1. 5. Moving towards EAFM
Essential EAFM
Date • Place 1

2. Session objectives After this session you will be able to:2
Session objectives
After this session you will be able to:
Recognize how the USA adopted the EAFM principles and moved towards EAFM (case study)
Determine where your country is at in moving towards EAFM
Identify challenges your country faces in moving towards EAFM
The session has 3 objectives;
The USA experience used here for 1st objective and to guide the 2nd and 3rd objectives.
Objectives 2&3 are addressed through activities
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3. USA Timeline 1950s-2013 6. Adaptive management
1950s-1970s: Overfishing  Collapsing fisheries
1976: New Conservation & Management Act
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
1980s: Regional Councils and single fisheries Fishery Management Plans (FMPs)
1996: Sustainable Fisheries Act  Essential Fish Habitat
2004: Coral Reef Ecosystem FMP
2010: Fishery Ecosystem Plans (FEPs)
2012: End of ‘overfishing’ for all USA fishery stocks
- Rebuilding of stocks
6. Adaptive management
This slide shows a timeline of major changes in fisheries management policies and implementation in the United States of America (USA), with a few examples of fisheries management plans in the Western Pacific Region (Pacific Islands Region).
This timelines demonstrates a long-term evolution toward an EAFM in the USA.
We will discuss the individual activities in this timeline as we move through this session.
During the 1950’s to 1970’s, rapid technological advances greatly increased the ability of fishers around the globe to locate, exploit and overexploit fishery resources. This led to global overfishing and collapsing fisheries, including many in the USA.
To address these concerns, the U.S. Congress passed the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976 as the primary fisheries management law for the USA, as will be discussed in the next slide.
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4. 3. Increased participation 5. Cooperation & coordination
1980s: Formation of 8 Regional Fishery Management Councils
3. Increased participation
5. Cooperation & coordination
1. Good governance
Council Members
Federal Agencies (NOAA Fisheries, U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service, US Coast Guard, State Department)
State Fishery Agencies (local gov.)
Fishermen* (commercial, recreational)
Other concerned users/stakeholders* (seafood owners, conservationists, researchers, educators)
*Nominated by respective State’s Governors
Increased participation and better cooperation and coordination was achieved through the establishment 8 Regional Fisheries Management Councils around the USA to:
Advise the government (NOAA) on fisheries management issues.
Develop and amend Fisheries Management Plans to maintain fishing opportunities while conserving marine resources and habitats.
The voting members of the Council includes people from
Key Federal agencies (NOAA, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, US Coast Guard, and State Department)
State fisheries agencies
Fishermen (commercial and recreational)
Other key fisheries stakeholders (seafood industry, conservationists, researchers, educators, etc.)
Magnuson_Stevens was designed to provide Good Governance (EAFM Principle #1) and to Increase Participation (EAFM Principle #3)
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5. 1996: The US Sustainable Fisheries Act
4. Multiple objectives
1. Good governance
An important legislative shift towards EAFM
reduce bycatch
protect essential fish habitats
to consider the effects of management decisions on communities.
Here, we emphasize the 1996 Reauthorization and Amendment of the U.S. Fisheries Law with the enactment of the Sustainable Fisheries Act that required the consideration and protection of Essential Fish Habitats in the Fishery Management process as an example of good goverance. Here essential fish habitat was defined to include both benthic habitats, like coral reefs, seagrass beds, banks, etc., but also oceanographic habitats, areas with particularly characteristics needed to support important life history phases of fishery resources such as temperature, salinity, currents, nutrients, etc.
The Sustainable Fisheries Act of 1996, 20 years after the original Magnuson-Stevens Act, represented a significant shift toward an EAFM. It again demonstrates the Adaptive Management Principle # 6.
As such the Sustainable Fisheries Act provided a major new tool to facilitate the transition toward an EAFM in the USA.
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6. Coral Reef Ecosystem FMP (2004)
2. Appropriate scale
Coral Reef Ecosystem FMP (2004)
Shift from target to multi-species, multi-scale fisheries
Multi-species fisheries (2,000+ species)
Multi-gear fisheries (25+ methods)
Occurs across national, state and territorial waters
As one example of the shift toward an EAFM and changes in response to the Sustainable Fisheries Act of 1996, in 2004 the Western Pacific Fisheries Management Council developed and NOAA approved the first ecosystem-based fishery management plan for coral reefs of the U.S. Pacific Islands.
