Selected notes on the use of ecosystem models for assessing the indirect ecosystem impacts of fisheries

A few summary points are listed below and expanded in the accompanying talk to summarise some recent developments concerning fisheries ecosystem modelling and its role in providing management advice. As has been the convention at several recent international workshops, the term fisheries ecosystem model here broadly refers to all fisheries models that include more than a single species, given that multi-species models are often a first step towards a broader ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF) (FAO 2003). The first document is a detailed technical report that consolidates, classifies and compares the range of ecosystem models currently in existence (Plagányi 2007). This report served as the background document for a FAO Workshop on Modelling Ecosystem Interactions for Informing an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries: Best Practices in Ecosystem Modelling (Italy 3-6 July 2007).