Integration of Indicator Alarm Signals for Ecosystem‐Based Fishery Management

• Published in: Conservation letters Vol. 8; no. 6; pp. 414 - 423
• Main Authors: Duggan, Deirdre E, Farnsworth, Keith D, Kraak, Sarah B. M, Reid, David G
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington Blackwell Pub 01.11.2015; Blackwell Publishing Ltd; John Wiley & Sons, Inc
• Subjects: Commercial fishing; Decision making; ecological indicators; economic indicators; Ecosystem management; Ecosystems; Fisheries; Fisheries management; Fishery management; Fishing; Harvesting; Historical account; Indicators; Management decisions; multidimensional management; Natural resources; Objectives; receiver-operator characteristics; signal detection theory; stakeholder preferences; Stakeholders; Celtic Sea
• ISSN: 1755-263X; 1755-263X
• DOI: 10.1111/conl.12177

We consider the problem of regulating the rate of harvesting a natural resource, taking account of the wider system represented by a set of ecological and economic indicators, given differing stakeholder priorities. This requires objective and transparent decision making to show how indicators impinge on the resulting regulation decision. We offer a new scheme for combining indicators, derived from assessing the suitability of lowering versus not lowering the harvest rate based on indicator values relative to their predefined reference levels. Using the practical example of fisheries management under an “ecosystem approach,” we demonstrate how different stakeholder views can be quantitatively represented by weighting sets applied to these comparisons. Using the scheme in an analysis of historical data from the Celtic Sea fisheries, we find great scope for negotiating agreement among disparate stakeholders.