Environmental variability and fisheries in the southeastern Pacific: Research status and challenges for fisheries management

Fluctuations in abundance, biomass, age structure and distribution patterns of fisheries often respond to environmental variability. These responses are a result of both direct climatic effects on resources and indirect action on related trophic levels. In this study we review: i) the state of knowledge about the physical mechanisms associated with ocean-atmosphere variability and scales of spatial and temporal variability of the environment and related marine resources, based on observational data and hydrodynamic models, ii) environment relationship with pelagic, demersal and benthic fisheries, and the use of biophysical models to understand these relationships, iii) the current management of pelagic, demersal and benthic resources and the scope in relation to the use of environmental variables, and iv) strategies to improve understanding of the resource-environment relationship, as well as strategies for modeling biophysical and environmental variables in operational models for advice towards management are discussed.