Ecosystem approach to fisheries management (EAFM)
Discover how we use a combination of ecosystem and fisheries information to better support science advice and fisheries management decisions.
On this page
- What is an Ecosystem approach to fisheries management (EAFM)?
- Benefits of EAFM
- What we are doing
- Related links
What is an Ecosystem approach to fisheries management (EAFM)?
Canada currently uses a single-stock approach for the majority of the stocks we assess and manage. This approach assesses one stock at a time to consider the impacts of fishing on the abundance of that fish stock. The results inform management decisions for the fishery.
An ecosystem approach to fisheries management takes this single-stock approach and incorporates ecosystem variables into the stock assessment. This approach results in more informed decision making because it examines the impacts of not only fishing but also ecosystem factors like:
- climate
- oceanographic conditions
- predator-prey relationships
EAFM offers a means to support fisheries resilience and adaptive management in pursuit of the dual goals of fisheries sustainability and economic prosperity.
EAFM is a critical step along the ecosystem approach continuum. Improved understanding of ecosystem influences on fish stocks and fisheries gained by implementing EAFM will form the basis for a more comprehensive ecosystem approach in the longer term.
Benefits of EAFM
Moving towards an ecosystem approach to fisheries management will:
- promote a sustainable, economically viable, internationally competitive fishing industry;
- improve the management of Canadian stocks and fisheries by enabling better informed decision making;
- align with the global shift towards ecosystem approaches to fisheries management; and
- help respond to the challenges associated with the impacts of climate change and other important ecosystem-level changes on fish stocks
What we are doing
We are working to adopt a more comprehensive ecosystem approach to fisheries management across Canada's federally-managed fish stocks and fisheries located in freshwater, coastal, and marine environments.
Incorporating ecosystem information into fisheries management decision making has long been a goal of the department. Continuing research in ecosystem and fisheries science, and with considerations gathered from Indigenous groups and stakeholders, we aim to fully utilize existing ecosystem information, as well as collect new information, to improve the advice informing fisheries management decisions. This will result in a more holistic fisheries management approach.
Importantly and most recently, the Conference of the Parties (COP 15) to the United Nations Convention of Biodiversity, held in Canada in late 2022, saw the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). That framework committed the parties to implementing a number of targets by 2030 and explicitly includes the adoption of the ecosystem approach to help ensure the sustainable harvest of wild stocks and provide social, economic and environmental benefits to people. Canada's 2030 National Biodiversity Strategy will chart a path for how Canada will implement the GBF.
Related links
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