Management Strategy Evaluation in Fisheries Systems

Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE) constitutes a comprehensive, simulation-based framework designed to appraise the efficacy and robustness of fishery management approaches under real-world uncertainties. Central to MSE is the construction of an operating model that emulates stock dynamics, ecological interactions and data-collection processes, against which alternative management procedures — often defined by harvest control rules — are tested. Through iterative feedback loops, MSE quantifies trade-offs between objectives such as sustainable yield, stock conservation and by-catch reduction, while exposing structural, parameter and implementation uncertainties. Initially applied to single-species assessments, MSE has evolved to address ecosystem-based and multi-stock contexts, integrating climate scenarios and stakeholder preferences. Its transparent, participatory design fosters consensus among scientists, managers and fishers, offering tailored, evidence-based policy advice. Globally, MSE underpins efforts to rebuild depleted populations, refine survey frequencies and adapt harvest strategies, thereby enhancing resilience and equity in diverse fisheries governance regimes.

Research from Nature Portfolio

No recent Nature Portfolio content available.

Management Strategy Evaluation in Fisheries Systems publication trend

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

Technical terms

Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE): A simulation framework that tests fishery management approaches by modelling stock dynamics, observation processes and decision rules under uncertainty.

Operating model: A mathematical representation of the ‘true’ system within MSE, simulating ecological dynamics, data collection and population processes for testing management procedures.

Harvest control rule: A pre-defined algorithm or set of rules that determines catch limits or management actions based on indicators such as biomass or fishing mortality.

References

1. Management strategy evaluation operating model conditioning: a swordfish case study. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries (2024).
2. Harvest control rules in modern fisheries management. Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene (2016).
3. Harvest control rules used in US federal fisheries management and implications for climate resilience. Fish and Fisheries (2022).
4. The added value of participatory modelling in fisheries management – what has been learnt?. Marine Policy (2012).
5. Management Strategy Evaluation: Allowing the Light on the Hill to Illuminate More Than One Species. Frontiers in Marine Science (2021).
6. Can less be more? Effects of reduced frequency of surveys and stock assessments. ICES Journal of Marine Science (2016).
7. An Evaluation of Rebuilding Policies for U.S. Fisheries. PLOS ONE (2016).
8. Evaluating fishery management strategies using an ecosystem model as an operating model. Fisheries Research (2021).
9. When to conduct, and when not to conduct, management strategy evaluations. ICES Journal of Marine Science (2023).