Resource information
The ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF) has been developed over the last decade in response to perceived and actual deficiencies in previous methods of management. The EAF recognizes that fish are only one albeit important part of a much wider ecosystem incorporating an array of physical and biological components that humans interact with and exploit. Rather than managing single fish stocks, an EAF is concerned with the impacts of fisheries on the marine ecosystem, the interactions between different fisheries, of fisheries with the aquaculture sector, as well as with other human activities. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are considered an ideal platform upon which to perform necessary information management and decision-support analysis for the implementation of an EAF. This technical paper is intended to be a guide to methods that readers could adopt for their own use of GIS for an EAF. The planning considerations for appropriate GIS in terms of objectives, scope and geographical area are outlined. The practical considerations are discussed and include hardware architecture, various software possibilities, sources and types of data that will be needed, and the array of backup and support that is available.
