Decision Support to Sustainable Management of Bottom Trawl Fleet

Abstract

Abstract:A decision support concept (DSC) for sustainable management of the bottom trawl fleet was created in line with ecosystem-based management. It is based on principles that integrate ecological, social and techno-economic aspects of trawl fisheries in a multicriteria analysis approach. For the sake of greater transparency and improved stakeholder participation, elements of the proposed multicriteria models were discussed, generated and evaluated in collaboration with designated experts from four stakeholder groups: fishers, environmentally focused non-governmental organizations, fisheries scientists and government representatives. The proposed DSC management could facilitate management and assist decision makers in adequately using data and scientific advice to shape management strategies and related policies for the bottom trawl fleet. It may also assist in finding compromise solutions based on deliverables from the multicriteria analysis, while taking stakeholder requirements into account by using the multicriteria Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluations (PROMETHEE) methods. The final decision is then based on a vast amount of knowledge and relevant information collected from different sources. The proposed DSC represents a novel approach to fishery fleet management and assists in systematizing management processes and instruments to make it operational at the strategic level. The method was applied to the Adriatic bottom trawl fishery, and the obtained results confirmed its managerial potential in the strategic decision-making process, aimed at improving conventional management, while considering the specific requirements of an ecosystem-based approach and ensuring stakeholder participation.Keywords: sustainable fisheries management; decision support concept; ecosystem-based approach; bottom trawl fleet; strategy planning tool for the Adriatic fishing fleet

An Integral Approach to Sustainable Decision-Making within Maritime Spatial Planning—A DSC for the Planning of Anchorages on the Island of Šolta, Croatia

“…This strategic kind of problem that requires comprehensive analysis needs the establishment of a management system, and DM related to it. Similar studies to this one, but at the same time significantly different, were given by Jajac et al [48], in which specific DSC is used for the selection of historic bridge rehabilitation method, and by Bitunjac et al [49], where DSC is used for the sustainable management of a bottom trawl fleet.…”

“…The parallel activity to previous one is design of a goal hierarchy structure (GHS) consisting of the main goal, its objectives, and the criteria. The establishment of a GHS in a form of a goal tree provides a better understanding of the interrelationships between the main goals and the objectives, and between the objectives and their criteria, thus ensuring a higher quality of the objective generation process [49]. that they represent.…”

A Literature Review on Stakeholder Participation in Coastal and Marine Fisheries

“…Additionally, nine publications described methods that were applied to identify individual stakeholders, either within presumed stakeholder groups or randomly. Butler et al 2015, Bitunjac et al (2016) and Stratoudakis et al (2015) based their choice of individual stakeholders on their long-time experience and their knowledge of the topic studied. Bitunjac et al (2016) selected stakeholders of which the authors assumed to have a leading influence within their group and were, therefore, seen as representatives of their stakeholder group.…”

“…Butler et al 2015, Bitunjac et al (2016) and Stratoudakis et al (2015) based their choice of individual stakeholders on their long-time experience and their knowledge of the topic studied. Bitunjac et al (2016) selected stakeholders of which the authors assumed to have a leading influence within their group and were, therefore, seen as representatives of their stakeholder group. Catedrilla et al (2012), Kerr et al (2006) and Murphy et al (2015) (b) method application for participation (e.g.…”

Marine Spatial Data Infrastructure Development Framework: Croatia Case Study

“…of management by objectives (MBO) [23]. Jajac et al [24] and Bitunjac et al [25] in their papers discuss the establishment of goal hierarchy structures in the form of a goal tree. They concluded that the establishment of such a goal hierarchy structure provides a better understanding of interrelations between the main goal and generated objectives, as well as between objectives and their sub-objectives, etc., thus ensuring a higher quality of the objective generation process [24,25].…”