Prioritizing qualitative, ecosystem-based risk assessments to maximize impact in single-species fishery management

Accelerating environmental changes are altering the landscape of risks associated with marine resource management. Risk assessment approaches are gaining traction as a way to incorporate qualitative ecosystem information into the marine fishery management process to evaluate and mitigate these risks. For instance, risk tables that distill complex, ecosystem-based information into qualitative advice can add flexibility to existing processes by providing a way to adjust risk tolerance in response to information about uncertainty and ecosystem trends that do not fit into more rigid decision making structures. However, their effectiveness depends strongly on the key factors of data availability, timing of risk table development, and management on-ramps. Where scientific capacity is constraining, targeting risk table development for situations where they can have the most potential risk mitigation benefit will be key. Here, we share lessons learned from developing a pilot risk table approach for groundfish management on the U.S. West Coast and make recommendations for prioritizing risk table development in light of data availability and management needs. We explore West Coast groundfish case studies to present general guidance for effective prioritization of risk tables in capacity-limited contexts. Key suggestions that offer support within and beyond the West Coast are: 1) identifying management on-ramps for risk tables before or alongside risk table development, 2) coordinating risk table development with management cycles where possible to take advantage of scientific capacity, and 3) tailoring risk table objectives based on the quantity and quality of ecosystem information and its level of inclusion in stock assessments.