The Path to an Ecosystem Approach for Forage Fish Management: A Case Study of Atlantic Menhaden

Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) support the largest fishery by volume on the United States East Coast, while also playing an important role as a forage species. Managers’ and stakeholders’ increasing concerns about the impact of Atlantic menhaden harvest on ecosystem processes led to an evolution in the assessment and management of this species from a purely single-species approach to an ecosystem approach. The first coastwide stock assessment of Atlantic menhaden for management used a single-species virtual population analysis (VPA). Subsequent assessments used a forward projecting statistical catch-at-age framework that incorporated estimates of predation mortality from a multispecies VPA while analytical efforts continued toward the development of ecosystem models and explicit ecological reference points (ERPs) for Atlantic menhaden. As an interim step while ecosystem models were being developed, a series of ad hoc measures to preserve Atlantic menhaden biomass for predators were used by managers. In August 2020, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission formally adopted an ecological modeling framework as a tool to set reference points and harvest limits for the Atlantic menhaden that considers their role as a forage fish. This is the first example of a quantitative ecosystem approach to setting reference points on the United States Atlantic Coast and it represents a significant advance for forage fish management. This case study reviews the history of Atlantic menhaden stock assessments and management, outlines the progress on the current implementation of ERPs for this species, and highlights future research and management needs to improve and expand ecosystem-based fisheries management

Initiating end-of-life decisions with parents of infants receiving neonatal intensive care

Abstract Objective: To investigate whether parent-initiated or doctor-initiated decisions about limiting life-sustaining treatment (LST) in neonatal care has consequences for how possible courses of action are presented. Method: Formal conversations (n=27) between doctors and parents of critically ill babies from two level 3 neonatal intensive care units were audio or video recorded. Sequences of talk where decisions about limiting LST were presented were analysed using Conversation Analysis and coded using a Conversation Analytic informed coding framework. Relationships between codes were analysed using Fisher’s exact test. Results: When parents initiated the decision point, doctors subsequently tended to refer to or list available options. When doctors initiated, they tended to use ‘recommendations’ or ‘single-option’ choice (conditional) formats (p=0.017) that did not include multiple treatment options. Parent initiations overwhelmingly concerned withdrawal, as opposed to withholding of LST (p=0.030). Conclusion: Aligning parents to the trajectory of the news about their baby’s poor condition may influence how the doctor subsequently presents the decision to limit LST, and thereby the extent to which parents are invited to participate in shared decision-making. Practice implications: Explicitly proposing treatment options may provide parents with opportunities to be involved in treatment decisions for their critically ill babies, thereby fostering shared decision-making

Combining Ecosystem and Single-Species Modeling to Provide Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management Advice Within Current Management Systems.

Although many countries have formally committed to Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management (EBFM), actual progress toward these goals has been slow. This paper presents two independent case studies that have combined strategic advice from ecosystem modeling with the tactical advice of single-species assessment models to provide practical ecosystem-based management advice. With this approach, stock status, reference points, and initial target F are computed from a single-species model, then an ecosystem model rescales the target F according to ecosystem indicators without crossing pre-calculated single-species precautionary limits. Finally, the single-species model computes the quota advice from the rescaled target F, termed here Feco. Such a methodology incorporates both the detailed population reconstructions of the single-species model and the broader ecosystem perspective from ecosystem-based modeling, and fits into existing management schemes. The advocated method has arisen from independent work on EBFM in two international fisheries management systems: (1) Atlantic menhaden in the United States and (2) the multi species fisheries of the Irish Sea, in the Celtic Seas ecoregion. In the Atlantic menhaden example, the objective was to develop ecological reference points (ERPs) that account for the effect of menhaden harvest on predator populations and the tradeoffs associated with forage fish management. In the Irish Sea, the objective was to account for ecosystem variability when setting quotas for the individual target species. These two exercises were aimed at different management needs, but both arrived at a process of adjusting the target F used within the current single-species management. Although the approach has limitations, it represents a practical step toward EBFM, which can be adapted to a range of ecosystem objectives and applied within current management systems.publishedVersio

UNHCR and partner practices of community-based protection across sectors in the East and Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes Region [Arabic]

