Considerations of major issues in ecosystem monitoring and management

This paper outlines the requirements of an ecosystem approach to the management of Southern Ocean resources and highlights the need for information on harvested and dependent species, their interactions and the manner in which their populations vary naturally. Large-scale interactions are catered for in the Krill Yield Model (KYM). Smaller-scale interactions centre around three main categories: the availability of krill, variation in vital rates of the dependent species and the overlap between commercial fishing and predator foraging. The CCAMLR Ecosystem Monitoring Program (CEMP) provides a good framework within which to investigate krill availability. Vital rates can be investigated directly and also by means of CEMP. The overlap between fishing and predator foraging is being monitored. A mechanism for bringing these various components together as an ecosystem approach to management is discussed.