IMPACT REDUCTION IN DEMERSAL FISHERIES: A MULTI-CRITERIA ASSESSMENT OF OBJECTIVE PRIORITIES

摘要

When attempting to mitigate the environmental impacts of a fishery there are typically multiple criteria against which the performance of any measures can be assessed. If the gains are non-commercial (i.e. non-market) in nature, formally determining how well measures perform becomes more difficult. This study applies the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to quantify the relative preferences of stakeholder groups for one impact reduction objective over another in the context of European mobile demersalfisheries. The advantage of this methodology is that it allows for the inclusion of non-commercial benefits. Preferences are quantified and allow ranked group-specific weights relating to the reduction of discarding and other in situ impacts to be derived. The relative weights placed on the sub-objectives within each of the two objectives are also determined. The variability of preferences at both the intra- and inter-group level is considered and the potential implications with regard to perceptions of success discussed. Establishing a measured order of preference for individual criteria allows the significance of changes in non-market impacts to be determined and alternative measures that result in differing combinations of change to be directly compared. This should facilitate a more targeted and efficient approach to the process of forming impact alleviation policies within these fisheries.