Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management

Abstract
Ecosystem-based fishery management (EBFM) is a new direction for fishery management, essentially reversing the order of management priorities so that management starts with the ecosystem rather than a target species. EBFM aims to sustain healthy marine ecosystems and the fisheries they support. Pikitch et al. describe the potential benefits of implementation of EBFM that, in their view, far outweigh the difficulties of making the transition from a management system based on maximizing individual species.