Fisheries Management

Fisheries management encompasses the policies, regulations and practices designed to maintain fish stocks and aquatic ecosystems at sustainable levels while supporting food security, livelihoods and economic activity. It applies biological data on population dynamics, life-history traits and habitat requirements to set harvest limits, gear restrictions and spatial closures. Traditional approaches sought maximum sustainable yield from single stocks, but growing evidence of overfishing, bycatch impacts and environmental change has driven a transition towards ecosystem-based fisheries management. This broader framework integrates trophic interactions, habitat conservation and the precautionary principle, using tools such as harvest control rules, management strategy evaluation and adaptive governance. Advances in monitoring—through satellite tracking, acoustic surveys and electronic logbooks—combined with quantitative models enable risk-informed decisions. Participation of fishers in co-management and attention to small-scale and artisanal sectors strengthen compliance and social equity. Contemporary challenges include regulating high-seas fisheries, curbing illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, minimising discards and adjusting management to climate-driven shifts in species distributions. By combining robust science, stakeholder engagement and flexible policy instruments, modern fisheries management aims to balance conservation goals with the needs of dependent communities and global markets.

Research from Nature Portfolio

High-resolution satellite imagery, combined with vessel GPS and deep-learning algorithms, has produced the most detailed global map of industrial fishing activity to date. The analysis revealed that up to three-quarters of vessels operate without public tracking and documented a 12 % reduction in effort at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. It also highlighted emerging conflicts between fishing and offshore wind installations, underscoring the need for integrated marine spatial planning. Another study assessed the welfare impact of pelagic trawling on Atlantic herring by applying reflex-action mortality predictors and blood biomarkers. Despite only 5 % showing external injury, over 95 % exhibited complete reflex impairment and osmoregulatory stress, indicating near-total mortality. The findings call for shorter tow times, gear modifications and faster release protocols to reduce unintended deaths in pelagic fisheries.

Research from all publishers

A new online framework for Management Strategy Evaluation has been developed to support data-limited fisheries. By guiding users through questionnaire-driven inputs and coupling them to flexible operating models in R, the tool allows rapid testing of generic or custom harvest control rules. A Mediterranean sparid case study demonstrated how stakeholder feedback can identify critical data gaps and priorities for research and monitoring. In Europe, a machine-learning approach applied to sub-two-minute position tracking data has enabled small-scale vessels to be categorised into fishing and steaming behaviour with high accuracy. This supports compliance with new precision-tracking regulations for under-12-metre fleets and provides input for spatial planning and effort mapping. Modelling future warming scenarios in the western East/Japan Sea projects up to a 76 % reduction in viable walleye pollock spawning days by 2100, driven by sea surface temperature increases. Particle-tracking experiments predict substantial larval dispersal losses, emphasising the need to adjust management to climate-induced changes in reproductive habitat.

Fisheries Management publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in fisheries management across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM): An integrated approach that considers species interactions, habitats and human dimensions when setting harvest and conservation measures. Harvest Control Rule (HCR): A predefined algorithm that adjusts fishing mortality or catch limits in response to stock status indicators. Maximum sustainable yield (MSY): The largest average catch that can be taken indefinitely under prevailing environmental and fishing conditions. Total allowable catch (TAC): The annual catch limit set for a fish stock or fishery, often aligned with MSY-based reference points. Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing: Fishing activities that violate national or international laws, including fishing without authorisation, failing to report catches or using banned gear. Bycatch: Non-target species caught incidentally in fishing operations, including juveniles and endangered organisms. Precautionary principle: A risk-averse strategy calling for conservative management in the face of scientific uncertainty to prevent irreversible damage to fish stocks or ecosystems.

References

1. Satellite mapping reveals extensive industrial activity at sea. Nature (2024).
2. Investigating the effects of pelagic trawling on the welfare of Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus). Scientific Reports (2024).
3. Method evaluation and risk assessment: A framework for evaluating management strategies for data‐limited fisheries. Fish and Fisheries (2023).
4. Estimating fishing effort in small-scale fisheries using high-resolution spatio-temporal tracking data (an implementation framework illustrated with case studies from Portugal). Ecological Indicators (2023).
5. The Long-Term Dynamics of Walleye Pollock Stocks in Relation to Oceanographic Changes in the East Sea. Water (2024).