Providing social science objectives and indicators to compare management options in the Queensland trawl planning process

Fisheries management has traditionally been directed by ecological and, more recently, economic objectives. However, a need for consideration also of social objectives has become apparent with the increasing interest in triple bottom line assessments of industry and government performance. These, however, have remained largely unaddressed in terms of integration into management plans for specific fisheries. A key aim of this study is to redress this problem and to develop a framework in which social, economic and ecological considerations can be incorporated into the formulation of management plans. The framework is applied to the Queensland East Coast Trawl fishery, which is currently undergoing a revision of its management plan.