International workshop on opportunities for ecosystem approaches to fisheries management in the Pacific Ocean tuna fisheries

Modern fisheries management encompasses ecosystem-wide perspectives, and sustainability is measured both in terms of the target stocks but also in terms of the direct and indirect impact that fishing practices may have upon populations of non-target, associated and dependent species and ecosystem structure and function (Garcia and Cochrane 2005). Implementing an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM) requires performance measures against criteria that can be used to assess overall ecosystem status, the impacts of human activities, and environmental variation.