Description of Strategies

The initiative funds two primary strategies in each targeted geography and three additional cross-cutting strategies:

Primary Strategies:

Cross-cutting Strategies:

Implement area-based management.  

This strategy’s outcome focuses on spatially dividing the marine environment for a variety of uses. By comprehensively accounting for the stressors on the marine environment and planning for them accordingly, ABM reduces user conflict while protecting areas critical to ecosystems and species. The result of an ABM approach is a science-based management plan developed through a multi-stakeholder process that proactively implements sustainable use and alleviates extractive and non-extractive pressure to produce conservation outcomes.

Reform fisheries management.  

This strategy’s outcome is aligned economic incentives, scientifically sound TACs, and clean industry practices in fisheries. Within this strategy, the initiative is advancing Dedicated Access Privilege fisheries management, a system which differs from traditional open or limited access fisheries management. With dedicated access management, resource users (whether individuals, communities, cooperatives, or sectors) have access to a share of the resource. Under such a management system, fishermen’s incentives change from maximizing their total catch to maximizing the value of their allocated share. When implemented appropriately, this system facilitates bycatch reduction, monitoring and enforcement, and fishing below or at the TAC. 

This strategy also supports demonstrating and implementing new technologies that will improve fishing practices. Improved technologies for monitoring and enforcement of fishing activity are critical for sustainable ocean resource management, as management decisions in data-poor situations and lack of adequate enforcement prevent conservation success. Additionally, fishing gear can destroy sensitive habitats and inadvertently catch unwanted species, but the use of innovative technologies, often applicable in a wide variety of fisheries, can significantly reduce the ecosystem impacts of fishing.  

Execute science to inform policy and resource management.

Science, including the natural and social sciences, provides a foundation of knowledge necessary to achieve lasting conservation outcomes at all levels of the initiative. The initiative primarily supports synthesis and assessment activities, with limited support of monitoring and research. The science strategy is a cross-cutting strategy outside of the geographies, as it can directly inform and contribute to national and international policy and provide distinct, applicable scientific analysis to assist the geographies. Science is applied within the geographies to support the implementation of fisheries reform and area-based management and outside the geographies to inform broader policy-making and resource management decisions. Science also contributes to developing indicators for ecosystem assessment to monitor the initiative’s outcomes.

Implement strategic communications.

The initiative will implement strategic communications in its targeted geographies in order to influence key constituencies to demand better ocean management. The strategy provides a vehicle for linking science to policy more effectively both in the geographies and at a broader scale. This strategy also serves to monitor, evaluate, and disseminate key results, principles, and lessons learned within and between the targeted geographies and in North America. This cross-cutting strategy catalyzes change within our geographies and is essential for greater geographic diffusion. 

Promote conservation-appropriate policy at regional, national, and international levels.

Promoting policy, including industry best practices, at regional, national, and international levels accomplishes two goals: achieving durable and lasting solutions in our targeted geographies from a top-down perspective and effectively scaling-up local successes to national and international gains for marine conservation.