WWF advocates for integrating conservation into fisheries management, which includes reducing the impacts of fishing on marine life.
Integrating conservation into fisheries management
The underlying base for all our fisheries work is ecosystem-based management (EBM).
EBM aims to achieve sustainable exploitation of natural resources by balancing the social and economic needs of human communities with the maintenance of healthy ecosystems. This includes measures to minimize bycatch and damage to marine habitats.
Our work to reduce the impacts of fishing through EBM includes:
EBM aims to achieve sustainable exploitation of natural resources by balancing the social and economic needs of human communities with the maintenance of healthy ecosystems. This includes measures to minimize bycatch and damage to marine habitats.
Our work to reduce the impacts of fishing through EBM includes:
- Certifying sustainable fisheries: Consumer demand for 'eco-friendly' fish can act as an extremely powerful market incentive for better fisheries management. The certification process of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), which WWF supports, includes a management framework for fisheries to reduce bycatch.
- Protecting important marine habitats from fishing: Together with artisanal and commercial fishers around the world, we are supporting the creation of no-take zones, particularly in vulnerable deep-sea areas and on coral reefs.
Protecting important habitats from fishing
Marine protected areas and no-take zones are important tools for reducing the impact of fishing in sensitive and valuable areas.
WWF has helped create a number of such zones and areas around the world. For example, our campaigns contributed to a new zoning plan for Australia’s Great Barrier Reef Marine Park that saw commercial and recreational fishing prohibited in 33% of the park.
Our work also contributed to the creation of Australia’s 65,000km2 Heard Island and McDonald Islands Marine Reserve. The reserve includes deep-sea areas and is thus far the largest area in the world to be protected from commercial harvesting.
Similarly, we successfully worked for the establishment of Deep-Sea Fisheries Restricted Areas in three parts of the Mediterranean high seas.
WWF has helped create a number of such zones and areas around the world. For example, our campaigns contributed to a new zoning plan for Australia’s Great Barrier Reef Marine Park that saw commercial and recreational fishing prohibited in 33% of the park.
Our work also contributed to the creation of Australia’s 65,000km2 Heard Island and McDonald Islands Marine Reserve. The reserve includes deep-sea areas and is thus far the largest area in the world to be protected from commercial harvesting.
Similarly, we successfully worked for the establishment of Deep-Sea Fisheries Restricted Areas in three parts of the Mediterranean high seas.
News
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High-level call for green revolution should be heeded, says WWF
Gland, Switzerland: The UN High-Level Panel for Global Sustainability call for a radical redesign of the global economy for a healthy environment and ...
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High-level call for green revolution should be heeded, says WWF
Gland, Switzerland: The UN High-Level Panel for Global Sustainability call for a radical redesign of the global economy for a healthy environment and ...
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Wild West Fishing in Distant Waters. EU fisheries policy reform needed.
Brussels, Belgium - A new WWF commissioned study published today strongly suggests that fisheries access agreements with developing countries ...
Publications
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Getting MSY right
The maximum sustainable yield (MSY) for a given fish stock means the highest possible annual catch that can be sustained over time, by keeping the ...
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WWF More Fish Campaign newsletter - January 2012
As part of its campaign to see ambitious reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), WWF is calling on the European Parliament to exert its ...
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Regionalising the Common Fisheries Policy. Discussion paper.
This paper wants to encourage debate on the concept of regional fisheries management, particularly in a EU context, and explore potential ...
