The movement from single-species to ecosystem-based fisheries management indicates the importance of ecosystem-level thinking for achieving sustainable fisheries; however, it is not clear that fishery-specific market-based instruments effectively align with the principles of the ecosystem-based approach.
In "Evaluating the role of market-based instruments in protecting marine ecosystem services in wild-caught fisheries,” we reviewed the written indicators of seven market-based instruments to evaluate the level of protection they provide to marine ecosystem services that may be impacted by fisheries. We found that many of the ecosystem services, which may impact during their operations, are not completely protected by the instruments written indicators. Through this analysis we hope to promote a dialogue between scientists and decision-makers to encourage the use of ecosystem service indicators in market-based instruments used to promote sustainable fisheries.
This work was done in collaboration with Dr. Miranda Bernard, Dr. Kevin J. Dooley and Dr. Leah Gerber and was funded by the Center for Biodiversity Outcomes.