Success in fishery management by reconciling stakeholder objectives in Hilborn’s “zone of new consensus”

Abstract

The inherent conflicts between objectives in fisheries management (e.g. MSY vs. conservation interests) are a hurdle for managers and scientists. However, some objectives may be compatible (e.g. economic yield and ecosystem preservation, Hilborn 2007) and could promote stakeholder consensus. The purpose of this study is to explore the “zone of new consensus” as outline by Hilborn (2007) and to develop a formal and quantitative approach to defining fisheries management objectives through stakeholder-specific utility functions. First, multiple objectives are reflected in a clearly defined utility function for each stakeholder group. Second, simulations are run to find the resulting stakeholder groups’ utility. The preliminary results illustrate a formal route towards deriving appropriate management regimes with focus on compatible management goals to promote a new paradigm of stakeholder consensus, incentives, and success in fishery management.