Fisheries are deeply embedded within wider social systems, involving fishers, coastal communities, policymakers, and a range of other stakeholders. Understanding and anticipating how fishers and their respective communities will respond to new fisheries management measures is intrinsic to their success. Though this is the case, fisheries research and management across Europe still tends to focus on the ecological, leaving social dimensions broadly overlooked.
Collating several strands of research, SEAwise researchers, working under our Social and Economic Effects theme, investigated key social impacts of fisheries and their management, which in combination contribute to informed Social Impact Assessments (SIAs), to estimate the potential social ramifications of regulatory change. Understanding these impacts, and collecting and incorporating social data on stakeholder perspectives, enhances the legitimacy and acceptance of fisheries policy and management processes, and is therefore essential to SEAwise’s work operationalising Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management (EBFM).
SEAwise Research:
Utilising a mixed-methods approach, SEAwise researchers explored the social dynamics surrounding fisheries management and the perceptions of different stakeholder groups on how fisheries management impacts their livelihoods – incorporating the views of fishers, industry representatives, policymakers, and community members.
Through this research, several issues were considered across the SEAwise Case Study regions encompassing social aspects at individual, fleet, and community levels, including:
The findings of this report, and its incorporation of stakeholder views, outlines the complex and far-reaching impacts of fishing which encompass more than solely the processes and effects that take place at sea. In line with this, this research emphasises the importance of undertaking management in a collaborative way, where decision-making is shared between authorities, fishers, and the communities they play such a key role in shaping.
This report evidences the broad suite of topics that would need to be considered for the evaluation of fisheries management strategies to be comprehensive and effective. Notably, this research provides useful findings which can be integrated within ongoing work to operationalise the social objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy. Drawing from these findings, in particular the behavioural models and integration of social data, allows for greater foresight on potential unintended management consequences and, therefore, the potential for policy developments to be more equitable and inclusive.
Read the full report here.
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