Our West Coast Forage Fish Project aims to advance management policies and practices along the Pacific coast of the continental United States that implement ecosystem-based management and incorporate food web interactions into management and conservation activities.  To achieve this goal, PRBO Conservation Science and project partners have developed a report entitled Ecosystem-based Management of West Coast Forage Species.  This report identifies challenges to implementing ecosystem-based management and offers recommendations on how to address those challenges.  It is based on the views and opinions of a diverse group of stakeholders involved in the study, use, conservation, and management of forage species from across the region.  Implementation of the recommendations will provide information, tools, and policies necessary to carry out ecosystem-based management of forage species.  This, in turn, will help sustain productive marine food webs and the wildlife and human communities that depend upon them. 

In the California Current ecosystem, the food web includes a suite of species that provide a critical link between lower and upper trophic levels.  These mid-trophic level prey species, or forage species (such as anchovy, sardine, and mackerel), exert a strong influence on the trophic dynamics of the ecosystem, and are primary food sources for many marine mammals, sea birds, sharks, and piscivorous fishes (predators), including endangered and commercially valuable species such as brown pelicans, blue whales, salmon, and tunas. 

Forage species inhabiting the California Current ecosystem are harvested for recreational and commercial purposes in Mexico, the U.S., and Canada.   Forage finfish species, such as anchovy, sardine, herring, sandlance and mackerel, are used to make fishmeal and fish oil, are canned or frozen for human consumption, and are used as live and dead bait.  Pacific whiting, a groundfish species, is forage early in its life cycle and is a valuable fishery product used for human consumption.  Market squid are consumed by people and used as bait.  Together, these species comprise an important part of the west coast’s fishing industry. 

The growing human population and the expansion of tuna, salmon, and other finfish aquaculture industries globally are likely to increase demand for forage species.  In fact, global demand for forage species may already be surpassing available supplies.  Fishmeal and fish oil that is used to produce animal and aquaculture feeds and nutritional supplements may be increasing competition for forage species that would otherwise be consumed directly by humans.  This competition may raise prices, potentially making what is currently a low-cost, nutritious protein source less affordable.  Rising demand also creates pressure to increase harvest levels, potentially impacting marine wildlife and the integrity of the food web.  Efforts by the U.S. and California state governments to develop laws and regulations to permit marine aquaculture in their respective waters may further accelerate demand for forage species products.   

Forage species management in the U.S. is largely based on a single-species approach that does not adequately account for ecological variables, such as predator needs and competition.  Regional harvest guidelines don’t include safeguards to protect against localized depletion that can negatively impact predators at critical life stages.  In addition, it is difficult to accurately estimate and predict forage species population numbers (or biomass) as they fluctuate significantly with changes in the physical ocean environment.  This challenge is likely to grow if greater variability in ocean conditions occurs in the future as a result of climate change, as many have predicted.      

To better protect the integrity of marine ecosystems, ensure adequate availability of food resources for wildlife, and appropriately respond to rising demand for forage species products, federal and state management policies and practices need to incorporate innovative scientific methods and an ecosystem-based approach.  However, the scientific and management issues surrounding ecosystem-based forage species management are complex.  Successful improvements will require active collaboration among scientists and community leaders with forage species and ecosystem expertise, knowledge of state and federal management policies, and an understanding of harvest practices and fishery economics.