Participatory Modelling Of Integrated Ecosystem-Based Management Regime For Invasive Crabs

Informations

Funding country

Norway

Acronym

-

URL

-

Start date

1/1/2020

End date

12/31/2023

Budget

1,466,652 EUR

Fundings

Abstract

Most people think of invasive species only as a nuisance with negative impacts on biodiversity and costs to society. However, some invasive species may also bring benefits, making it difficult to decide on the management strategy. Both the Red King Crab (RKC) and the Snow Crab (SC) are invasive in the Barents Sea affecting native ecosystems. While initially only a nuisance getting entangled in fishing nets, the RKC has become a significant source of income to fishers that have been allocated quotas. The SC has also evolved into a valuable fishery, attracting interest from commercial fishers in Norway, Russia and internationally and has even created conflicts regarding its ownership. While the ecosystem impact is regulated through fishing on RKC, the management hardly accounts for ecosystem impacts of the SC invasion. This project aims at identifying suitable compromises in managing these two invasive crabs. The project underscores the importance of bringing stakeholders together to co-create new knowledge. The aim is to find solutions that reconcile different value systems. In the first project period, we have focused on understanding the knowledge status on the potential ecological impacts of the crabs, developed theoretical models, and tested surveys that will be used to captured people's opinions. In the second project period we have conducted surveys to get insight into risk perceptions of stakeholders with respect to the impacts the crabs could have on ecosystem services and the opportunities the crabs represent, as well as the estimated value of the ecosystem services these crabs represents a threat to. Inclusion of these values in theoretical modelling is important to understand the different trade-offs in managing the crabs. Managers have given input to the models, and a stakeholder workshop was organised to discuss different dilemmas related to the management of the king crab. The data collected in 2022 is now being processed and the last year of the project will be used to answer questions within the different disciplines in the project as well as across the disciplines. The latter included integrating different types of knowledge in the models, discussions regarding how uncertainty can be included in different type of decision-making frameworks, and reflections from our efforts to explore and bring together new types of knowledge. We will arrange a stakeholder workshop to share our experience and get input on how involvement of relevant stakeholders in an economic analysis can contribute to developing cost-effective regulatory instruments that include environmental and other concerns and result in more far-sighted management of these invasive species.