Sustainable Fisheries Management and Social-Ecological Systems

The stewardship of fisheries has shifted towards an integrated framework that considers both ecological dynamics and human dimensions as interdependent components. Sustainable fisheries management seeks to maintain fish stocks at levels that ensure ecosystem resilience, economic viability and social equity. At its core is the concept of social–ecological systems, which recognises that marine ecosystems and human communities co-evolve through feedback loops of governance, resource use and environmental change. This approach emphasises adaptive governance, multi-level stakeholder engagement and the balancing of trade-offs among conservation, livelihoods and food security. Practical applications include the design of harvest strategies responsive to biological indicators, the development of performance metrics spanning ecological and socioeconomic outcomes, and the incorporation of local and traditional knowledge into decision-making. Globally, such frameworks inform policy instruments from multilateral agreements to regional partnerships, fostering more inclusive management and improving compliance. By bridging disciplinary divides, this paradigm advances not only the health of marine resources but also the well-being of fishing communities and the broader societal benefits derived from healthy oceans.

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Sustainable Fisheries Management and Social-Ecological Systems publication trend

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

Technical terms

Social–ecological system: An integrated concept recognising the dynamic interactions between human societies and ecosystems, emphasising feedbacks and co-evolution.

Ecosystem-based fisheries management: A holistic approach that considers the entire ecosystem, including human communities, rather than focusing solely on single-species stock assessments.

Triple-bottom-line approach: A decision-making framework that simultaneously addresses ecological health, economic performance and social equity objectives.

Harvest strategy: A predefined set of rules or guidelines that determine fishing levels based on scientific indicators and management objectives.

References

1. The price of regionalisation: Discursive dominance and stakeholders coalitions in the Northern Adriatic Sea fishery governance arrangement. Marine Policy (2024).
2. Assessing Social – Ecological Trade-Offs to Advance Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management. PLOS ONE (2014).
3. Developing Harvest Strategies to Achieve Ecological, Economic and Social Sustainability in Multi-Sector Fisheries. Sustainability (2019).
4. An indicator framework to support comprehensive approaches to sustainable fisheries management. Ecology and Society (2019).