Ecological Knowledge Integration in Fisheries Management

Effective stewardship of marine and freshwater resources increasingly relies on the fusion of empirical science with experiential insights held by fishing communities. Ecological knowledge integration encompasses the systematic inclusion of local ecological knowledge (LEK), traditional management practices and stakeholder observations alongside conventional stock assessments, remote‐sensing data and ecological models. This combined approach enriches understanding of spatial habitat use, seasonal migrations and long‐term ecosystem trends, particularly in data‐limited contexts. By recognising fishers as active contributors to information gathering and decision making, integration fosters co‐management arrangements that align harvest regulations with cultural norms, support adaptive management under uncertainty and strengthen social‐ecological resilience. At the global scale, such collaborative frameworks have been applied to small pelagic stocks, coral reef assemblages and migratory species, yielding more nuanced baselines, timely detection of depletion or recovery and enhanced trust between management agencies and resource users. Practical applications range from community‐driven closed seasons to participatory mapping of critical habitats, each demonstrating that blending science and lived experience can lead to more equitable, adaptive and effective fisheries governance.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have developed Bayesian hierarchical models that fuse fisher‐derived observations with fisheries‐independent surveys to refine stock assessments for small pelagic species, enabling more responsive catch limits under environmental uncertainty. A global meta‐analysis has synthesised customary management institutions across diverse marine cultures, revealing how traditional closures and taboos bolster reef fishery resilience in the face of climate stressors. Complementarily, decision‐support tools co‐created with coastal communities now integrate seasonal climate forecasts and local ecological calendars, guiding adaptive spatial management in data‐poor seascapes and demonstrating measurable gains in both ecological status and stakeholder engagement.

Ecological Knowledge Integration in Fisheries Management publication trend

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

Technical terms

Local ecological knowledge (LEK): Observations and insights held by resource users about species behaviour, habitat dynamics and ecosystem change.

Data‐limited (or data‐poor) fisheries: Fisheries lacking comprehensive time‐series landings data or standardised scientific surveys.

Catch per unit effort (CPUE): A relative index of abundance calculated as the catch weight or number of individuals per unit of fishing effort.

Adaptive management: A structured, iterative process of decision making that incorporates monitoring feedback to adjust policies over time.

Seascape connectivity: The linkages among multiple habitats (for example, reefs, mangroves and seagrass) through species movements and ecological processes.

References

1. An approach to assess data-less small-scale fisheries: examples from Congo rivers. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries (2023).
2. Effects of Anthropogenic Activities on Sardinella maderensis (Lowe, 1838) Fisheries in Coastal Communities of Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria. Sustainability (2024).
3. Fishers’ Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) on Connectivity and Seascape Management. Frontiers in Marine Science (2019).