Planning for EcosystemBased Fisheries Management in Chesapeake Bay

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Planning for Ecosystem-Based Fisheries
Management in Chesapeake Bay
E. D. Houde
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The State of the Bay 1. Excess
Nutrients and Eutrophication are the Major
Problems. Hypoxia Blooms, Including
HABs High Turbidity SAV loss 2. Living
Resources in Decline Oyster Issues Blue
Crab Striped Bass Atlantic menhaden Unmanage
d, Key Species 3. Habitats Loss Degraded 4.
Contaminants Problematic, but Spatially
Confined
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Chesapeake Basin Forests
In the 1600s, about 95 of the basin was
forested. In 1990, about 59 was forested. The
forests that re-grew earlier this century are now
steadily declining. Current losses represent
permanent conversions.
Source US Forest Service
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Late summer deep water is NOT preferable habitat
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Bernie Fowler's "Sneaker Index"
GOAL Restore Bernie's sneaker visibility to
chest depth (57 to 63 inches). STATUS Wading in
the Patuxent River at Broomes Island, MD, Bernie
has seen improvements in water clarity since
1988. He says, "although this is not a
scientific measure, it puts restoring the river
on a human scale."
Source Former Maryland state senator C. Bernard
Fowler
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Chesapeake Bay Program C2K GOAL

• C2K Commitments
• By 2005, Develop Multi-Species FMPs
• By 2007, Implement Multi-Species FMPs
  Ecosystem
• Approaches to Management
• Living Resources Protection and Restoration
• Restore, enhance and protect the finfish,
• shellfish and other living resources, their
• habitats and ecological relationships to
• sustain all fisheries and provide for a
• balanced ecosystem.

From Chesapeake Bay Program, Chesapeake 2000
Document
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Incentives to Develop
Ecosystem-Based Fisheries
Management Rio Conference 1992 (United
Nations) Precautionary Approach, 1995 (United
Nations, Lysesil) Reauthorization of the MSFCMA,
1996 EPAP Recommendations (NMFS 1999) C2K,
Chesapeake Bay Program, 2000 Pew Report, 2003
USCOP Report, 2004 Pending Reauthorization of
MSFCMA, 2005
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What is Ecosystem-Based Fisheries
Management? Individual Components (Species,
Stocks) are important, but the whole is worth
more than the sum of its parts. Some components
are critical to keep the system running. Many
key species are not those that enter the
fisheries. Products that enter the human economy
are important, but can be taken only at
sustainable levels. Services provided by the
ecosystem also are important. Predator-prey
relationships, habitats, and external forces all
must be considered in EBFM. Precautionary
approach, risk-averse management, and a strong
appreciation of uncertainty are principles of
EBFM.
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A Fisheries Ecosystem Plan

• An FEP is an umbrella document containing
  information on the structure and function of the
  ecosystem in which fishing activities occur, so
  that managers can be aware of the effects their
  decisions have on the ecosystem, and the effects
  other components of the ecosystem have on its
  fisheries. -NMFS (1999) EPAP Report to Congress

A stimulus for actions in Chesapeake Bay
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• Value and Purpose of a FEP
• Provide managers with a clear description of key
  biological, physical, and human/institutional
  structures and processes
• Provides guidance for advancing the multi-step
  management transition single species ?
  multi-species ? ecosystem-based
• Identifies research and management goals to
  support the long-term ecosystem-based management
  objective
• Effective management of the fisheries ecosystem
• Emphasizes that precautionary and risk-averse
  management should ensure sustainable and
  profitable fisheries

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Chesapeake Bay Commercial Catch Total Removals?
Carrying Capacity? The Bay historically may
have supported landings (removals) exceeding
300,000 tons (gt250 kg/ha). Was that level
sustainable? Total removals must be estimated.
These include commercial and recreational
landings, and bycatches. What is the carrying
capacity and level of landings that can be taken
now? How should landings be allocated among
trophic levels? Fishing Effort, Habitats, and
Water Quality must be considered.
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Fact 1. The Oysters are Gone Folks. GONE !
Oyster harvests have declined due to
overharvesting, disease, pollution and loss of
oyster reef habitat. Two diseases, discovered in
the 1950s and caused by the parasites MSX and
Dermo, have been a major cause of the oysters
decline during recent times.
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Fact 2. Blue Crab is Down, but Far from Out.
The Prognosis is Good !
Bays most valuable fishery Resilient and
adaptable Fishing mortality is high and still
above the safe harvest level Need for
precautionary, prudent, and risk- averse
management
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Recruitment levels of Atlantic menhaden
(1959-2003) based on MD-DNR seine survey
Fact 3. Menhaden recruitments are down WHAT
DOES IT MEAN?
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10
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Recruitment Index
Is the menhaden resource collapsing?
Striped Bass
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Mean 1970-1988
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2
Mean 1992-2003
0
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000

