EAFM & Risk AssessmentPrioritizing Assessments
Prof. Dr. Sahar MehannaHead of Fish Population Dynamics Lab
Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM)
Fisheries management is increasingly concerned with impacts on fish resources AND their ecosystems
Major management issue is fishing impacts on habitats, bycatch species, TEPS
This has resulted in a new approach - EAFM. This requires consideration of the above non-target interactions.
However, EAFM cannot address all interactions in detail – need to prioritize
Putting EAFM into practiceRisk assessment has always been a part of stock
assessment - but at a single species level (risk of overfishing)
EAFM merely extends this approach to ecological interactions
ERA undertaken at 3 levels:Level 1 – scale intensity consequence analysis
(SICA) Level 2 – productivity susceptibility analysis
(PSA)Level 3 – Full quantitative assessment
HIERARCHY OF RISK ASSESSMENT
THEREFORE…..If risks are identified at Level 1, these are
further analyzed at Level 2If a level 2 RA identifies risks then a full
quantitative analysis is carried outThe decision to analyze risks at each higher
levels in the ERAEF depends on (i) estimated risk at the current level, (ii) availability of data to proceed to the next level, and (iii) management response to risks identified at the current level
ERAEFFurther refinement of ERAEcological risk assessment for effects of
fishing (ERAEF) is a procedure for identifying and prioritizing risks posed to marine ecosystems by commercial fisheries.
Available scientific resources can then be focused on the most pressing ecological problems
Also focuses on the most urgent needs for information
LEVEL 1 ANALYSIS (SICA)QUALITATIVE - Level 1 aims to identify which
hazards lead to a significant impact on any species, habitat or community.
Analysis at Level 1 is for whole components (target; bycatch and byproduct; TEP species; habitat; and communities), not individual sub-components.
Since Level 1 is used mainly as a rapid screening tool, a “worst case” approach is used to ensure that elements screened out as low risk (either activities or components) are genuinely low risk.
HOW TO DO A SIMPLE SICA ANALYSIS
1. Define ECOSYSTEM COMPONENTS to be analyzedSPECIES
Target speciesOther retained speciesDiscarded speciesSpecies impacted by the gear but not caughtTEP species
HABITATSHabitats impacted by the gear
COMMUNITIESEcological communities, e.g. pelagic, demersal, epibenthic and
benthic (on and within the seafloor, respectively), planktonic, birds, reptiles, and mammals
HOW TO DO A SICA ANALYSISOperational objectives (OO) clarified for each
component and attribute2. What’s at risk? Identify effects of ‘activities’ on each
component. Activities can be ,for example, commercial fishing &
retaining species, commercial fishing and discarding species, recreational fishing, environmental degradation, anchoring, gear loss etc
3. Set up a ‘hazard matrix’ that identifies what components and attributes are impacted by what activities – qualitative
4. Risk Screening of identified hazards by SICA scoring
S = SCALEScale is both
spatial and temporal (time) – score
C=CONSEQUENCES, SCORING
I=IntensityWhat is the
intensity of the activity on the ecological component & attributes? More frequent activities are scored highly on ‘intensity’
TAKING IT TO THE NEXT LEVELAssessment of SICA results should indicate:which risks can be ignored, which can be mitigated quickly by
management of the fishery, and which should be subjected to further risk
assessment. Also, this is a good time to check whether
ALL ecological components and activities have been identified and included
EXAMPLE PF SICA
LINK BETWEEN SICA AND PSA
Level 2 PSA - PRODUCTIVITYProductivity Attributes FOR SPECIES:
Average age at maturityAverage maximum ageFecundityAverage maximum sizeAverage size at maturityReproductive strategyTrophic level – based on 5 levels from level 1 (algae
and plants) to apex predators (level 5). www.fishbase.org has info
Scoring Productivity AttributesScored on a 1-3 scale for each attribute
with 3 high riskFor example, Attribute of age at maturity
is scored 3 (high risk) if greater than 15 years, 2 if 5-15 years and 1 if less than 5 years
A full scoring system is included in handout
SCORING PRODUCTIVITY ATTRIBUTES
Level 2 PSA - SUSCEPTIBILITYSusceptibility Attributes:Availability - overlap of fishing effort with a species
distribution and takes into account species specific behaviors
Encounterability - the likelihood that a species will encounter fishing gear that is deployed within the geographic range of that species
Selectivity - the potential of the gear to capture or retain species
Post capture mortality - the condition and subsequent survival of a species that is captured and released (or discarded)
Scoring Susceptibility AttributesScored on a 1-3 scale for each attribute
with 3 high riskFor example, availability is scored 1 (low
risk) if the stock is globally distributed, 2 if restricted to the same ocean as the fishery and 3 if restricted to the same country as the fishery
The full scoring system will be included with the handout re productivity
SCORING SUSCEPTABILITY
Plot P against S = PSA Plot
EXAMPLE OF PSA ANALYSIS