Project Goal: With the aim of supporting Ecosystem-Based Management (EBM), the Florida Keys NOAA Integrated Ecosystem Assessment Program seeks to provide scientific knowledge of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary integrated ecosystem, and transfer that knowledge to scientists, policy makers and resource managers.

In order to advance ecosystem-based management the Gulf of America Integrated Ecosystem Assessment team has sought the support and involvement of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council. 

Scientists partnered with fishermen to understand and address impacts from massive red tides.

The annual State of the Ecosystem reports developed for the New England and the Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management Councils provide the current status of the Northeast Shelf marine ecosystems. 

Management strategy evaluations are both a component of the Integrated Ecosystem Assessment (IEA) approach and a standalone process, depending upon the context. The NOAA Fisheries MSE working group defines MSE as “a process designed to identify and operationalize strategies for managing fisheries that are robust to several types of uncertainty and capable of balancing multiple economic, social and biological objectives".

In collaboration with Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and stakeholders, NOAA scientists used the IEA approach to help incorporate key ecosystem components into management decision making. In August 2016, the Council approved the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management Guidance Document, which formally adopted consideration of the IEA approach.