Performance measures and reference points for the management of target species are now widely used in the fisheries of the developed world. To move us closer to an ecosystem-based fisheries management framework, we look at the prospects for expanding current single-species approaches for target species, by considering nontarget species. We also examine the development of performance measures and reference points for emergent ecosystem-level properties. We conclude that the expansion of single-species reference points to take account of the nontarget species of a fishery is tractable and desirable. In contrast, the use of performance measures for a single or a small selection of ecosystem metrics is not possible at present, owing to the absence of a clear understanding of their dynamics and a lack of underlying theory to explain their behaviour. However, recent methods that aggregate a wide range of metrics to provide an overall picture of the ecosystem status show promise and have a particular attraction because they have the potential to provide a framework for establishing a dialogue on management issues between all interested parties.