Including Upper Bay, Potomac River, and Choptank
River
E. Houde
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FEP Technical Advisory Panel
(and FEP Authors)
Margaret McBride (Chair) - NCBO Herb Austin -
VIMS Vicki Blazer - USGS Chris Bonzek -
VIMS Denise Breitburg - ANS Mary Christman -
UMCP Ratana Chuenpagdee- VIMS Steve Jordan
MDNR/EPA Derek Orner - NCBO
Ed Houde (Co-Chair) - CBL James Kirkley -
VIMS Jonathan Kramer - MD Sea Grant Rob Latour -
VIMS Rom Lipcius - VIMS Tom Miller - CBL Dave
Secor - CBL Alexi Sharov - MDNR Bob Wood
CBL/NCBO Lisa Kline - ASMFC
NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office, Fisheries Ecosystem
Planning for Chesapeake Bay http//noaa.chesapeake
bay.net/Fish/FEP_DRAFT.pdf
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FEP Goal The FEP will serve as an
umbrella document to support ecosystem-based
approaches to fishery management in Chesapeake
Bay. It will recommend actions to implement such
approaches for Bay-resident and coastal species.
And, it will recommend research to enhance
knowledge of the ecosystem and its fisheries in
support of long-term management
objectives. This is a strategic goal and
framework for Ecosytem-Based Fisheries
Management.
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FEP Vision

• Emphasizes the ecosystem as the entity that
  must be conserved to insure sustainable fisheries
• Adheres to the Code of Conduct for
  sustainable fisheries (FAO).
• Recognizes that precautionary, risk-averse
  management is required for sustainable and
  profitable fisheries.
• Builds on present Chesapeake Bay FMPs.
• Provides recommendations to managers to guide
  implementation.
• http//noaa.chesapeakebay.net/Fish/FEP_DRAFT.pdf

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FEP OBJECTIVES

• Provide managers with a clear description and
  understanding of the fundamental physical,
  biological, and human/institutional structures of
  the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem
• Provide guidance on how information on the Bay
  ecosystem should be considered in FMPs for
  resident species, and coastal species that are
  seasonal Bay inhabitants
• Formulate recommendations on how management
  options may be developed and implemented.

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Is the FEP Practical and Feasible?

• To the extent possible, the FEP is compatible
  with the broader goals of the Chesapeake Bay
  Program
• The FEP is meant to be a practical plan that
  allows immediate implementation of some
  recommended actions and incremental
  implementation of those that require policy
  decisions or further research
• It should serve as a stimulus and provide
  guidance for further ecosystem-based management
  planning

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Major FEP Elements

• Ecosystem Boundaries Defining the Management
  Unit
• Food Web interactions and Modeling
• Habitat, Habitat Requirements, and Management
• Patterns of Total Removals
• Characterization and Incorporation of
  Uncertainty
• Indicators of Ecosystem Health and Biological
  Reference Points
• Monitoring in Support of Ecosystem-based
  Fisheries Management
• Externalities
• Economic and Social Dimensions of the Fisheries
  Ecosystem

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The FEP Emphasizes Fisheries --Their
management, compatible with other human
activities and without endangering the productive
capacity of the Bay --With emphasis on
Trophic Relationships and Habitats for Key
Species that are fished or which support fished
species (e.g., prey)
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Chesapeake Bay FEP
A Strategic Plan More than a Framework, but
less than a Tactical Plan Key Issues
Boundaries Jurisdictions, Institutional
Concerns Ecosystem Indicators and appropriate
Reference Points Is There Sufficient
Understanding of the Chesapeake Bay Ecosystem to
Undertake EBFM?
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Boundary Issues Jurisdictional
Issues Practicalities
from FEP
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Bay Residents SCB Coastal Migrants
SCST Other Estuaries SEST
From FEP
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Current Management Process
Striped Bass
Bluefish
Weakfish
Menhaden
from L. Garrison, NMFS, Woods
Hole
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Future Management Process
A need for multi-species models
Striped Bass
Bluefish
Weakfish
Spot/Croaker
Menhaden
Bay Anchovy
Large Zooplankton
from L. Garrison,
NMFS, Woods Hole
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Subwebs for other managed species also are
included in the FEP
Subweb of striped bass
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C2K Requires Multispecies Management
MSY Maximum Sustainable Yield
How can we optimize yields and benefits in a
multi-species fishery?
E. Houde
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Habitats and Water
Quality Adopt Holistic View Habitats are
linked recognize transfers, migrations,
ontogenetic shifts. --open-water and structural
habitats Essential Fish Habitat in the FEP.
Emphasis should be on protection of habitat
and water quality to sustain fisheries
productivity --protection and restoration --prec
autionary approach is appropriate --greater
emphasis on spatial approaches to management
Develop explicit EFH guidelines (structural
habitat and water quality) --build on federal
guidelines --need to entrain agencies other than
fisheries management
agencies --should supersede federal guidelines
when consistent with FMP needs --develop
a habitat classification scheme for the
Bay --use historical baselines and trends to
guide decisions
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Estuarine Spatial Management Terrestrial,
Aquatic, and Transition Zones
Estuarine habitats and abutting wetlands are not
static
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The Blue Crab MPAC
More spatially-explicit management
from Lipcius et al. 2003
Closed to crabbing June 1 to Sept. 15
VA Bay-wide Spawning Sanctuary (Deepwater
Corridor)
Lower Bay Spawning Sanctuary
30 depth contour
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From the FEP
Protected Areas Have a Role in EBFM
p.157 Fig 6
p.179 Fig 1
Spatial management is an important component of
ecosystem-based approaches
to fisheries management
E. Houde
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Chesapeake Bay Seine Survey Recruitment Index
Correlations Striped Bass and White Perch
Climate and Weather Externalities Can Control
Recruitments and Productivity
E. Houde
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Chesapeake Bay Seine Survey Recruitment Index
Correlations Striped Bass and Atlantic Menhaden
E. Houde
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Atlantic Menhaden
E. Houde
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Recommendations

