Regime shifts in harvested marine ecosystems around the world have been documented in empirical research, using concepts such as resilience, abrupt collapse, tipping points, and hysteresis, and considering levels of complexity from single species to entire communities. Ecological and economic studies approach the topic typically from different angles: While ecologists analyze empirical data to identify evidence and early warning signals, economists follow a theoretical, model-based approach with a focus on management. Although the linkages between the ecological and economic sub-systems of social-ecological systems are widely acknowledged, only very few studies investigate resource collapse and recovery in harvested marine ecosystems from an integrated ecological–economic perspective.
We review the development of concepts related to regime shifts and present the state of the art of the research field from ecological and economic perspectives. We develop an integrative ecological-economic view on regime shifts using Atlantic cod stocks as examples. We specifically address aspects of mutually reinforcing ecological, economic, and ecological-economic feedbacks leading to collapses of resource populations, and processes limiting or promoting recovery of ecosystems. We show that spatio-temporal cross-scale effects can play an important role in collapse and recovery of harvested fish populations. We conclude on the importance of regime shift concepts for ecosystem-based management and develop a positive perspective of shifting marine ecological-economic systems towards regimes of sustainability.