EBFM (also called the ecosystem approach to fisheries, EAF), in essence, extends the principles for sustainable fisheries management to cover the ecosystem as a whole. EBFM is increasingly enshrined in international agreements and frameworks as it becomes increasingly clear that single-stock management methods are prone to failure. EBFM aims to ensure that, despite variability, uncertainty and likely natural changes in the ecosystem, the capacity of ecosystems to produce the multitude of benefits that they do, is maintained indefinitely for the benefit of the present and future generations.
