Non-market values to inform decision-making and reporting in fisheries and aquaculture – an audit and gap analysis

Most Australian fisheries policies require that fisheries management takes account of the cumulative effect of all human users of marine resources, including professional, recreational and Indigenous Australian fishers. Optimal decisions require the trade-off between costs and benefits to be considered, and decisions about the use and management of marine resources increasingly require objective information on the non-market value of benefits (and costs). This project aims to support robust and defensible evidence-based, decision-making in fisheries and aquaculture by providing managers with an understanding of the resources available to account for non-market values in fisheries and aquaculture decision making. In addition, it will identify key research gaps and make recommendations related to the need for further empirical non-market valuation studies.