The ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF) has been developed during the last decade in response to perceived and actual deficiencies in previous methods of management. The EAF recognizes that fish are only one albeit important part
of a much wider ecosystem incorporating an array of physical and biological components that humans interact with and exploit. Rather than managing single fish stocks, an EAF is concerned with the impacts of fisheries on the marine ecosystem, the interactions between different fisheries, of fisheries with the aquaculture sector, as well as with other human activities. The Geographic Information System (GIS) is considered an ideal platform upon which to perform necessary information management and decision-support analysis for the implementation of an EAF.
