manage the resources. However, Rights-based Fisheries
with our fisheries in crisis, these ideas are at Management
a crossroads. The public and private sectors
both benefit from a healthy fishing industry. Rights in a fishery define what par-
And as the public interest is expanding, not ticular actions the fisherman, or other
only must commercial and recreational fish- entity, is authorized to take and the
ing industries be considered but also conser- associated claim to a benefit stream
vation and environmental communities. To (i.e., fish catch). Rights-based fisheries
become profitable, the fishing industry must management, which exist in all fisher-
move toward management that allows exclu- ies management regimes in one form
sion and places effective limits on access to or another, includes any system of
fishing. Declining fish stocks, more restrictive allocating individual fishing rights to
management measures, and decreasing prof- fishermen, fishing vessels, enterprises,
itability in some sectors have resulted in a cooperatives, or fishing communi-
movement toward limiting access to fishing, ties. In addition to restricting who has
a first step in rights-based management. This use of a fishery resource, rights-based
privilege to fish, or user-rights approach, can management manages how much fish-
then take on a variety of forms depending on ing effort each participant is allowed,
how exclusive the right becomes, the level (e.g., how many traps may be set), or)
or entity to which the right is allocated, the how much catch each can take The
transferability mechanisms attached to the fishing rights have a value and can be
right, and the criteria used for assigning the traded.
right initially.
Food Webs and Food Chains LME Video: Turning the Tide: Sustaining
Pauly, D. V. Christensen, J. Dalsgaard, R. Earths Large Marine Ecosystems.
Froese and F. Torres, Jr. 1998. Fishing down The oceans of the earth are under serious
marine food webs. Science 279:860-863. threat from the overexploitation of marine
life, pollution and the effects of global warm-
Marine Ecosystems ing. Turning the Tide examines the condition
http://www.piscoweb.org/files/SMR_US_ of the worlds large marine ecosystems and
HighRes.pdf presents the solutions being put forth by
the international community of scientists,
EPA website Aquatic biodiversity. Marine politicians, and those living in the affected
ecosystems. Retrieved May 16, 2009 areas. Armed with science, political will, and
sheer determination, the tide is turning to a
http://www.epa.gov/bioindicators/aquatic/ brighter future for all. 26:19 minutes.
marine.html http://www.lme.noaa.gov/index.
php?option=com_content&view=category&l
What is marine biodiversity? Center for ayout=blog&id=44&Itemid=70
Biodiversity