Importance and future of individual markers for the ecosystem approach to fisheries

The use of genetic, biochemical and electronic markers in population biology and ecology has been growing tremendously during the last two decades. The first part of this paper aims at reviewing the main principles and advances of these individual markers through a few key applications on exploited marine fish populations. The second part is more prospective and investigates some possibilities that could arise in the near future through: (i) the development of new markers, (ii) the combination of different markers and (iii) the combination of quantitative approaches-whether classical or new-with individual markers. It is finally stressed how crucial individual markers will be to unravel the biocomplexity of wild fish populations and the key role they should play in the implementation of the ecosystem approach to fisheries.