Ecosystem-based fisheries management of crab fisheries in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands

Abstract

We review ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM) of crab fisheries in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) and discuss considerations for future EBFM efforts under a rapidly changing climate. Specifically, we review governance frameworks, ecosystem policy, fishery ecosystem plans, catch accounting systems, trawl bycatch controls, trawl area closures and habitat protections, gear modifications, a Crab Rationalization Program, Ecosystem and Economic Status Reports, and Ecosystem and Socioeconomic Profiles. The strongest EBFM features of this management system include mechanisms to avoid overfishing, use of scientific knowledge, consideration of ecosystem connections, appropriate monitoring, acknowledging uncertainty, stakeholder involvement, and decisions that reflect societal choice. Some EBFM principles, such as the efficacy of gear and area closures and accounting for the dynamic nature of ecosystems have room for improvement. In spite of the large number of EBFM measures in place, three of the eight BSAI crab stocks with biomass estimates were below their minimum stock size thresholds, and thus classified as “overfished” in 2023. The lack of apparent correspondence between implemented EBFM actions and crab stock trends may indicate that environmentally driven sporadic recruitment, spikes in natural mortality, and stock range shifts mute favorable responses to EBFM actions or that outstanding critical EBFM measures have yet to be addressed. In the face of recent large-scale changes in the marine ecosystems of the BSAI and an outlook for greater changes in the future, it is increasingly important to routinely reevaluate interactions between crab, their ecosystems, fisheries and fishing communities.