Thirty-two essential questions for understanding the social–ecological system of forage fish: the case of pacific herring

Levin, Phillip S.; Francis, Tessa B.; Taylor, Nathan

doi:10.1002/ehs2.1213

Cited by 35 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 73 publications

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“…These activities create trade-offs among commercial roe fisheries that remove spawning adults, which truncates adult age structure and reduces abundance, vs. those that remove only eggs from shorelines (Shelton et al 2014). Unfortunately, a core uncertainty for herring management, as for many species, is the extent of movement between areas (Flostrand et al 2009, Benson et al 2015, Jones et al 2017, Levin et al 2016. Similar uncertainty surrounds spatial variation in spawning biomass (Siple and Francis 2016), which may result in part from the degree of demographic synchrony between areas (e.g., synchrony in recruitment).…”

Section: Pacific Herring Case Study In British Columbia's Central Coastmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spatial variation in exploited metapopulations obscures risk of collapse

Okamoto

Hessing‐Lewis

Samhouri

et al. 2020

Ecological Applications

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Unanticipated declines among exploited species have commonly occurred despite harvests that appeared sustainable prior to collapse. This is particularly true in the oceans where spatial scales of management are often mismatched with spatially complex metapopulations. We explore causes, consequences, and potential solutions for spatial mismatches in harvested metapopulations in three ways. First, we generate novel theory illustrating when and how harvesting metapopulations increases spatial variability and in turn masks local‐scale volatility. Second, we illustrate why spatial variability in harvested metapopulations leads to negative consequences using an empirical example of a Pacific herring metapopulation. Finally, we construct a numerical management strategy evaluation model to identify and highlight potential solutions for mismatches in spatial scale and spatial variability. Our results highlight that spatial complexity can promote stability at large scales, however, ignoring spatial complexity produces cryptic and negative consequences for people and animals that interact with resources at small scales. Harvesting metapopulations magnifies spatial variability, which creates discrepancies between regional and local trends while increasing risk of local population collapses. Such effects asymmetrically impact locally constrained fishers and predators, which are more exposed to risks of localized collapses. Importantly, we show that dynamically optimizing harvest can minimize local risk without sacrificing yield. Thus, multiple nested scales of management may be necessary to avoid cryptic collapses in metapopulations and the ensuing ecological, social, and economic consequences.

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Section: Pacific Herring Case Study In British Columbia's Central Coastmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…, Levin et al. ). Similar uncertainty surrounds spatial variation in spawning biomass (Siple and Francis ), which may result in part from the degree of demographic synchrony between areas (e.g., synchrony in recruitment).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial variation in exploited metapopulations obscures risk of collapse

Okamoto

Hessing‐Lewis

Samhouri

et al. 2020

Ecological Applications

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“…VEBMA was developed to help resolve the Pacific herring Clupea pallasii fishery conflict between coastal and indigenous communities and the herring industry in British Columbia (BC), Canada (Lam 2015, Levin et al 2016). Pacific herring have ecological, socioeconomic, and cultural values that are often absent in evaluations of herring fishery policy options.…”

Section: The Context: Pacific Herring Fishery Conflictmentioning

confidence: 99%

Value- and ecosystem-based management approach: the Pacific herring fishery conflict

Lam¹,

Pitcher²,

Surma³

et al. 2019

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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An innovative value-and ecosystem-based management approach (VEBMA) is introduced that aims to expose policy tradeoffs, resolve resource conflicts, and foster ethical governance. VEBMA is applied to the Pacific herring Clupea pallasii fishery in British Columbia, Canada, which is mired in conflict between local and indigenous communities and the fishing industry over the management of herring, a forage fish with significant ecological, socioeconomic, and cultural value. VEBMA integrates an ecosystem-based approach (ecological modelling) with a valuebased approach (practical ethics) to examine the ecological viability, socioeconomic feasibility, and societal desirability of alternative fishery management scenarios. In the socioecosystem-based approach, we applied the Management Strategy Evaluation module within the Ecopath with Ecosim modelling framework to explore scenarios with harvest-control rules specified by various herring fishing mortalities and biomass cutoff thresholds. In the value-based approach, Haida Gwaii community and herring industry participants ranked a set of values and selected preferred scenarios and cutoff thresholds to open the fishery. The modelled ecological and socioeconomic impacts and risks and stakeholder preferences of the scenarios are synthesized in a deliberation and decision-support tool, the VEBMA science-policy table. VEBMA facilitates inclusive, transparent, and accountable decision-making among diverse stakeholders, such as local communities, industries, scientists, managers, and policy-makers. It promotes ethical governance in pluralistic societies via compromise, rather than consensus solutions to resolve 'wicked' problems at the science-policy interface.KEY WORDS: Ecosystem-based management · Values · Policy tradeoffs · Ethical governance · Resource conflicts · Wicked problems · Science-policy interface · Decision-support tools · Management strategy evaluation · Lenfest recommendations · Forage fish Contribution to the Theme Section 'Drivers of dy namics of small pelagic fish resources: biology, management and human factors'

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“…Conceptual models facilitate https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol24/iss3/art30/ the selection of ecological and socio-economic ecosystem indicators, and they emerge as the basis for risk assessments and quantitative ecosystem models (Harvey et al 2016, Ingram et al 2018. The importance of properly developed conceptual models not only relies on their effectiveness in capturing the scientific understanding of an ecosystem, but also on their ability to promote engagement by stakeholders and scientists from different backgrounds, allowing the incorporation of diverse types of knowledge into these models (Levin et al 2016b). Fig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of social-ecological conceptual models as the basis for an integrated ecosystem assessment framework in Southeast Alaska

Rosellon-Druker¹,

Szymkowiak²,

Cunningham³

et al. 2019

E&S

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2019.Development of social-ecological conceptual models as the basis for an integrated ecosystem assessment framework in Southeast Alaska. Ecology and Society 24(3):30. https://doi.ABSTRACT. Integrated ecosystem assessment (IEA) is a framework that organizes and summarizes science to aid in the transition from a traditional single sector toward a holistic management approach known as ecosystem-based management (EBM). An essential step of the IEA framework is the development of conceptual models. These models allow the integration of intrinsically linked social, environmental, and biological components of marine ecosystems that is pivotal to address unsolved questions in fisheries management. We constructed social-ecological conceptual models of relevant commercial and subsistence fisheries for Sitka, a fisheries-based community in Southeast Alaska, by collecting and synthesizing available scientific information, local ecological knowledge (LEK), and qualitative information. We conducted focus groups with key informants in Sitka who had in-depth knowledge of their community's interactions with local fisheries and the structure and function of the surrounding ecosystem. The resulting conceptual models coproduced by scientists and Sitka stakeholders, illustrate the main biological and environmental factors driving the abundance of Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) and Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) in Southeast Alaska. Furthermore, these coproduced models elucidate how the interaction between Sitka residents and these fisheries affect community well-being. Our models will serve as the basis to assess EBM objectives for Sitka as part of an IEA place-based framework. This study also highlights the importance of integrating LEK into science and potentially into the broader Alaska fisheries management structure.

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Thirty-two essential questions for understanding the social–ecological system of forage fish: the case of pacific herring

Cited by 35 publications

References 73 publications

Spatial variation in exploited metapopulations obscures risk of collapse

Spatial variation in exploited metapopulations obscures risk of collapse

Value- and ecosystem-based management approach: the Pacific herring fishery conflict

Development of social-ecological conceptual models as the basis for an integrated ecosystem assessment framework in Southeast Alaska

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