Paper short abstract:

Ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM) is considered a holistic alternative to single species management, allowing for greater integration of social and ecological systems. This paper examines implementation of EBFM in the U.S. Caribbean, focusing on challenges related to small scale fisheries.

Paper long abstract:

Ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM) is considered a holistic approach to facilitating long-term marine system resilience. Despite the popularity of EBFM in national and regional policy and management circles, moving EBFM from theoretical to operational continues to mar implementation processes. In addition, EBFM is often critiqued for its focus on biophysical and conservation goals, generating mistrust and threatening management efficiency amongst stakeholder groups. To counteract such trends, EBFMs should be treated as social ecological systems (SES), including balanced consideration between the biophysical (food web dynamics, climate, bycatch, habitat) and the social (well-being, equity, economics). As such, EBFM requires generation of novel databases of indicators inclusive of multidisciplinary inputs, underscoring integration challenges between natural and social sciences. In the United States (US), this is typically addressed through Fisheries Ecosystem Plans (FEPs), allowing ecosystem interactions and localized dynamics to be addressed within larger fisheries management plans (FMPs). For regions supporting diverse coral reef small-scale fisheries (SSFs) like the US Caribbean, there can be mismatches between federal and local-level management including a lack of formality in stakeholder participation models and limited scientific information at the local scale. This paper seeks to explore frameworks and critiques of EBFM approaches in SSFs through a case-study of the US Caribbean.