Publication Abstract

Managing without best predictions: the Management Strategy Evaluation framework.

Managing without best predictions: the Management Strategy Evaluation framework

José A. A. De Oliveira, Laurence T. Kell, André E. Punt, Beatriz A. Roel and Doug S. Butterworth

Despite consistent and extensive efforts over the past 50 years by regional management bodies and national governments to regulate fisheries, fishing capacity has often remained well above that necessary to exploit marine resources at optimal sustainable levels. Although the need to develop alternative novel management strategies that are able to meet their goals is widely recognized, it is almost impossible to achieve this by conducting large-scale experiments on fish populations. There has therefore been a trend towards the use of computer simulation to identify management strategies that can satisfy multiple objectives and that are robust to uncertainty. This chapter introduces harvest control rules (HCRs), and reviews the use of the Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE) framework, including its role in the transformation of HCRs into management procedures. Several examples of the implementation and use of the MSE framework around the world are given, and potential benefits and problems are discussed. Finally, the paper discusses the possible role of the MSE framework in implementing agreements under the World Summit on Sustainable Development and Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management.

Reference

J.A.A. De Oliveira*, L.T. Kell*, A.E. Punt, B.A. Roel* and D.S. Butterworth. (2008) Managing without best predictions: the Management Strategy Evaluation framework. In Advances in Fisheries Science. 50 years on from Beverton and Holt, pp. 104-134. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford. xxi + 547 pp.

J.A.A. De Oliveira*, L.T. Kell*, A.E. Punt, B.A. Roel* and D.S. Butterworth.

In Advances in Fisheries Science. 50 years on from Beverton and Holt, pp. 104-134. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford. xxi + 547 pp.