A comprehensive framework for operating science-based fisheries management: A checklist for using the best available science

Developing fisheries policies based on the best available science (BAS) has been generally required in international agreements and national legal documents in many countries. However, it is difficult to comply with BAS when lacking a uniformly agreed-upon operational framework. In this study, we conducted an exhaustive literature review and developed a framework that includes a comprehensive set of criteria and a basic operational structure for science-based fisheries management (SBFM) to better integrate BAS in fisheries policies. We proposed that SBFM consists of four components: objective-setting, data input (implementation and enforcement process), data production (scientific research process), and data use (management strategy development). The capacity of a fisheries system to produce and use BAS is mainly reflected in the following areas: (a) efficient informational feedback among these components; (b) collecting a good range of quality-assured data that meet the needs of scientific research and fishery policy formulation; (c) analyzing the collected data; and (d) selecting and using the best data from different sources. The framework developed provides a set of new patterns for the use of fisheries science, which is applied for management purposes. It can inform the creation, evaluation, and improvement of management systems rooted in SBFM and strengthen SBFM-related research, communication, and cooperation.