Thursday
6 January 2005
4:30-5:30 pm
102 Fishery Sciences
(auditorium)
Social follows talk
Andy RosenbergProfessor, Natural Resources Policy and Management, University of New HampshireIs Ecosystem-Based Management Really About Fisheries?
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The U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy finalized its report to the White House and Congress in September. As with the Pew Commission report there was a heavy emphasis on the use of an ecosystem-based management approach to oceans and coasts. The concept of ecosystem-based management has been around for some time, but the details, particularly for the marine environment are not yet worked out. Several recent papers have discussed ecosystem-based fisheries management and the fisheries community seems to be very actively engaged in fleshing out this concept.
Here I argue that ecosystem-based fisheries management misses the point, because the overall concept is to develop management approaches that are cross-sectoral, accounting for the interactive effects of human activities on marine ecosystems. In other words, it is more about cumulative impacts than developing ecosystem-based fisheries management, ecosystem-based coastal management, etc. The challenge is how do we evaluate cumulative impacts from a scientific perspective, and then how do we craft management policies that address those impacts. I will use examples from New England to illustrate the points.
Dr. Andrew Rosenberg is a Professor in the Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space at the University of New Hampshire where, prior to April 2004, he was dean of the College of Life Sciences and Agriculture. Over the past three years he has also been a member of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy.
Prior to coming to UNH he was the Deputy Director of NOAAs National Marine Fisheries Service from 1998-2000, the senior career position in the agency. As Deputy Director he dealt with policy decisions on science and resource management issues nationwide as well as the administration of the agency. He was also a principle agency spokesperson before Congress, the public and technical audiences. Before becoming NMFS Deputy Director, Dr. Rosenberg was the NMFS Northeast Regional Administrator. He negotiated and implemented the recovery program for New England fisheries, reversing overfishing and resource declines on Georges Bank as well as other areas for groundfish and scallop fisheries. He also worked to develop and implement marine mammal recovery programs and endangered species protections throughout the northeast. He also has served as the U.S. lead representative in several international fishery management organizations such as NAFO, NASCO and FAO.
Dr. Rosenbergs scientific work is in the field of population dynamics, resource assessment and resource management policy. He holds a B.S. in Fisheries Biology from the University of Massachusetts, an M.S. in Oceanography from Oregon State University and a Ph.D. in Biology from Dalhousie University. He was on the faculty of Imperial College of Science and Technology in London for six years and was the Deputy Director of the Renewable Resources Assessment Group, and internationally known quantitative analysis and policy consultancy group. He currently also serves as the Senior Vice President of MRAG Americas, a consulting company with offices in Florida, Massachusetts and affiliated with MRAG, a London-based international marine resource consultancy.