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The shifting policy focus towards Ecosystem Based Management in Fisheries (EBFM) requires the integration of knowledge and disciplines and the engagement of stakeholders to support decision-making processes. Scientists contribute to this through (i) participatory research projects, (ii) stakeholder partnerships and (iii) institutional scientific advice processes. Understanding the role of scientists in such processes, the nature of the interactions between scientists, stakeholders and managers in knowledge integration and the link between science and policy is an emerging field of research addressing transdisciplinary challenges. In 2018, Ifremer-UMR AMURE organized the workshop ‘Science, Partnership and Decision-support in Fisheries’ bringing together international scientists from natural and social sciences to conduct a review based on twenty concrete case studies. Findings indicate that science-stakeholder-manager partnerships for decision-support in fisheries can play an essential role in the transition to EBFM. To foster this transition, eight recommendations are presented that cover the roles of the different participants, the expectations of partnerships, capacity building, the integration of the social sciences, and funding structures. Further, it is recommended that future research and innovation framework programmes into sustainable fisheries and other ocean uses should explicitly include mechanisms to foster transdisciplinary approaches and the development of best practices. Building-up networks and developing reflexive approaches to review experiences and practices for transdisciplinary approaches in EFBM decision-support will contribute to design the next generation transdisciplinary platforms and generating actionable knowledge towards EBFM.

The shifting policy focus towards Ecosystem Based Management in Fisheries (EBFM) requires the integration of knowledge and disciplines and the engagement of stakeholders to support decision-making processes. Scientists contribute to this through (i) participatory research projects, (ii) stakeholder partnerships and (iii) institutional scientific advice processes. Understanding the role of scientists in such processes, the nature of the interactions between scientists, stakeholders and managers in knowledge integration and the link between science and policy is an emerging field of research addressing transdisciplinary challenges. In 2018, Ifremer-UMR AMURE organized the workshop 'Science, Partnership and Decision-support in Fisheries' bringing together international scientists from natural and social sciences to conduct a review based on twenty concrete case studies. Findings indicate that science-stakeholder-manager partnerships for decision-support in fisheries can play an essential role in the transition to EBFM. To foster this transition, eight recommendations are presented that cover the roles of the different participants, the expectations of partnerships, capacity building, the integration of the social sciences, and funding structures. Further, it is recommended that future research and innovation framework programmes into sustainable fisheries and other ocean uses should explicitly include mechanisms to foster transdisciplinary approaches and the development of best practices. Building-up networks and developing reflexive approaches to review experiences and practices for transdisciplinary approaches in EFBM decision-support will contribute to design the next generation transdisciplinary platforms and generating actionable knowledge towards EBFM.

Implementation of Ecosystem Based Management in fisheries has led to higher integration of knowledge in advices and higher engagement of stakeholders in the decision support Process. As part of the process, fisheries scientists contribute in different ways and at different levels to decision support and experienced partnership approaches in the context of research projects or institutional decision support. Role of scientists in the process is however not trivial to define and operationalize. Several pitfalls can occur that scientists may have experienced through partnership projects or in the expert assessments done for authorities. A workshop was organized from 15 to 17 January 2018 as part of the ScipaDe project of the Cluster of Excellence ('Labex') funded by the French 'Investment for the future' program and supported by the French Ministry of Research and Education. It brought together biologists, economists and social and political scientists involved in decision support processes and partnership approaches in fisheries at European level to share experiences and views across case studies, disciplines and projects. Context, content and lessons learnt from concrete experiences of bio-economic impact assessment of fisheries management scenarios provided in different case studies were reviewed and the links between scientists-stakeholders-decision makers in the decision support process in fisheries was explored through discussions and SWOT analyses. An Australian case was also reported to put into perspective the approaches and lessons learnt described at the European scale with respect to the institutionalized partnership platform for decision making used in Australian. This report provides information on the SciPaDe project, the participants to the workshop, the content of the workshop and the main perspectives and tasks identified. The w

Policy- and decision-makers require assessments of status and trends for marine species, habitats, and ecosystems to understand if human activities in the marine environment are sustainable, particularly in the face of global change. Central to many assessments are statistical and dynamical models of populations, communities, ecosystems, and their socioeconomic systems and management frameworks. The establishment of a national system that could facilitate the development of such model-based assessments has been identified as a priority for addressing management challenges for Australia's marine environment. Given that most assessments require cross-scale information, individual models cannot capture all of the spatial, temporal, biological, and socioeconomic scales that are typically needed. Coupling or integrating models across scales and domains can expand the scope for developing comprehensive and internally consistent, system-level assessments, including higher-level feedbacks in social-ecological systems. In this article, we summarize: (i) integrated modelling for marine systems currently being undertaken in Australia, (ii) methods used for integration and comparison of models, and (iii) improvements to facilitate further integration, particularly with respect to standards and specifications. We consider future needs for integrated modelling of marine social-ecological systems in Australia and provide a set of recommendations for priority focus areas in the development of a national approach to integrated modelling. These recommendations draw on-and have broader relevance for-international efforts around integrated modelling to inform decision-making for marine systems.

Fisheries management must address multiple, often conflicting objectives in a highly uncertain context. While the bio-economic performance of trawl fisheries faces high levels of biological and economic uncertainty, the impact of trawling on broader biodiversity is also a major concern for their management. The purpose of this study is to propose a model-based framework to formally assess the trade-offs associated with balancing biological, economic and non-target species conservation objectives in a mixed fishery. This framework is applied to the Australian Northern Prawn Fishery (NPF). We apply a stochastic co-viability framework of analysis to a multi-species bio-economic model of the NPF considering multiple management objectives. In particular, we consider the implications of including a formal non-target species conservation constraint. Results show that, due to the variability in the interactions between the fishery and the ecosystem, current management strategies present biological and economic risks. The trade-offs associated with respecting at each point in time biological, economic and non-target species conservation constraints with high probability and maximizing the net present value of the fishery are quantified.

After completing a large, regional, multi-use Management Strategy Evaluation, we attempt to assess the impact of stakeholder engagement on the project. We do so by comparing the original project plan to the actual project development and highlight the changes which can be more directly related to stakeholder engagement aided by the application of a logic model for program evaluation. The impact can be summarised into four broad classes: a) change in the actual project development; b) a measurable change in the network of interactions both stakeholders (which includes researchers); c) changes in how the computer model was developed and run; and d) changes in attitudes among stakeholders (including researchers). We discuss these changes, the way they have been detected and some lessons we learnt which may benefit future Management Strategy Evaluation projects.