{"id":6006,"date":"2015-01-28T11:22:53","date_gmt":"2015-01-28T15:22:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/edfish\/?p=6006"},"modified":"2024-01-22T17:47:51","modified_gmt":"2024-01-22T21:47:51","slug":"fishe-an-online-tool-to-overcome-hurdle-to-sustainable-fisheries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/edfish\/2015\/01\/28\/fishe-an-online-tool-to-overcome-hurdle-to-sustainable-fisheries\/","title":{"rendered":"FISHE: An Online Tool to Overcome Hurdle To Sustainable Fisheries"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Belizean
Belizean fisherman diving for conch and lobster. Photo credit: Jason Houston<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

More than 90% of the world\u2019s 36 million fishers operate in small-scale fisheries\u2014many of which are in developing countries. From sea to plate, these small-scale fisheries support more than 100 million jobs across the supply chain and produce half of the world\u2019s seafood for local and global markets.<\/p>\n

But as the world\u2019s population increases and the demand for seafood rises, the supply for wild caught fish is plummeting. As a result, many small-scale fishing communities face job and food security threats and unfortunately lack access to the tools they need to sustainably manage their fisheries.<\/p>\n

Developed by Environmental Defense Fund, a\u00a0Framework for Integrated Stock and Habitat Evaluation<\/a> (FISHE) equips fishermen and marine scientists with a swift, low-cost and highly effective method with which to assess and manage fisheries that lack sufficient fishing data.<\/p>\n

\u201cTools that allow decisions to be made with limited data are important to small-scale fishing communities and the governments who are responsible for regulating catch rates,\u201d said Peter McGrath, coordinator, Science Policy\/Science Diplomacy Programme, The World Academy of Sciences. \u201cFISHE is a great example of such a tool that can be a valuable resource, empowering small-scale fishers around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

What gets measured, gets managed<\/strong><\/p>\n

Assessing the health of a fishery is the first step in achieving long-term sustainability. This starts with a \u201cstock assessment\u201d\u2014a scientific snapshot of how many fish are in a specific body of water\u2014which forms the basis for important decisions about how fisheries are managed.<\/p>\n

About 80% of fish globally may come from fisheries lacking scientific assessments making them difficult to manage effectively. The main reason for this is cost. If data are available, a complex fishery assessment can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Collecting the rich streams of data and building the complex models necessary for conventional fishery assessment is not only expensive, but can be time-consuming and beyond the means of many fisheries, especially small-scale fisheries in developing countries.<\/p>\n

FISHE pulls from leading research on \u201cdata-limited\u201d methods and provides an easy six-step framework which allows users to conduct quick and inexpensive analyses that can provide the scientific basis for sustainable fisheries management.<\/p>\n

How FISHE works<\/strong><\/p>\n

EDF developed FISHE over many years of working in fisheries lacking data in several different countries around the world. FISHE has already been used to inform the management of fisheries in Mexico, Spain, Cuba and Belize.<\/p>\n

FISHE walks users through an easy to follow process that helps them to:<\/p>\n