Marine fisheries are generally regarded to be in fairly poor shape, with blame placed squarely on the way fish stocks are managed. This so-called fisheries issue, commonly regarded as a global crisis, has been broadcast well outside conservation and fisheries science circles, largely thanks to a recent series of newsworthy publications in high impact journals. Consequently, the way fisheries are managed has fallen under greater academic and public scrutiny than ever before. The issue has been met with calls for reductions in fleet size and fishing effort, elimination of public subsidy for the fishing industry, increased selectivity and banning of damaging fishing practices. But to many the problem is rooted far deeper: we need nothing short of a revolution in the science underpinning fisheries management and a move towards an ecosystem-based approach to management.
Managing fish stocks in an ecosystem context is not a new concept but it is certainly not in the mainstream. Ecosystem-based fisheries management is generally regarded as too complex, uncertain and data-hungry a process to be feasible. Yet, meeting these challenges head on, this book provides a manifesto that defends this type of management as not only a priority but also as a workable solution.
Throughout much of this well written and energetic book, Link assumes a casual style that those acclimatized to fisheries literature may not be used to but all can appreciate. This doesn’t reduce the legitimacy of the science, which in places is thick, and will no doubt boost readership. But although this book will primarily appeal to fisheries scientists and postgraduates it is not a reference manual, and is written to be read from cover to cover.
The book is in three sections, the first of which defines ecosystem-based fisheries management and provides an historical, theoretical and contextual background. These initial chapters are generally positive and, in places, refreshingly optimistic about where we are and where we need to be in terms of managing fisheries responsibly. Only in the third chapter, which examines the religious philosophies underlying stewardship, does Link perhaps overstate his personal views on why this type of management is justified. The pragmatic question asked by the final chapter of the section is particularly useful: when does it make sense to do ecosystem-based fisheries management? This question will be asked by many, and Link answers using a medley of case study examples.
The second section provides a synopsis of the science required to make ecosystem-based fisheries management operational, and introduces the analytical basis from which to monitor, evaluate and generate management advice for an ecosystem. These middle chapters are illustrative, and mildly prescriptive, of how the wide array of approaches to implement ecosystem-based fisheries management can be, and have been, brought together. This section gave me a real sense of the many practical but potentially treacherous simplifications made in fisheries science. No fish stock exists within an ecological vacuum and ignoring this can be dangerous. Encouragingly, Link demonstrates that the methodology to do ecosystem-based fisheries management is already available, even in data-poor situations, and all that is required is the institutional will.
The final section picks up on this idea and looks at institutional considerations. Throughout the book up until this point I had been mulling over how emerging ecosystem-based fisheries management models, methods and techniques would be received by those tasked to do it. Unfortunately this last section—the shortest by several chapters—doesn’t provide an outright answer. I concede that this question isn’t likely ever to receive a straight answer but to me at least it remains an important consideration in the success of implementing ecosystem-based fisheries management.
The bottom line, which I think resounds clearly throughout, is that ecosystem-based fisheries management is a concept that we would be reckless to ignore. Fisheries science guides the commercial exploitation of countless marine ecosystems, yet in many cases it does this blindly. A move to this type of management will no doubt be a challenge but is also a necessity if we are to manage our marine resources responsibly. But, encouragingly, as Link shows, we already have the means to do this.