• Adopt Boundaries- - Watershed to Mouth Beyond
• Adapt EFH Regulations for the Bay
• Conduct Fishery-Independent Surveys
• Coordinate Regional Database Management
• Recognize Key Predator-Prey Relationships
• Develop Ecosystem-Level Reference Points
• Set Thresholds for Total Removals, Including
  Bycatch and Discards

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• Recommendations (cont.)
• Improve Estimates of Recreational Catch
• Consider all User Groups- -Determine Patterns
  that Promote Optimum Use of Resources
• Consider Co-Management Involve Stakeholders
• Address Socio-economic Issues, Goals
  Objectives within an Ecosystem-based Approach
• Consider the Risks of Management Options

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Seek Endorsement and Adoption

• Seek endorsement by the Chesapeake Bay Fisheries
  Steering Committee and the CBP Living Resources
  Subcommittee
• Recommend near-term actions to be taken by the
  FMPC-WG. Develop or amend FMPs with an EBFM
  emphasis
• Request endorsement and adoption by the CBP
• Develop a long-term plan for broader
  implementation
• Coordinate planning and actions with Bay and
  regional jurisdictions (institutions and
  agencies)

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• Implementing Ecosystem-Based Approaches
• For Fisheries Management
• Be Precautionary. Take uncertainty into
  account. Conserve the resiliency of the
  ecosystem.
• Be Adaptive. Be responsive to externalities.
  Experiments and models.
• Consider Predator-Prey Relationships.
  Multi-species models.
• Define Critical Habitat and Water Quality Needs.
  Ecosystem models.
• Develop Multi-species Management Plans.
• Move Away from Command and Control toward
  Co-management.
• Consider Needs for New Institutional and
  Governance Structures.

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How Management Might Differ

• A New Ethic Conserve and Protect the Essential
  Properties of the Ecosystem. Consider the
  Broader Consequences of Management Actions
• Precautionary Approach - - Do No Harm
• FMPC WG Guided by the FEP (Amended and New FMPs)
• -- Initially Address Menhaden, Blue Crab,
  Striped Bass, Oyster, Shads
• Coordinated Regional Actions
• Multispecies FMPs
• Harness the Energy and Resources of the
  Chesapeake Bay Program
• Fisheries Managers Cant Implement a FEP Alone

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• Additional Thoughts
• Recognize the externalities that affect
  ecosystems and fisheries production/performance
• Develop management strategies or plans that
  preserve the resiliency of the Bay ecosystem
• Review the historical performance of past
  single-species management plans before developing
  new EBFMPs
• Develop EBFMPs that dont close out options.
  Effective EBFMPs must be adaptive plans.
• The U. S. Ocean Commissions report promotes
  ecosystem-based management.

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Pathways to Implementation

• Obtain Endorsement of FEP as guiding framework
  for Chesapeake Bay fisheries management
• Chesapeake Bay Fisheries Steering Committee
• Chesapeake Bay Program/Living Resource
  Subcommittee Implementation Committee
• Other Bay resource management institutions with
  regulatory authority (e.g., MDE, DCDH, VDEQ)
• Regional fisheries management institutions
  (e.g., ASMFC, MAFMC, SAFMC)

• Develop first generation pilot FMPs as proof of
  concept for ecosystem-based fisheries management
• Use fisheries as living resource driver for
  Bay-wide restoration efforts and ID critical
  subject matter expertise, jurisdiction, and
  authorities
• Build a cooperative ecosystem approach to CB
  resource management between State and Federal
  partners with jurisdiction over coastal and
  estuarine areas
• Prioritize research and management
  recommendations

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• Implementation
  Needs
• Begin now. Consider precautionary management
  actions in single-species FMPs that favor
  long-term sustainability over short-term
  landings. Shift emphasis towards multi-species
  management.
• Supplement single-species targets and reference
  points with ecosystem-level indicators and
  reference points that emphasize productivity,
  carrying capacity, critical habitats,
  predator-prey relationships, community
  structure, and biodiversity.
• Protect endangered and threatened species. Be
  wary of introducing exotic species.
• Minimize bycatches.
• Increase emphasis on spatially-explicit
  management actions.
• Involve stakeholders more fully in the
  management process.

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