For certain predator species, extra-precautionary management of forage fish is unlikely to bring additional benefits, according to a study from Drs. Chris Free of the University of California-Santa Barbara, Olaf Jensen of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Ray Hilborn of the University of Washington.
Here, Drs. Free and Jensen, along with Drs. Doug Butterworth of the University of Cape Town and Éva Plagányi of CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, discuss the conclusions of the study, and its implications for fisheries management, especially for the U.S. and the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
The study was funded by the Science Center for Marine Fisheries.