Ecosystem-based management (EBM), in the context of fishing, considers impacts on all parts of an
exploited marine ecosystem. Understanding the impacts of fishing on habitats is a necessary part of
adopting EBM, but multi-scale data that describe the types and distributions of habitats, and the interactions
of fishing with them, are typically limited or entirely lacking. An approach developed to address
habitat impacts, and applied to all offshore bottom contact fisheries in Australian waters, forms part
of a hierarchical risk assessment framework – the Ecological Risk Assessment for the Effects of Fishing
(ERAEF). Its progressively quantitative hierarchical approach enables higher-risk interactions to be
identified and prioritised in the early and intermediate assessment stages by screening out lower-risk
interactions. The approach makes the best use of all available data, but it can also be inferential where
data are lacking. At the intermediate level of the ERAEF, a semi-quantitative approach uses a general
conceptual model of how fishing impacts on ecological systems, with a focus at the level of regional
sub-fisheries defined by fishing method (gear type). A set of quantifiable attributes for habitats are used
to describe the ‘susceptibility’ of each habitat to damage that may be caused by specific fishing gears;
resilience is generalised as a habitat’s inherent ‘productivity’ (ability to recover from damage). In the
ERAEF, photographic imagery was used effectively to provide a standardised method to classify habitats,
to visualise the attributes assessed, and to communicate with stakeholders. The application of the ERAEF
to habitats is illustrated using results from a multi-sector fishery off southern Australia that has five
primary sub-fisheries: two bottom trawl (‘otter trawler’ or ‘dragger’), bottom set auto-longline, bottom
set gill net, and Danish seine. In the case of the otter trawl sub-fishery, a set of 158 habitat types was
considered, of which 46, mostly on the outer continental shelf and slope, were identified as potentially
higher risk and deserving management attention. Strengths of the ERAEF approach for benthic habitats
include methodological flexibility and wide applicability, and in being interactive and inclusive – bringing
stakeholders, scientists and managers together to ‘put habitat on the radar’ and to develop management
solutions. Limitations include difficulties in construction and validation of scored attributes and scale
dependence. In the context of ecological risk management, this method offers a way to assess risks to
marine habitats in a rigorous, transparent, and repeatable manner.
Ecosystem-based management (EBM), in the context of fishing, considers impacts on all parts of anexploited marine ecosystem. Understanding the impacts of fishing on habitats is a necessary part ofadopting EBM, but multi-scale data that describe the types and distributions of habitats, and the interactionsof fishing with them, are typically limited or entirely lacking. An approach developed to addresshabitat impacts, and applied to all offshore bottom contact fisheries in Australian waters, forms partof a hierarchical risk assessment framework – the Ecological Risk Assessment for the Effects of Fishing(ERAEF). Its progressively quantitative hierarchical approach enables higher-risk interactions to beidentified and prioritised in the early and intermediate assessment stages by screening out lower-riskinteractions. The approach makes the best use of all available data, but it can also be inferential wheredata are lacking. At the intermediate level of the ERAEF, a semi-quantitative approach uses a generalconceptual model of how fishing impacts on ecological systems, with a focus at the level of regionalsub-fisheries defined by fishing method (gear type). A set of quantifiable attributes for habitats are usedto describe the ‘susceptibility’ of each habitat to damage that may be caused by specific fishing gears;resilience is generalised as a habitat’s inherent ‘productivity’ (ability to recover from damage). In theERAEF, photographic imagery was used effectively to provide a standardised method to classify habitats,to visualise the attributes assessed, and to communicate with stakeholders. The application of the ERAEFto habitats is illustrated using results from a multi-sector fishery off southern Australia that has fiveprimary sub-fisheries: two bottom trawl (‘otter trawler’ or ‘dragger’), bottom set auto-longline, bottomset gill net, and Danish seine. In the case of the otter trawl sub-fishery, a set of 158 habitat types wasconsidered, of which 46, mostly on the outer continental shelf and slope, were identified as potentiallyhigher risk and deserving management attention. Strengths of the ERAEF approach for benthic habitatsinclude methodological flexibility and wide applicability, and in being interactive and inclusive – bringingstakeholders, scientists and managers together to ‘put habitat on the radar’ and to develop managementsolutions. Limitations include difficulties in construction and validation of scored attributes and scaledependence. In the context of ecological risk management, this method offers a way to assess risks tomarine habitats in a rigorous, transparent, and repeatable manner.
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