This compendium summarizes regional information on promising practices, emerging practices, and case studies that form part of the response of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and its partners to the needs of refugees, internally displaced persons, and host communities in the East and Horn of Africa and Great Lakes region. Documentation of these practices fosters south-south and global exchange, learning, and capacity-building, while inspiring UNHCR and its partner program developers and implementers with fresh ideas for resolving common challenges. The global COVID-19 pandemic makes this compendium even more critical at this time, as operations grapple with meeting the needs of Persons of Concern in the context of unprecedented lockdown and physical distancing regulations, which have radically changed service-delivery mechanisms in refugee settings. In addition to practices related to COVID-19, the compendium documents interventions that preceded the pandemic, and that will continue beyond COVID-19 as normalcy is restored. This compendium is a living document that recognizes the evolution of program solutions, and that will encourage more documentation and results-generation to capture accomplishments, and the growth and maturation of practices that often go unnoticed

UNHCR and partner practices of community-based protection across sectors in the East and Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes Region

This compendium summarizes regional information on promising practices, emerging practices, and case studies that form part of the response of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and its partners to the needs of refugees, internally displaced persons, and host communities in the East and Horn of Africa and Great Lakes region. Documentation of these practices fosters south-south and global exchange, learning, and capacity-building, while inspiring UNHCR and its partner program developers and implementers with fresh ideas for resolving common challenges. The global COVID-19 pandemic makes this compendium even more critical at this time, as operations grapple with meeting the needs of Persons of Concern in the context of unprecedented lockdown and physical distancing regulations, which have radically changed service-delivery mechanisms in refugee settings. In addition to practices related to COVID-19, the compendium documents interventions that preceded the pandemic, and that will continue beyond COVID-19 as normalcy is restored. This compendium is a living document that recognizes the evolution of program solutions, and that will encourage more documentation and results-generation to capture accomplishments, and the growth and maturation of practices that often go unnoticed

Shughuli za UNHCR na Washirikiza Ulinzi kwa Jamii baina ya Sekta katika Maeneo ya Masharik na, Pembe ya Afrika na Maziwa Makuu

This compendium summarizes regional information on promising practices, emerging practices, and case studies that form part of the response of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and its partners to the needs of refugees, internally displaced persons, and host communities in the East and Horn of Africa and Great Lakes region. Documentation of these practices fosters south-south and global exchange, learning, and capacity-building, while inspiring UNHCR and its partner program developers and implementers with fresh ideas for resolving common challenges. The global COVID-19 pandemic makes this compendium even more critical at this time, as operations grapple with meeting the needs of Persons of Concern in the context of unprecedented lockdown and physical distancing regulations, which have radically changed service-delivery mechanisms in refugee settings. In addition to practices related to COVID-19, the compendium documents interventions that preceded the pandemic, and that will continue beyond COVID-19 as normalcy is restored. This compendium is a living document that recognizes the evolution of program solutions, and that will encourage more documentation and results-generation to capture accomplishments, and the growth and maturation of practices that often go unnoticed

Executive Summary - Resigned to the Process: Barriers to Accessing and Maintaining TANF among Low-Income Families with Young Children in Illinois

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program provides cash payments to help extremely low-income families gain stability and achieve self-sufficiency. Emerging research suggests that TANF policies, includingeligibility requirements and sanction procedures, createbarriers to accessing and maintaining TANF benefits that disproportionally impact certain families based on their race.The Social IMPACT Research Center (IMPACT) at HeartlandAlliance was awarded a grant from the Robert Wood JohnsonFoundation (RWJF) to explore barriers to enrolling in TANF among families with young children in Illinois. The project was implemented in partnership with the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless (CCH), and a research advisory board (RAB) of grassroots leaders in Chicago who have direct experience receiving TANF

UNHCR and partner practices of community-based protection across sectors in the East and Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes Region [Arabic]

This compendium summarizes regional information on promising practices, emerging practices, and case studies that form part of the response of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and its partners to the needs of refugees, internally displaced persons, and host communities in the East and Horn of Africa and Great Lakes region. Documentation of these practices fosters south-south and global exchange, learning, and capacity-building, while inspiring UNHCR and its partner program developers and implementers with fresh ideas for resolving common challenges. The global COVID-19 pandemic makes this compendium even more critical at this time, as operations grapple with meeting the needs of Persons of Concern in the context of unprecedented lockdown and physical distancing regulations, which have radically changed service-delivery mechanisms in refugee settings. In addition to practices related to COVID-19, the compendium documents interventions that preceded the pandemic, and that will continue beyond COVID-19 as normalcy is restored. This compendium is a living document that recognizes the evolution of program solutions, and that will encourage more documentation and results-generation to capture accomplishments, and the growth and maturation of practices that often go unnoticed