ISSN0429-9345
        Theecosystemapproach                                                      FAO
                                                                             FISHERIES
        to fisheries                                                        TECHNICAL
                                                                                PAPER
        Issues, terminology, principles,                                     443
        institutional foundations,
        implementation and outlook
                                    - iii - 
                       PREPARATION OF THIS DOCUMENT 
         This desk review of relevant aspects of an ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF) was specifically 
         prepared to facilitate the work of the FAO Technical Consultation on the Ecosystem-based 
         Fisheries Management held in Reykjavik (Iceland) from 16 to 19 September 2002.  It was 
         intended to be used as background material and source of definitions and references for the EAF 
         guidelines to be elaborated at the meeting. A much shorter version was presented at the 
         Symposium on Marine Fisheries, Ecosystems, and Societies in West Africa:  Half a Century of 
         Change, held in Dakar (Senegal) from 26 to 28 June 2002.  The draft received comments and 
         additional inputs during and after the meeting from many participants, particularly 
         Drs D. Staples and K. Cochrane.
         Distribution:
         All FAO Members and Associate Members 
         Interested Nations and International Organizations 
         FAO Fisheries Department 
         FAO Fishery Officers in FAO Regional Offices 
         Interested Non-governmental Organizations 
                              - iv - 
                            Abstract
         Garcia, S.M.; Zerbi, A.; Aliaume, C.; Do Chi, T.; Lasserre, G. 
         The ecosystem approach to fisheries. Issues, terminology, principles, institutional 
           foundations, implementation and outlook. 
         FAO Fisheries Technical Paper.  No. 443.  Rome, FAO.  2003.  71 p. 
         Ecosystems are complex and dynamic natural units that produce goods and services 
         beyond those of benefit to fisheries. Because fisheries have a direct impact on the 
         ecosystem, which is also impacted by other human activities, they need to be managed in 
         an ecosystem context. The meaning of the terms “ecosystem management”, “ecosystem-
         based management”, “ecosystem approach to fisheries” (EAF), etc., are still not universally 
         defined and progressively evolving. The justification of EAF is evident in the characteristics 
         of an exploited ecosystem and the impacts resulting from fisheries and other activities. The 
         rich set of international agreements of relevance to EAF contains a large number of 
         principles and conceptual objectives. Both provide a fundamental guidance and a 
         significant challenge for the implementation of EAF. The available international 
         instruments also provide the institutional foundations for EAF. The FAO Code of Conduct 
         for Responsible Fisheries is particularly important in this respect and contains provisions 
         for practically all aspects of the approach. One major difficulty in defining EAF lies 
         precisely in turning the available concepts and principles into operational objectives from 
         which an EAF management plan would more easily be developed. The paper discusses 
         these together with the types of action needed to achieve them. Experience in EAF 
         implementation is still limited but some issues are already apparent, e.g. in added 
         complexity, insufficient capacity, slow implementation, need for a pragmatic approach, 
         etc. It is argued, in conclusion, that the future of EAF and fisheries depends on the way in 
         which the two fundamental concepts of fisheries management and ecosystem 
         management, and their respective stakeholders, will join efforts or collide. 
                                                                         - v -
                   
                                                                     Contents 
                                                                            
                                                                                                                             Page 
                   
                   
                  INTRODUCTION                                                                                                   1 
                   
                  1.    TERMINOLOGY AND PARADIGMS                                                                                3 
                        1.1     Fisheries Management                                                                             3  
                   1.2 Ecosystem Management                                                                                      4 
                        1.3     Ecosystem Approach                                                                               5 
                        1.4     Ecosystem-based Fisheries Management (EBFM)                                                      6 
                        1.5     Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries (EAF)                                                            6 
                        1.6     Integrated Management (IM)                                                                       7 
                   
                  2.    ECOSYSTEM CHARACTERISTICS                                                                                7 
                        2.1     Definition                                                                                       7 
                        2.2     Scale and Boundaries                                                                             7 
                        2.3     Dynamics and Natural Variability                                                                 8 
                        2.4     Biological Organization                                                                          8 
                   2.5  Structure                                                                                                9 
                   
                  3.    FISHERIES IMPACT ON THE ECOSYSTEM                                                                        9 
                        3.1     Overall Impacts                                                                                 10 
                        3.2     Impact on Associated and Dependent Species                                                      10 
                        3.3     Impact on the Environment                                                                       11 
                        3.4     Poor Selectivity, Bycatch and Discards                                                          12 
                        3.5     Gear Loss and Ghost Fishing                                                                     12 
                   
                  4.    FISHERIES VERSUS OTHER IMPACTS                                                                          12 
                        4.1 Overall Impacts                                                                                     12 
                        4.2     Relative Importance of Fisheries and Other Impacts                                              13 
                        4.3     The Black Sea Example                                                                           13 
                        4.4     Impact on Diadromous Fish                                                                       14
                        4.5     Competition Between Humans and Marine Mammals                                                   14 
                   4.6 Allocation Implications                                                                                  14 
                   
                  5. INSTITUTIONAL FOUNDATIONS                                                                                  15 
                   
                  6.    RELEVANCE OF THE CODE OF CONDUCT                                                                        19 
                        6.1     Respect for the Ecosystem                                                                       19 
                        6.2     Account of the Environment                                                                      19 
                        6.3     Biodiversity and Endangered Species                                                             20 
                        6.4     Species Interdependence                                                                         20 
                        6.5     General Impact from Fisheries                                                                   20 
                        6.6     Selectivity, Ghost Fishing, Bycatch, Discards and Waste                                         20 
                        6.7     Impact from Other Activities                                                                    20 
                        6.8     Improved Governance                                                                             21