Contribution of mathematical modeling to the ecosystem approach to fisheries management and the marine environment (EAMME) : the AWA experience
Résumé
Since the onset of AWA, a number of studies have focused on the management and ecology in West Africa. Here we provide a short insight of the main highlights on a selection of contrasted modelling case studies. Understanding the functioning of the ecosystem is essential to promote ecosystem approach to fisheries management and the marine environment (EAMME) and path providing advices to decision makers and managers. In the EAMME, the civil society addressed various questions to AWA on which specific models have been developed to provide at least first insight to the answers, e.g., on the effect of artificial reef implementation in marine protected area; the possible equilibriums between national fisheries sharing a same trans-boundary fish stock; the feedback between local exploitation, fish market and fisheries mobility, the responses of a fishery to economic, biologic and management parameters, the spatial variability of primary productivity as well oceanographic circulation at regional level or the fish egg advection over the continental shelf. More complex modelling exercise have also been conducted taking advantage of previous research led on sardinella aurita. In this way a coupled model taking into account environmental variability, fish growth and spatial behaviour was developed. We present as example new hypothesis on adult mediated connectivity between EEZ, inter-annual variability and interest to work on climate change with such model. We propose a prospective of what further research could be conducted to continue to bring up relevant information for a sub-regional EAMME in North West Africa fostering exchanges between modellers and marine scientists and all stakeholders.