[OANNES Foro] A decision support system for setting legal minimum lengths of fish

[Mario Cabrejos]

Fisheries Management and Ecology
Volume 15 Issue 4, Pages 291 - 301
Published Online: 9 Jul 2008
DOI 10.1111/j.1365-2400.2008.00614.x 

A decision support system for setting legal minimum lengths of fish
J. STEWART 
 New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Cronulla Fisheries Research Centre of Excellence, P.O. Box 21, Cronulla, NSW 2230, Australia (e-mail: John.Stewart en dpi.nsw.gov.au)

ABSTRACT

The use of legal minimum lengths is one of the oldest forms of regulation in fisheries management. Management objectives using minimum legal lengths are varied, often conflicting and generally poorly communicated. This paper introduces a decision support system that will assist fisheries managers in determining optimal legal minimum lengths. The system uses multi-criteria decision analysis to enable the integration of objective scientific and biological information into a system that assesses the success of any potential length limit in achieving each of the management objectives. The system can also document trade-offs between options that achieve management objectives and short-term socio-economic impacts. The decision support system is demonstrated using 13 commercially and recreationally important coastal species from New South Wales, Australia.