Developing and testing stakeholders knowledge exchange tools for effective co-management of the sea
The project brought together fishers, government, researchers, civil-society organisations and fishers’ representatives connected to Scotland’s Nephrops fishery. The work was stakeholder-driven from the outset. Participants identified the issues that mattered to them, defined the relationships between those issues and set their own priorities for improving wellbeing. Their contributions covered economic security, working conditions, mental health, safety, environmental pressures, access to fishing grounds and the ability of fishers to influence decisions affecting their livelihoods.
Combining these perspectives created a shared picture of fishers’ wellbeing while retaining the differences between stakeholder groups. This showed where interests conflicted, why groups sometimes supported different solutions and where common goals could provide a basis for collaboration. The project also used stakeholders’ priorities to explore economic, environmental and integrated future scenarios, demonstrating how decisions in one area can create wider benefits or unintended pressures across the fishing system.
The findings provide a practical basis for knowledge-sharing, constructive discussion and joint decision-making. They show how bottom-up processes can help stakeholders move beyond separate or competing priorities and develop policies that better reflect the combined economic, environmental, social and human dimensions of fishing.
The project was undertaken with support from Heriot-Watt University, and funded through a Research England Quality-Related Research grant.
This project has produced two scientific paper publications please find them below:
Understanding fishers’ wellbeing through participatory processes in fisheries management