RESEARCH

Kai’s Data Research Project

 

We want to make life easier for fishers and fish alike!

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The need

Effective fisheries management depends not only on regulations rooted in evidence, but on whether those regulations are understood, trusted, and followed in practice.

This research project explores how information pathways and sharing mechanisms influence landings compliance, with a particular focus on the human systems that sit between policy and behaviour and how lack of clarity can result in unintentional implications.

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Research Focus

This project examines how different information pathways, formal and informal, affect landings compliance. Key areas of inquiry include:

  • Research Focus

    This project examines how different information pathways, formal and informal, affect landings compliance. Key areas of inquiry include:

    •⁠ ⁠Information access: Who receives regulatory and reporting information, in what form, and at what time?

    •⁠ ⁠Information trust: How credibility, relationships, and institutional history influence whether information is acted upon.

    •⁠ ⁠Feedback loops: How data flows back (or fails to flow back) to fishers and communities, and how this influences outcome.

    •⁠ ⁠Equity and inclusion: Whether information systems advantage or disadvantage certain groups within the fishery.

  • Method

    We use a mixed-methods approach that combines qualitative and quantitative research.This approach allows us to connect on-the-ground experiences with system-level outcomes.

  • Intended Outcome

    The goal of this research is to move beyond compliance as a purely enforcement-driven concept and toward more adaptive, human-centered solutions. Outcomes include:

    •⁠ ⁠Actionable recommendations for improving information design and delivery which will feed into the design of our data dashboard

    •⁠ ⁠Insights for policymakers on aligning communication strategies with compliance goals

    •⁠ ⁠A stronger evidence base and 2 way information flow that builds trust and shared responsibility

the numbers don’t lie

Let’s face the facts.

fact no.1

Landings data underpin stock assessments, management decisions, and the long-term sustainability of fisheries.

When landings are misreported, delayed, or not reported at all, the impacts ripple across ecosystems, economies, and coastal communities.

fact no.2

Traditional compliance approaches often emphasise monitoring and enforcement. While these tools are essential, they are only part of the picture.

Fishers, processors, managers, and regulators operate within complex information environments that shape how rules are interpreted and applied.

fact no.3

Understanding these environments is critical to designing systems that are effective, fair, and durable.

Our research will fundamentally underpin our data dashboard,

support

Help us to continue this vital research.

If you would like to donate or have your voice heard, contact us here.

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