The objective of this article isto review the concepts and ecological economic modelsrelated to this management systems. I start by reviewing basic concepts related to marine ecosystems and EBFM, and then outline the related economic models, address their implementation with some examples from British Columbia, and draw some conclusions. | Ecosystem-based Fishery Management: A Review of Concepts and Ecological Economic Models Discussion Paper Thanh Viet Nguyen, University of Southern Denmark & VNU University of Economics and Business Abstract People have tried to understand ecosystems using many different models. As a result, the concept of ecosystem-based fishery management (EBFM) is evolving. The objective of this article is to review the concepts and ecological economic models related to this management systems. I start by reviewing basic concepts related to marine ecosystems and EBFM, and then outline the related economic models, address their implementation with some examples from British Columbia, and draw some conclusions. Although there is widespread agreement about the need to implement EBFM, this concept has no universal definition or consistent application. Nutrient flow also plays a crucial role in marine ecosystems and nutrients are revealed as the currency in ecological economic models for EBFM. KEYWORDS: ecological economic models; ecosystem approach; fishery management Introduction E cosystems play an important role in human societies by providing services that directly or indirectly benefit humans (Daily 1997; Fisher et al. 2008, 2009). However, there is growing evidence that ecosystems are being negatively affected by human pressures such as overfishing, eutrophication, toxic pollution, and habitat degradation (., Daily 1997; Sherman & Duda 1999). In 2005, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment revealed that about two-thirds of global ecosystem services were in a state of decline and the harmful consequences of this decline could grow significantly worse in the coming decades (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005; Fisher et al. 2009). Overfishing is a typical example of humanity’s impacts on marine ecosystems. Many marine fisheries are suffering from a combination of recruitment overfishing and growth overfishing of fish stocks1 and the overcapacity of fishing fleets (Clark .
