Comprehensive Assessment of Risk to Ecosystems (CARE)

What does it do?

Quantify the climate change vulnerability and general resilience of the marine ecosystem, as well as the threat of fishing relative to other non-fishing threats, in order to determine impacts on the potential success of fishery management.

How does it work?

Determining risks to ecosystems, especially in the context of climate change, is an important step for proactive fisheries management. The CARE model can be used to guide threat reduction strategies, including in data-limited systems, and/or to assist the selection of sites for fishery reform interventions. This analysis can help users identify which threats are the most important in a given site, and for a given target, and therefore where limited management resources should be directed. It can also help users to understand how their management priorities might change as climate change progresses in their site.

How can it help you?

With this tool, fishery practitioners can: 

• Evaluate risks facing a single site
• Compare multiple sites for suitability/necessity of different management options
• Evaluate the effects of a proposed management action aimed at reducing one or more risks