Science and decision making in fisheries management

Abstract

Many fishery-resource controversies are couched in scientific terms, although often they are not scientific disputes. I discuss controversies involving several topics recently studied by the US National Research Council, including anadromous salmon in the north-western United States, sea turtles off the US south-east and Gulf of Mexico coasts, tuna and dolphins in the eastern tropical Pacific, and the Bering Sea ecosystem. In each case, the scientific aspects were not obvious to at least one party in the dispute; in some cases, they were not clear to any of them. The lack of scientific information is sometimes a consequence of the inherent complexity of the situation and the difficulties of collecting good data. Often, however, much better information would have been available if managers had taken the time to design data collection into their management regimes. Common barriers to resolving fishery-resource controversies include mutual mistrust, the amount of money and time needed, the lack of a coherent management authority or multiple jurisdictions, and scientific uncertainties. The last is strongly related to the others; good scientific understanding reduces mistrust, saves time and money, and encourages coherent management authority. Scientific uncertainty increases mistrust and incoherent management, and often increases expenditure of time and money. Understanding these relationships is necessary for effective management and decision making.