Scientific inference and experiment in Ecosystem Based Fishery Management, with application to Steller sea lions in the Bering Sea and Western Gulf of Alaska

Mangel, Marc

doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2010.01.005

Cited by 8 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…The effect of pinnipeds on their prey or the effect of changes in potential prey on pinniped populations encompasses the vast majority of management and conservation issues related to this group of mammals (e.g. Wickens et al 1992, Boyd 2002, Corkeron 2009, Mangel 2010. Among the shortfalls of many measures of diet determination is the inherent constraint that they are only able to relate the immediate (24 to 48 h) dietary history of an individual (Tollit et al 2010).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of phylogeny and prey type on fatty acid calibration coefficients in three pinniped species: implications for the QFASA dietary quantification technique

Rosen¹,

Tollit²

2012

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of phylogeny and prey type on fatty acid calibration coefficients in three pinniped species: implications for the QFASA dietary quantification technique

Rosen¹,

Tollit²

2012

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…However, both species target highly mobile pelagic prey and nonbreeders move widely (e.g., Sherley et al. ), so any effects of fishing restrictions may only become apparent over long time scales (Mangel ; Sherley et al. ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The resulting ecologically relevant MPAs could play an important role in broader marine spatial planning by helping governments create effective MPAs networks—arguably more effective than a few large‐scale MPAs (De Santo ; McCauley )—by raising public support for protected areas via flagship species (Lee et al. ), and by encouraging stakeholders to treat MPA implementation as policy experiments (Mangel ; Fox et al. ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Defining ecologically relevant scales for spatial protection with long‐term data on an endangered seabird and local prey availability

Sherley

Botha

Underhill

et al. 2017

Conservation Biology

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Human activities are important drivers of marine ecosystem functioning. However, separating the synergistic effects of fishing and environmental variability on the prey base of nontarget predators is difficult, often because prey availability estimates on appropriate scales are lacking. Understanding how prey abundance at different spatial scales links to population change can help integrate the needs of nontarget predators into fisheries management by defining ecologically relevant areas for spatial protection. We investigated the local population response (number of breeders) of the Bank Cormorant (Phalacrocorax neglectus), a range-restricted endangered seabird, to the availability of its prey, the heavily fished west coast rock lobster (Jasus lalandii). Using Bayesian state-space modeled cormorant counts at 3 colonies, 22 years of fisheries-independent data on local lobster abundance, and generalized additive modeling, we determined the spatial scale pertinent to these relationships in areas with different lobster availability. Cormorant numbers responded positively to lobster availability in the regions with intermediate and high abundance but not where regime shifts and fishing pressure had depleted lobster stocks. The relationships were strongest when lobsters 20-30 km offshore of the colony were considered, a distance greater than the Bank Cormorant's foraging range when breeding, and may have been influenced by prey availability for nonbreeding birds, prey switching, or prey ecology. Our results highlight the importance of considering the scale of ecological relationships in marine spatial planning and suggest that designing spatial protection around focal species can benefit marine predators across their full life cycle. We propose the precautionary implementation of small-scale marine protected areas, followed by robust assessment and adaptive-management, to confirm population-level benefits for the cormorants, their prey, and the wider ecosystem, without negative impacts on local fisheries.

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“…Western Steller sea lion declines in Alaska may be governed by the combination of these effects. Matthiopoulos et al (2008) found that sea lion abundance trends could be explained by reduced availability of high‐energy prey at local scales for juvenile sea lions, but extensive research has failed to conclusively identify the key drivers (Atkinson et al 2008, Mangel 2010). In short, even though carrying capacity for marine mammals is expected to depend on prey dynamics, the mechanisms by which this occurs may not always manifest as a simple function of total prey biomass.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Management reference points to account for direct and indirect impacts of fishing on marine mammals

Moore¹

2012

Marine Mammal Science

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Reference points can help implement an ecosystem approach to fisheries management (EAF), by establishing precautionary removal limits for nontarget species and target species of ecological importance. PBR (Potential Biological Removal), developed under the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), is a limit for direct mortality for marine mammals, but it does not account for indirect effects of fishing due to prey depletion. I propose a generalization of PBR (called PBR*) to account for plausible changes in marine mammal carrying capacity (ΔK) from prey biomass decline relative to two example benchmarks: SSBMSY (maximum sustainable yield biomass for all known prey species) or SSBK (unfished prey biomass). PBR* can help identify when indirect fishing effects (alone, or combination with direct mortality estimates) may stymie MMPA objectives, and could inform catch limit estimates for target species that are also important as marine mammal prey. As a case study, I applied PBR* estimates to evaluate the possible combined direct + indirect effects of fishing on cetaceans in northeastern U.S. waters. Estimated distributions for ΔK were based on fish stock assessments and meta‐analysis of predator‐prey relationships from the mammalian literature. Based on this analysis, increased risk of marine mammal depletion due to indirect fishing effects was not evident, although this result must be interpreted cautiously given our limited understanding of cetacean diets and marine trophic dynamics. This study is intended to illustrate a possible practical approach for incorporating indirect fisheries impacts on marine mammals into a comprehensive management framework, and it raises several scientific and policy issues that merit further investigation.

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Scientific inference and experiment in Ecosystem Based Fishery Management, with application to Steller sea lions in the Bering Sea and Western Gulf of Alaska

Cited by 8 publications

References 41 publications

Effects of phylogeny and prey type on fatty acid calibration coefficients in three pinniped species: implications for the QFASA dietary quantification technique

Effects of phylogeny and prey type on fatty acid calibration coefficients in three pinniped species: implications for the QFASA dietary quantification technique

Defining ecologically relevant scales for spatial protection with long‐term data on an endangered seabird and local prey availability

Management reference points to account for direct and indirect impacts of fishing on marine mammals

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