Fisheries sustainability is recognized to have four pillars: ecological, economic, social (including cultural) and institutional (or governance). Although international agreements, and legislation in many jurisdictions, call for implementation of all four pillars of sustainability, the social, economic and institutional aspects (i.e., the “human dimensions”) have not been comprehensively and collectively addressed to date. This study describes a framework for comprehensive fisheries evaluation developed by the Canadian Fisheries Research Network (CFRN) that articulates the full spectrum of ecological, economic, social and institutional objectives required under international agreements, together with candidate performance indicators for sustainable fisheries. The CFRN framework is aimed at practical fisheries evaluation and management and has a relatively balanced distribution of elements across the four pillars of sustainability relative to 10 alternative management decision support tools and indicator scorecards, which are heavily focused on ecological and economic aspects. The CFRN framework has five immediate uses: (a) It can serve as a logic frame for defining management objectives; (b) it can be used to define alternate management options to achieve given objectives; (c) it can serve as a tool for comparing management scenarios/options in decision support frameworks; (d) it can be employed to create a report card for comprehensive fisheries management evaluation; and (e) it is a tool for practical implementation of an integrated social–ecological system approach.

An interdisciplinary team of academics and representatives of fishing fleets and government collaborated to study the emerging requirements for sustainability in Canada’s fisheries. Fisheries assessment and management has focused on biological productivity with insufficient consideration of social (including cultural), economic, and institutional (governance) aspects. Further, there has been little discussion or formal evaluation of the effectiveness of fisheries management. The team of over 50 people (i) identified a comprehensive set of management objectives for a sustainable fishery system based on Canadian policy statements, (ii) combined objectives into an operational framework with relevant performance indicators for use in management planning, and (iii) undertook case studies that investigated some social, economic, and governance aspects in greater detail. The resulting framework extends the suite of widely accepted ecological aspects (productivity and trophic structure, biodiversity, and habitat–ecosystem integrity) to include comparable economic (viability and prosperity, sustainable livelihoods, distribution of access and benefits, regional–community benefits), social (health and well-being, sustainable communities, ethical fisheries), and institutional (legal obligations, good governance structure, effective decision-making) aspects of sustainability. This work provides a practical framework for implementation of a comprehensive approach to sustainability in Canadian fisheries. The project also demonstrates the value of co-construction of collaborative research and co-production of knowledge that combines and builds on the strengths of academics, industry, and government.

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Natural disasters have altered the landscape of Montserrat’s marine environment significantly over the past 30 years, forcing rapid adaptation of marine species and the human population that relies upon them. Volcanic activity has led to an abundance of volcanic sediment, which has seen rise to the expansion of the island’s sand mining and aggregate industry. Similarly, a series of volcanic eruptions has resulted in smothered fishing grounds and maritime exclusion zones, increasing the pressure on the remaining accessible marine environment. Recent increases in shipping activity, due to the expanding aggregate sector, partnered with a lack of official marine spatial planning, has led to the west coast of the island becoming a stakeholder conflict hotspot. Regular interactions between fishing gear and shipping vessels were resulting in damaged and lost fish pots and causing physical damage and increased ghost-fishing on the coral reefs, with additional impacts on fisher livelihoods. This paper builds upon earlier work in Montserrat to engage fishers in fisheries data collection programmes. Here we use data from Montserrat’s fishing fleet to understand the distribution and intensity of fish pot activity within the conflict area. Maximum activity was distributed along the edge of the reef front, near the drop-off, with the greatest intensity toward the south. These data, and outcomes from stakeholder consultation, have allowed the relevant authorities and decision-makers to identify a suitable shipping route that avoids pot-based fishing grounds, while remaining as close inshore as feasible, to avoid unnecessary fuel costs for shipping vessels. As a result, the Montserrat Port Authority has implemented a restricted area around the identified fishing grounds, in which commercial vessels are not allowed to transit. This intervention represents a “win-win” solution, reducing the risk of commercial vessel-fishing gear conflict in the southwestern pot-based fishing grounds, without substantially increasing the burden of excess travel on commercial vessels. Here we show how engagement with the fishing community and voluntary participation in data collection has supported a conflict resolution deemed suitable to both parties; allowing the needs of the smaller traditional fishing sector to influence management of the rapidly expanding, high value aggregate sector.

The information age is bringing about a change in the world division of labor. Many of the great trading cities that arose during the Industrial Revolution as shipping, railroad, and financial centers are now facing new challenges, challenges brought about by global telecommunications. Information technology and the changing nature of business and government offer new opportunities and threats to these and other cities as they strive to acquire or retain treasured economic activity. Telecommunications and computation capacity are among the tools cities can use as they vie with one another for this commerce. This study describes how U. S. cities are affected by these trends and summarizes some of the key technological and policy issues involved. Several case studies are reported, which show the various strategies used by large cities such as New York and Boston, progressive Midwest cities such as Omaha, and small cities such as Heathrow, Florida. Some preliminary principles of success are adduced.