Conceptualizing fishery systems: An analysis of definitions

Thinking of fisheries as a social-ecological system is a relatively new approach in fisheries science and management. As part of a novel contribution to this perspective, this study uses mental models analysis as a new approach to gain insights into how fisheries might be conceptualized. Following an established methodology for analyzing mental models, we established a reference model of fishery systems. This reference model was then compared with the conceptualization extracted from 19 definitions of fisheries formulated by policy makers, international agencies with the highest influence in fisheries management, and reference material widely used by the general public. By means of content analysis, we investigated whether the constitutive elements of these definitions support, promote, or hinder an understanding of fisheries as social-ecological systems. Our results indicate that, while they thoroughly address all the known aspects of the ecological component of the system, all these definitions lack to a lesser or greater extent references to the human and management components, as well as to interactions among components. We hope that this study will encourage further discussion regarding how to define fisheries so that social-ecological thinking is enabled.