Developing Harvest Strategies to Achieve Ecological, Economic and Social Sustainability in Multi-Sector Fisheries

Abstract

Ecosystem based fisheries management (EBFM) provides a framework to achieve ecological, economic and social sustainability in fisheries. However, developing harvest strategies to achieve these multiple objectives is complex. This is even more so in multi-sector multi-species fisheries. In our study, we develop such harvest strategies for the multi-species Coral Reef Fin Fish Fishery (CRFFF) operating in the waters of Australia's Great Barrier Reef. The fishery includes recreational, charter and commercial sectors, and is a provider of regional employment and supplier of seafood to both local and export markets. We convened a series of stakeholder workshops and conducted surveys to identify stakeholder objectives and priorities, as well as potential harvest strategy frameworks for the fishery. These potential harvest strategies were assessed against the objectives using a further qualitative impact survey. The analysis identified which frameworks were preferred by different stakeholder groups and why, taking into account the different objective priorities and tradeoffs in outcomes. The new feature of the work was to qualitatively determine which harvest strategies are perceived to best address triple bottom line objectives. The approach is therefore potentially applicable in other complex fisheries developing harvest strategies which, by design, strive to achieve ecological, economic and social sustainability.Sustainability 2019, 11, 644 2 of 21 and governance criteria include a range of administrative structures (e.g., co-management) and processes to ensure the desirable outcomes are achieved [2]. The success of EBFM to date, however, has been limited due to three key impediments: a relative lack of explicit social, economic and institutional objectives; a general lack of process (frameworks, governance) for routine integration of all dimensions of sustainability; and a historical emphasis on biological considerations, especially those related to fished stocks [3]. Definitive research on appropriate ways to select and assess social objectives for fisheries is relatively recent [4]. What tends to be lacking is the inclusion of all three dimensions directly within harvest strategies.The recent Queensland Sustainable Fisheries Strategy [5] aims to move the state's fisheries towards a more ecologically, economically and socially sustainable future. As part of this process, a number of Fisheries Working Groups have been established to identify fishery objectives and harvest strategies aimed at moving the fisheries forward. These Working Groups include a wide range of stakeholders, including all fisher sectors (commercial, charter and recreational); processors and buyers; scientists, fishery managers, marine park managers and conservation groups.The aim of this paper is to outline the process undertaken to develop a harvest strategy for a complex multi-sector fishery to achieve ecological, economic and social sustainability objectives. The Coral Reef Fin Fish Fishery (CRFFF) is one of Queensland's most valuable in term...

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