The application of ecological models in fisheries management

The ecological effects of fisheries and other human activities are increasingly concerned with the better understanding of marine ecosystems. Consequently, the concept of “ecosystem-based fisheries management” (EBFM) have been widely accepted by a range of researchers and institutes, for which ecological models have contributed to the basis of scientific methods and useful tools. Comparing to the singe-species assessment models, ecological models are superior in handling various ecological processes and mechanisms, habitat and environmental changes, and the structure and functions of ecosystems. Ecological models diversify in modeling objectives, mechanistic processes, model structure and parameters, and this study classified prevalent models into three categories on the basis of their ecological levels and components:multispecies models, community structure models and ecosystem models. We elaborated the advantages and disadvantages for each category of ecological models separately. We briefly introduced their potential use in guiding fisheries management on the basis of management strategy evaluation (MSE), and the caveats in model selection, building and implementation. Furthermore, we discussed the future development of ecological modeling in reducing uncertainty and improve predictability.