SORTING OUT ALPHABET SOUP, AND WHAT DOES EBFM MEAN?

Ecosystem considerations in a marine scientific and management context have been extant for more than a century (e.g. Baird1873). The concept of ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM) as applied to marine fisheries was more recently crystallized in Larkin's (1996) paper, with the chief observation that it provides a holistic approach to natural resource management. Since then, there has been recognition that EBFM for marine systems is gaining momentum (Botsford et al. 1997; NMFS 1999; Link 2002b, 2002c; FAO 2003; Garcia et al. 2003; Pikitch et al. 2004; see perspectives of Cury 2004; Lotze 2004; Browman and Stergiou 2005; Garcia and Cochrane 2005; Field and Francis 2006; Marasco et al. 2007; Murawski 2007). Most who have thought about the issue conclude that we can only manage human activities within an ecosystem (Hilborn 2007), not necessarily the ecosystem itself. The key point is that this and related terminology are, as Larkin noted, shorthand for more holistic approaches to resource management.