Implementing Ecosystem Approaches to Fishery Management: Risk Assessment in the US Mid-Atlantic

Fishery managers worldwide are evaluating methods for incorporating climate, habitat, ecological, social, and economic factors into current operations in order to implement Ecosystem Approaches to Fishery Management (EAFM). While this can seem overwhelming, it is possible to take practical steps toward EAFM implementation that make use of existing information and provide managers with valuable strategic advice. Here, we describe the process used by the U.S. Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) to develop an ecosystem-level risk assessment, the initial step proposed in their recently adopted EAFM guidance document. The Council first defined five types of Risk Elements (ecological, economic, social, food production, management) and identified which management objectives aligned with each element. Based on an existing ecosystem status report for the region and other existing sources (including expert opinion), potential ecological, social, economic, and management indicators were identified for each risk element. Finally, low, low-moderate, moderate-high, and high risk criteria were defined for each indicator, and the indicator data were used to score each risk element using the criteria. The ultimate outcome is a ranked risk assessment in order to focus on the highest risk issues for further evaluation and mitigation. The risk assessment highlights certain species and certain management issues as posing higher cumulative risks to meeting Council management objectives when considering a broad range of ecological, social, and economic factors. Tabular color coded summaries of risk assessment results will be used by the Council to prioritize further EAFM analyses as well as research plans over the coming 5 years. As ecosystem reporting and operational EAFM continue to evolve in future years, the Council foresees integrating these efforts so that ecosystem indicators are refined to meet the needs of fishery managers in identifying and managing risks to achieving ecological, social, and economic fishery objectives. Overall, ecosystem indicator-based risk assessment is a method that can be adapted to a wide range of resource management systems and available information, and therefore represents a promising way forward in the implementation of EAFM

Atlantic spp rcp85_A-L

This zipped file contains all the projections for Atlantic species for RCP 8.5, which have genera names beginning with the letters 'A' through 'L'. Each file contains 21st century projection data for a single species and one of two RCPs (representative concentration pathway). The files are stored as ‘.RData’ files and each contains a single data frame to be used with R computing software. Each row of data consists of projected catch-per-unit-effort within a specific latitude-longitude referenced grid cell, for one of five time periods (2007-2020, 2021-2040, 2041-2060, 2061-2080, 2081-2100). Please refer to the ‘READ ME’ file that is included with the zip file for more details

Pacific spp rcp26

This zipped file contains all the projections for Pacific species for RCP 2.6. Each file contains 21st century projection data for a single species and one of two RCPs (representative concentration pathway). The files are stored as ‘.RData’ files and each contains a single data frame to be used with R computing software. Each row of data consists of projected catch-per-unit-effort within a specific latitude-longitude referenced grid cell, for one of five time periods (2007-2020, 2021-2040, 2041-2060, 2061-2080, 2081-2100). Please refer to the ‘READ ME’ file that is included with the zip file for more details

Atlantic spp rcp26_M-Z

This zipped file contains all the projections for Atlantic species for RCP 2.6, which have genera names beginning with the letters 'M' through 'Z'. Each file contains 21st century projection data for a single species and one of two RCPs (representative concentration pathway). The files are stored as ‘.RData’ files and each contains a single data frame to be used with R computing software. Each row of data consists of projected catch-per-unit-effort within a specific latitude-longitude referenced grid cell, for one of five time periods (2007-2020, 2021-2040, 2041-2060, 2061-2080, 2081-2100). Please refer to the ‘READ ME’ file that is included with the zip file for more details

Information for North American bottom trawl surveys.

<p>Information for North American bottom trawl surveys.</p

Atlantic spp rcp26_A-L

This zipped file contains all the projections for Atlantic species for RCP 2.6, which have genera names beginning with the letters 'A' through 'L'. Each file contains 21st century projection data for a single species and one of two RCPs (representative concentration pathway). The files are stored as ‘.RData’ files and each contains a single data frame to be used with R computing software. Each row of data consists of projected catch-per-unit-effort within a specific latitude-longitude referenced grid cell, for one of five time periods (2007-2020, 2021-2040, 2041-2060, 2061-2080, 2081-2100). Please refer to the ‘READ ME’ file that is included with the zip file for more details

Projected shifts in distribution for east coast species.

<p>The direction and magnitude in km of projected shifts in centroids for 336 species on the North American east coast and 239 species in the Gulf of Mexico. For additional detail refer to <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0196127#pone.0196127.g003" target="_blank">Fig 3</a> caption. Note that the scale of the compass plots for the east and west coasts differ.</p

Examples of east coast species projections.

<p>Gray snapper <i>Lutjanus griseus</i> is in the left-most column, sheepshead <i>Archosargus probatocephalus</i> is in the middle column, and spiny dogfish <i>Squalus acanthias</i> is in the right-most column. For other details, refer to <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0196127#pone.0196127.g007" target="_blank">Fig 7</a> caption.</p