Abstract

Over the past century, anthropogenic pressure on marine ecosystems has expanded dramatically. Currently, rates of ecosystem change are at record highs, prompting a pressing need for rapid and adaptive ocean management that considers a myriad of interacting factors. Numerous programs and initiatives aimed at supporting effective Ecosystem-Based Manage-ment of marine resources have been developed. However, socio-ecological factors are still rarely incorporated into the stock assessment and management process. This is largely because identifying how ecosystem factors interact with fish popula-tions and affect their management remains challenging. It has long been recognized that fisheries stakeholders (i.e., resource users) develop detailed knowledge of the environments in which they fish through experience and generational learning (Murray et al. 2006; Anadón et al. 2009; García-Quijano and Pizzini 2015). When this knowledge is collected in a systemat-ic fashion, it can be used to complement existing biological data, provide new insights, and can even be assembled in forms usable in quantitative stock assessments (Neis et al. 1999; Drouineau et al. 2021; Sagarese et al. 2021). In addition to helping fill data gaps, stakeholders can aid in characterizing linkages between social and ecological systems (Beaudreau and Levin 2014).

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