Category: Flex format

In 1923, the Convention for the Preservation of the Halibut Fishery of the Northern Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea was signed by Canada and the United States of America (U.S.A) in response to conservation needs. The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC), initially named the International Fisheries Commission, was established as an intergovernmental organisation by this Convention that came into effect on 21 October 1924, constituting the first international agreement for joint management of a marine resource. Therefore, for the last 100 years, the IPHC has been successfully managing the Pacific halibut resource for Canada and the U.S.A. through the application of rigorous science, innovation, and the implementation of international best practice. This session is intended to celebrate the first 100 years of the IPHC by highlighting past and current scientific activities that have supported the management of the Pacific halibut fishery in the Northeastern Pacific Ocean.

Organizer:

JOSEP PLANAS, International Pacific Halibut Commission, [email protected]

Sustaining the health and wellbeing of people in Fisheries has never been more important. Mental Health and wellbeing programs, psychological and physical safety programs all require commitment and behaviour change at every level to be successful.  This session will commence with an introduction to the concepts and linkages between mental health, psychological health and safety and physical health and safety.  A number of experts will then interactively explore practical ways that Fisheries are working to improve outcomes for their human communities.  Innovative practices, programs and projects will be showcased and tools shared in practical ways enabling participants to ‘try’ some of the interesting tools that have been developed in different communities. The session will include with an interactive group ideation of new ways to create sustainable and healthy workplaces for humans of fisheries.

Organizer:

Jo Marshall, Seafood Industry Australia, [email protected]

Despite a recent increase in research on distant water fleets (DWFs), many details regarding their scale and scope remain unknown. Similarly, there is much to learn about their impacts on fisheries sustainability, local economies, and well-being; many governments around the world have identified DWFs as a key threat to the health of marine ecosystems, domestic economic opportunities, food security, and human rights. Many countries also engage with distant water fishing nations and companies for the economic benefits they provide. This session will present a series of talks outlining a wide array of the social and ecological dimensions of DWFs globally. It will also include an expert panel and roundtable discussion to outline future research and funding needs and provide a blueprint for policy action. Individuals from academia, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, and governments will come together to discuss the past, present, and future DWF research and policy agenda.

Organizers:

Rachel Zuercher, University of Rhode Island,
Austin Humphries, University of Rhode Island, [email protected]
Lauren Josephs, University of Rhode Island
Elin Torell, University of Rhode Island
Rashid Sumaila, University of British Columbia
Maria L.D. Palomares, University of British Columbia

Changes in the climate, marine ecosystems, and management policies  have increased the demand for novel and more holistic approaches to modeling ecosystems and resource management strategies. However, building trust and relationships with managers takes time, and management systems rely on precautionary foundations with many guard rails against incorporating new approaches before they have been fully proven. We lack a consistent road map for the burden of proof new approaches should be required to clear before they can be adopted to support management. Furthermore, to avoid leaving data-limited and data-moderate systems out of innovation, the burden of proof for these systems must accommodate the limited data and increased uncertainty inherent in most of the world’s fisheries. In this session, we will explore technical and interpersonal approaches for demonstrating how new methods can be incorporated into tactical management across scales and regional jurisdictions.

Organizers:

Christine Stawitz, NOAA Fisheries, [email protected]
Claudio Castillo Jordan, SPC
Anne Cooper, ICES
Sean Anderson, DFO

Over the past decade, advances in scientific research have highlighted the importance of managing marine fisheries at ecosystem scales. However, the practice of ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM) remains patchy across the globe, with gaps and bright spots both evident. One of the biggest challenges encountered is limited engagement between scientists and others who are involved in management decisions. In this session, scientific experts, managers, and other relevant stakeholders will speak to some of the bright spots and past challenges that they’ve encountered while co-designing and integrating scientific knowledge to inform the advancement of EBFM in their respective locations and management contexts. This session will include presentations from a variety of individuals from different countries and different management contexts, followed by a broader group discussion on how to leverage these experiences and approaches to expand the use of EBFM principles and practice more broadly.

Organizers:

Jason Landrum, Lenfest Ocean Program at The Pew Charitable Trusts
Beth Fulton, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, [email protected]
Keith Sainsbury, University of Tasmania
Charlotte Hudson, Lenfest Ocean Program at The Pew Charitable Trusts

Fishery-dependent data is used to inform fisheries managers and stock assessments across the globe; however, the types of data collected and the structure of monitoring programs is diverse and best practices for incorporating these data into stock assessments is a topic of broad interest and discussion. In particular, the expansion of electronic monitoring (EM) creates challenges for incorporating data from both observer and EM data streams in stock assessments. This session will focus on optimizing the incorporation of EM data with observer data in stock assessments. Through a mix of formal research presentations, breakout groups, and expert panel discussions, this session will explore how to effectively integrate multiple data types into stock assessment processes and other analyses to support management.

Organizers:

Mark Grant, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, [email protected]
Jennifer Cahalan, Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission

The complex life history strategies of diadromous fishes, using both ocean and freshwater habitats and often crossing political borders makes them particularly vulnerable to anthropogenic activities. The development of successful governance models acceptable to all stakeholders poses a challenge but it remains a priority for sustaining these often-iconic species. This session will present a range of examples of existing multi-user collaborations in the assessment and management of diadromous species from around the world. This would be the starting point for a post-session review describing and discussing the species- or situation-specific challenges and commonalities of multilateral collaborations for diadromous species. Thus the session will leverage the collective knowledge to identify, plan, and initiate select case studies to establish knowledge exchange frameworks to support multilateral collaboration and the conservation of diadromous species.

Organizers:

Estibaliz Díaz, AZTI, [email protected]
Jan-Dag Pohlmann, Thünen Institut
Hilaire Drouineau, INRAE
Matthew Gollock, ZSL
Thomas Pratt, Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Kenzo Kaifu, Chuo University
Kristen Anstead, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
Alan Walker, CEFAS