Underwater acoustics for ecosystem-based management: state of the science and proposals for ecosystem indicators

Abstract

defined ecosystem-based management (EBM) as 'management driven by explicit goals, executed by policies, protocols, and practices, and made adaptable by monitoring and research based on our best understanding of the ecological interactions and processes necessary to sustain ecosystem structure and function'. Thus, transitioning from single-species fisheries management to EBM will require increased information regarding the state and functioning of biotic ecosystem components (here, a taxon or group of taxa). A central tenet of EBM is the need to understand the ecological mechanisms and processes according to which the ecosystem is organized and the factors that modify them. These range from natural production, mortality, and climate change to human-induced fishing and environmental impacts. Management is then responsible for developing and funding appropriate