Knowledge Co-production in Recreational Fisheries Science and Management

Abstract

Abstract Recreational fisheries need flexible approaches to knowledge production and decision support that involve interaction with stakeholders of civil society (e.g., recreational fishers, guides, conservationists), governments, and other organised and non-organised actors. Co-production of knowledge grounds research in relevant societal challenges and yields outputs that can have a transformative impact on practice, management, and governance. The term co-production is variously defined and used in the literature. We consider co-production as a process where research questions are informed by practical problems or co-developed, studies are implemented, and findings are interpreted jointly by scientists and other actors in problem-oriented ways that meet their collective interests and needs, while bridging different knowledge domains and ways of knowing. The concept shares overlap with co-design, co-creation, mode-2 science, transdisciplinary science, action research, citizen and community science, co-learning, co-assessment, and other related “co-terms,” but is not equivalent. In this chapter, we introduce and define co-production and place it in the context of research and management (and contrast it with co-management) related to recreational fisheries, laying out the aspirations, benefits, and challenges. A short narrative review of co-production work in recreational fisheries is provided. We write from a Western academic perspective on the key steps of co-production: identifying which stakeholders to include, exploring how to co-design research, determining data needs and roles, and suggesting one procedural approach. We also refer to leading methodological guidelines. We discuss the challenges and give guidance on weaving diverse visions, world views, and types and sources of knowledge and the importance of being aware of power asymmetries, roles, and (often hidden) norms and values in co-producing knowledge. The chapter concludes with three co-production case studies from recreational fisheries as examples.

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