Stakeholders´ Normative Notions of Sustainability. A Survey for the Co-Design of a Sustainable Future of the Western Baltic Fishery System

Many fisheries worldwide are not operating sustainably. Returning to sustainable levels is challenging as fisheries are embedded in complex marine social-ecological systems, and bringing the system back to a path of sustainability will likely involve conflicts and tough choices. A first step towards such a path relates to understanding the (different) normative notions of sustainability held by different stakeholder groups. We use the (German) Western Baltic Sea as a case study to elicit these views. At a workshop with representatives of relevant stakeholder groups, we conducted a questionnaire-based survey. Questions were inspired by the stochastic-viability-conceptualisation of strong ecological-economic sustainability under uncertainty. The survey focused on sustainability as a normative goal for fisheries management from a societal perspective. It returned quantitative results which can be directly utilized in fisheries management. We found considerable variation across as well as within stakeholder groups in their normative views on sustainability. Still, it seemed to be consensus among all stakeholders that the different groups have legitimate claims in the Western Baltic Sea, providing common ground on how to sustainably use the WBS. A well-designed transdisciplinary approach with broad exchange between different stakeholders and science seems useful to steer the WBS into a sustainable future.