MSE properties

How can Management Strategy Evaluation approaches be effectively utilized to design robust fisheries management strategies that account for ecological, economic, and social uncertainties in complex marine ecosystems?

Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE) is a simulation-based approach used in fisheries management to test the effectiveness of different management strategies under various sources of uncertainty. Within the Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE) framework, MSE allows researchers and managers to evaluate the performance of harvest control rules and other management measures against a set of predefined objectives. By simulating the entire management process – from data collection and stock assessment to implementation of management actions and their ecosystem effects – MSE provides valuable insights into the robustness and potential trade-offs of different management approaches. This process helps researchers design strategies that can achieve desired ecological, economic, and social outcomes while accounting for the inherent complexities and uncertainties in marine ecosystems and fisheries dynamics.

Potential policy questions

1. How do different sources of uncertainty (e.g., environmental, ecological, economic) impact the performance of management strategies?
2. What are the key trade-offs between different management objectives when designing robust strategies?
3. How can we incorporate climate change scenarios into MSE frameworks to evaluate long-term management effectiveness?
4. What performance indicators best capture the ecological, economic, and social dimensions of fisheries management success?
5. How do different harvest control rules perform under various scenarios of ecosystem change and uncertainty?
6. What are the benefits and limitations of simple versus complex MSE approaches within the EwE framework?
7. How can stakeholder preferences and risk tolerances be effectively incorporated into the MSE process?
8. What is the impact of different time horizons on the evaluation and selection of management strategies?
9. How can we design management strategies that are robust to regime shifts or tipping points in marine ecosystems?
10. What are the most effective ways to communicate MSE results to decision-makers and stakeholders?
11. How does the choice of reference points affect the performance and robustness of management strategies?
12. What are the implications of multi-species interactions for single-species management strategies evaluated through MSE?
13. How can socio-economic factors be better integrated into the MSE process within EwE?
14. What are the benefits and challenges of using MSE for evaluating spatial management measures, such as marine protected areas?
15. How can we account for implementation uncertainty (e.g., non-compliance, enforcement issues) in MSE frameworks?
16. What is the role of adaptive management in MSE, and how can it be effectively incorporated?
17. How do different data availability scenarios affect the reliability and utility of MSE results?
18. What are the best practices for validating and ground-truthing MSE models and their predictions?
19. How can MSE be used to evaluate the potential impacts of emerging technologies or fishing practices?
20. What are the challenges and opportunities in applying MSE to data-poor fisheries or ecosystems?
21. How can MSE approaches help in designing management strategies that are resilient to unexpected or extreme events?
22. What is the potential for using MSE to evaluate ecosystem-based fisheries management approaches?
23. How can we incorporate economic models and market dynamics into the MSE framework within EwE?
24. What are the implications of different levels of model complexity in MSE for management decision-making?
25. How can MSE be used to evaluate the long-term sustainability and economic viability of different parts of the fisheries sector?