This Coral Reef Ecosystem Fisheries Management Plan was based on an appropriate scale that managed multiple species (2000+) and multiple gear types (25+) and links state to federal management actions (governance scaling. 6

7. Ecological well-being objectives:
4. Multiple objectives
Ecological well-being objectives:
- restore reef fisheries, resources, habitats
- maximum, sustainable long-term catch
Human well-being objectives:
- generate revenue and livelihoods
- improve public awareness of reef ecosystems and their vulnerability
Governance objectives:
- promote improved surveillance and enforcement
- collaborate with other agencies to share data and resources
The Coral Reef Ecosystem FMP included Ecological Well-being Objectives, Human Well-being Objectives, and Good Governance Objectives so clearly sought to address the 3 Components of an EAFM. This slide also highlights EAFM principles P1# Good Governance and P4 # Multiple Objectives.
You can refer back to Module 3, section 4, Table 2. Moving towards EAFM continuum: note how the objectives listed on this slide cover.
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8. 7. Precautionary approach
6. Adaptive management
7. Precautionary approach
Precautionary, ecologically, culturally sensitive sustainable use
Apply adaptive management
Establish research, monitoring, data collection and permits to improve management decisions
The plan uses the precautionary approach and adaptive management.The Plan also included objectives to establish research, monitoring, data collection and permitting to improve adaptive management decision-making.
Still moving toward EAFM—broader scope. You can refer back to Module 3, section 4, Table 2. Moving towards EAFM continuum: note how the objectives listed on this slide cover various aspects listed within the table.
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9. 2012: End of “overfishing” in all USA stocks
2010: Fishery Ecosystem Plans (FEPs)
2. Appropriate scale
1. Good governance
Transition to 5 area-based FEPs
- Mariana Archipelago
- Pacific Remote Islands
- America Samoa Archipelago
- Hawaiian Archipelago
- Pacific Pelagics
The final stage was the development of 5 area-based FEPs out of the the five species/taxa-based Fishery Management Plans.
2012: End of “overfishing” in all USA stocks
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10. Key messages of case study
EAFM is a step by step process; apply lessons learned along the way
increasing stakeholder engagement
broadening scale of management
increasing data and information needs (not just stock assessment)
built on existing fisheries management
Many fisheries in the world are doing EAFM in part;
Each country is a different stage of the journey
Self explanatory
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11. Activity 1:
Each group receives a card that displays one EAFM principle (some groups may have to consider two principles).
In groups, discuss and score where you think your COUNTRY is along the continuum 0-5 for that principle.
Using the lines set out on the floor, one representative for each principle paces out their score while holding the card.
1. For 10 minutes, participants work as a group to establish their score for their allotted principle.
2. Using the lines set out on the floor, one representative for each principle paces out their score while holding the card.
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12. Activity 2: in groups
Identify the challenges your country might face in moving towards EAFM
Write each challenge on a card. (ONE challenge per card)
Now identify opportunities your country may have in moving towards EAFM (and in meeting the above challenges).
Write each opportunity on a separate card
1. Participants share initial ideas with neighbour (in pairs)
2. As a group, identify and write 2-3 constraints (challenges) THEIR COUNTRY might face in trying to move towards EAFM (refer to output from activity 1). Write only 1 challenge per card, on e.g. green cards.
3. Get same groups to identify opportunities (write these on different colour cards, e.g. yellow). A challenge in one country may be an existing opportunity in another.
4. Get all groups to walk to back of the room and place constraints and opportunity cards on the floor (on 2 differently-labelled flipcharts).
5. Trainer groups cards (on floor, with all participants helping) and facilitates a brief discussion. Match opportunity cards to challenges cards if possible. Have brief discussion about overcoming challenges- elicit ideas from participants (linking to local/country continuum table produced earlier on flipchart, as well as threats and issues from day 1).
Trainer sorts and keeps outputs for days 3 and 4 (see session plan).
Possible challenges for countries moving to EAFM: lack of funding; lack of government structures; lack of government support; corruption; short term government posts (i.e. reflect short term perspective only); misconception about management structures needed; decentralisation means responsibility is passed on; weakness of fisher associations/ groups; hierarchical social structure (i.e. does not favour stakeholder participation)…
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