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The Interface between Fisheries Research and Habitat Management
Author(s) -
Langton Richard W.,
Steneck Robert S.,
Gotceitas Vytenis,
Juanes Francis,
Lawton Peter
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
north american journal of fisheries management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.587
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1548-8675
pISSN - 0275-5947
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8675(1996)016<0001:tibfra>2.3.co;2
Subject(s) - habitat , resource (disambiguation) , environmental resource management , resource management (computing) , business , relation (database) , sustainable management , ecology , sustainability , computer science , environmental science , biology , computer network , database
Successful natural resource management requires a balance between the social and economic demands placed on the resource and the absolute biological limit to resource harvesting. We outline a procedure to assist managers in prioritizing scientific information in relation to this biological limit. All life history stages of a target species are considered, relative to their habitat requirements, and a determination is made whether or not there is an essential habitat for any of the life history stages. We define an essential habitat as being physically discrete and indispensable for the survival of at least one life stage of the target species. Managers determine if the essential habitat is vulnerable to anthropogenic impacts; the scientific community investigates the ramifications of a particular management strategy or studies the interdependence of life history stage and habitat. We suggest that economically important fisheries that have relatively small essential habitats and habitats that are important for more than one target species rank higher in terms of management priority. This scheme offers an objective way for managers to weigh social and economic demands against the biological constraints within which a sustainable fishery must operate.