Climate Decision Theater

We are developing an interactive learning experience in our Cohen Center for Interactive Learning where fishery stakeholders can learn to use models to make decisions about the future of fisheries management in a changing climate.

Currently, fisheries management decisions are based on fish stock assessments that statistically reconstruct the past and assume that average conditions will persist. A new model of assessing fishery regulations, known as “management strategy evaluation” (MSE), is emerging as a way to compare how different regulations could play out over time. A critical piece of the MSE process is stakeholder engagement, and for stakeholders to participate in this process productively, they must first be trained and educated.

This project plans to educate industry stakeholders before they engage themselves in the MSE process. This will ensure that they can effectively participate in the process, allowing them to advocate for their needs within the fishery management framework. This will lead to a more productive MSE process overall, and result in fishery management procedures that more adequately reflect the needs of the stakeholders.

Our focus on stakeholder education, will generate a base of industry stakeholders that know how to productively translate their experiences, needs, and hopes for their fisheries in ways that can be incorporated into the management process. By doing so, it allows them the opportunity to create a future that can meet their needs as well as those of their peers in the face of climate change.