Data, analyses, and models to support the implementation of ecosystem-based fisheries management in the North Sea

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Kempf, Alexander and Taylor, Marc and Kühn, Bernhard and Depestele, Jochen and Heath, Mike and Vinther, Morten and Letschert, Jonas and Rindorf, Anna (2026) Data, analyses, and models to support the implementation of ecosystem-based fisheries management in the North Sea. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 83 (6). fsag109. ISSN 1054-3139 (https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsag109)

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Abstract

The theoretical foundation of ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM) is well-established, emphasizing the need to balance ecological, economic, and social objectives. In contrast, the actual implementation of EBFM has been challenging due to diverse and often conflicting objectives, as well as the complexity of marine eco systems. Using the demersal mixed fisheries in the North Sea as case study, a working example is delivered how data, analyses, and models available for the North Sea region can be combined to get a comprehensive picture of the performance of management strategies under EBFM. Climate and ecological effects on the stocks as well as impacts of fisheries on the ecosystem and food webs were specifically addressed next to the economic and social performance of management decisions. The traditional set of indicators used to measure the performance of fisheries management was extended to deal with a wide range of objectives related to the European Common Fisheries Policy, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive as well as global objectives such as reducing CO2 footprints. Results indicate that under climate change a sustainable exploitation of demersal stocks is possible under a maximum sustainable yield (MSY) approach in combination with a landing obligation. However, negative impacts on socio-economic objectives could only be partly mitigated. A reduction of fishing effort below levels of the status-quo option led to many win–win situations for both ecological and socio-economic indicators, however, only up to a certain effort reduction beyond which trade-offs between ecological and socio-economic performance became apparent. Despite large parameter and structural uncertainties, the example framework provided in this study enables target-oriented discussions with stakeholders and may help to identify technical measures needed to resolve trade-offs preventing current fisheries management from reaching a ‘sweet-spot’ under EBFM. The study provides evidence that the key to successful EBFM is to maximize wanted catches per unit of effort, while reducing unwanted bycatch and keeping the environmental footprint to an acceptable low level without too severe social and economic hardships. Our results demonstrate that data and models can be successfully integrated, but making EBFM operational will depend on modern governance structures that can handle such integrated products.

ORCID iDs

Kempf, Alexander, Taylor, Marc, Kühn, Bernhard, Depestele, Jochen, Heath, Mike ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6602-3107, Vinther, Morten, Letschert, Jonas and Rindorf, Anna;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)