International Journal of Aquaculture, 2025, Vol.15, No.6, 287-297 http://www.aquapublisher.com/index.php/ija 287 Feature Review Open Access Sustainable Fisheries Management: Balancing Resource Use and Conservation Liqing Chen 1, Wenzhong Huang 2 1 Tropical Marine Fisheries Research Center, Hainan Institute of Tropical Agricultural Resources, Sanya, 572025, Hainan, China 2 Biomass Research Center, Hainan Institute of Tropical Agricultural Resouces, Sanya, 572025, Hainan, China Corresponding author: wenzhong.huang@hitar.org International Journal of Aquaculture, 2025, Vol.15, No.6 doi: 10.5376/ija.2025.15.0028 Received: 17 Sep., 2025 Accepted: 01 Nov., 2025 Published: 22 Nov., 2025 Copyright © 2025 Chen and Huang, This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Preferred citation for this article: Chen L.Q., and Huang W.Z., 2025, Sustainable fisheries management: balancing resource use and conservation, International Journal of Aquaculture, 15(6): 287-297 (doi: 10.5376/ija.2025.15.0028) Abstract The ultimate goal of sustainable fisheries is to strike a constantly changing balance between human utilization and natural restoration, ensuring the long-term sustainability of fish stocks and ecosystems while also providing a stable life for those who rely on them. This study reviews several key aspects of sustainable fishery management: ecological basis, policy and governance framework, technological innovation, socio-economic factors, and adaptation paths to address climate change. The article first reviews the formation and connotation of the concept of "sustainable fisheries", and then sorts out the overall trend and main predicaments of global fishery resources. Research has found that maintaining ecological balance cannot be achieved without the basic management of ecosystems, the protection of biodiversity and the scientific regulation of fishing intensity. Meanwhile, new technologies such as selective fishing, reduced concurrent fishing, and AI-driven digital regulation are transforming the way the fishery industry is transparent and compliant. Social-level issues cannot be ignored either. The equity of coastal communities, the roles of women and indigenous people, and how the fishery economy can be diversified are all key links affecting sustainability. In addition, the paper also discusses the position of aquaculture in the blue economy and the role of Marine ecological restoration in the protection system. Facing the more complex challenge of climate change, research has proposed response strategies centered on adaptive management and system resilience building. Keywords Sustainable fishery management; Marine ecosystem; Aquaculture; Climate adaptation; Ecological protection 1 Introduction When it comes to "sustainable fisheries", people often think of the sustainable utilization of resources and the maintenance of a healthy ecosystem. However, its meaning goes far beyond this. It is more like seeking a balance: meeting human demands for aquatic products while not allowing the Marine ecosystem to lose its regenerative capacity. Sustainable fisheries not only require the rational development of resources, but also involve issues of fairness at the social and economic levels - how to ensure the livelihoods of fishermen while preventing fish from disappearing completely in the future ocean. It is precisely because of such thinking that new models such as Ecosystem-based Fisheries Management (EBFM) have emerged. This type of model no longer focuses only on the catch quantity, but incorporates the complexity and uncertainty of the ecosystem into decision-making considerations (Holsman et al., 2020). If we look back at the development process of fishery management, we will find that the turning points along the way are quite thought-provoking. In the early days, people were more concerned about "how many fish are appropriate to catch", neglecting the overall connection of Marine ecology. By the middle and late 20th century, fishery production had grown rapidly and technology had advanced by leaps and bounds. However, this was followed by a gradual decline in fish resources and the imminent collapse of the ecosystem. It was at this point that institutions such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) became alert, proposed management goals such as "Maximum Sustainable Production" (MSY), and introduced the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. Since then, "sustainability" has become a key word in global fisheries - it is not only related to food security, but also closely affects the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people, and even concerns global ecological stability (Racioppo et al., 2021; Swasey et al., 2021).
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