A Framework for Multispecies Assessment and Management: An ICES/NCM Background Document

The report describes a framework that can be used to identify the most important trade-offs in ecosystem based fisheries management. The framework contains a description of how to identify the border between the science and policy domains, how to identify objectives and set goals for management, and how to communicate the management advice.

Consultations with stakeholders showed that multi-species management advice needs to be precautionary, provide yields close to MSY, be in accordance with ecosystem constraints and be possible to communicate clearly to managers and policymakers. The use of the framework is demonstrated through examples from three different ecosystems: the Baltic Sea, the North Sea and the Barents Sea.