본 논문은 수산자원보호구역의 효과적이고 합리적인 관리방향에 대한 정책수립 지원라 체계적인 어장환경실태조사 시스템 구축을 위한 사전 진단적 연구접근으로서 수산자원보호구역에서 계절별로 장기적으로 모니터링된 국가해양환경측정망 등의 자료를 이용해서 어장환경의 실태와 변화를 분석하고 평가하였다. 어장환경은 오염이 진행되었거나 진행 중인 것으로 진단되었는데, 각 영역별로 수질과 저질 오염특성이 다소 다르게 나타나서 오염원과 이용실태 및 지형적 특성 등 제반 환경요소를 고려한 맞춤형 수질관리방안 수립이 요구되었다. 또한, 보호구역의 지정면적은 점차적으로 변화되어 왔는데, 2003년도와 처음 시정시의 면적을 비교해 볼 때, 총 면적변화는 -22.9~2.4% 범위로 완도 도암만은 약 2.4% 정도 미미한 증가를 보였지만, 전체 구역은 평균 약 6.4%가 감소하였고, 한산만이 가장 큰 비율로 감소하였다. 전체 면적 중 육역이 약 6.1%, 해역이 약 6.6%가 감소되었지만, 2008년 시 군별로 고시된 상황을 종합적으로 고려하면 지정면적의 감소는 대부분 육역인 것으로 사료 되었다. 보호구역의 환경을 양호하게 유지하고 효과적인 관리정책을 수립하기 위해서는 실효적인 수질관리방안 뿐만 아니라 개발 및 이용실태 파악을 위한 조사와 데이터(정보)관리가 체계적으로 이루어지고 해역별로 종합 관리할 필요가 있을 것이다. 아울러 각종 관련 법률을 정비 보완해서 조사, 평가, 협의 등 관리방향과 관련된 요소를 일관성있고 체계적으로 정립할 필요가 있다고 판단된다.

A self-regulatory community fisheries management program in Korea is designed to enhance fisheries resources, to protect fishing grounds of self-regulatory communities, and to manage their fisheries resources by their own regulations and knowledge. This study explored an applicable ecosystem-based management plan based on the scientific investigation and analysis. This study suggested objectives, indicators and reference points of the ecosystem-based resource management system which are applicable to selfregulatory community fisheries. The objectives of the management system are to maintain sustainable fisheries production, to maintain optimum fishing intensity, to reduce by-catch, to conserve spawning ground and habitat, to maintain optimum habitat environment, to increase/maintain abundance of prey species, to increase/maintain stock biomass, and to conduct stock enhancement on the basis of scientific assessment. The improved methods for the assessment and management are introduced by demonstrating a self-regulatory fishery which targets on hen clam in Dong-li fishing village in Busan.

The potential of ecosystem-based fisheries management is recently recognized to be very important to improve the sustainability of fisheries resources. Under the depressed condition of many fisheries resources, this recognition has been expanded and more effort has been taken to improve this approach. Taking ecosystem concept includes the use of other tools of management in addition to fisheries regulation, such as stock and productivity enhancement, provision of physical structure, or marine protected areas. In the ecosystem-based fisheries management approach, it would require to holistically consider ecological interactions of target species with predators, competitors, and prey species, the effects of climate on fisheries ecology, the complex interactions between fishes and their habitat, and the effects of fishing on fish stocks and their ecosystem. Fisheries management based upon the understanding of these factors can prevent significant and potentially irreversible changes in marine ecosystems caused by fishing. A useful approach for analyzing tropho-dynamic interactions and mass-balance in marine ecosystems is introduced to demonstrate the complexity and usefulness of the ecosystem approach, which was applied to a small ecosystem in Korea. Korea should seriously consider to take the ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management, since most major fish stocks are currently depleted due to many reasons such as overfishing, land reclamation and coastal pollution.