Co-Convenors:
Gordon H. Kruse (USA)
Shijie Zhou (Australia)
Xianshi Jin (China)
Jacquelynne King (Canada)
Mitsutaku Makino (Japan)
Marie-Joëlle Rochet (France)
Invited Speakers:
Xianshi Jin (China)
Marie-Joëlle Rochet (France/ICES)
Shijie Zhou (Australia)
FUTURE endeavors to develop a better understanding of the combined consequences of climate change and anthropogenic pressures on marine ecosystems, ecosystem services and marine-dependent social systems. Although climate change has garnered much deserved attention so far, the direct and indirect interactions of human society on marine ecosystems and the services they provide are also of great concern. Fisheries are major contributors to global food security, while also posing threats to some ecosystem services. Rising demand for seafood and increasing concerns about the ecosystem effects of fishing create a fisheries management dilemma. Improved understanding about how human activities alter marine ecosystem structure and function is central to exploring options to procure food security in the future. In North America and Europe, emphasis is placed on conservative catch limits for fisheries that are highly selective for large-sizes of certain species. In Asia, a wide spectrum of fish species and sizes enter seafood markets, and less emphasis is placed on constraining catches. Both approaches affect ecosystem structure and functioning. By comparing approaches, can East and West learn from each other? Although questions about how to increase fisheries production while reducing environment impacts are not new, new ideas have entered the debate. For example, “balanced exploitation” advocates sustainable removal levels that strive to maintain natural balance among species, stocks, sexes, and sizes, thus preserving biodiversity. Yet, fisheries are commercial enterprises that must supply consumers with seafood at a profit. Also, fishing represents a diversity of lifestyles that span small-scale, artisanal fishers to large multinational corporations. This topic session provides a forum to compare and contrast alternative fishing strategies for sustainable global food security. Presentations are sought on the effects of fishing on ecosystem structure and function, cultural practices and institutional programs to manage bycatch and discards, better utilization of fishery resources, diversification of seafood products and markets, economic considerations, and many facets of human dimensions. Seafood industry representatives from Eastern and Western cultures will be invited to contribute their perspectives.