Assessment of sustainability indicators for Iranian fisheries management (case study of Persian Gulf)

The Persian Gulf Iranian fishery, just like many marine fisheries, needs sustainable management. The assessment of the sustainability of the fishery requires the development of a set of local indicators. This paper used an integrated multi-criteria participatory framework as a decision-making approach, to evaluate sustainability relating to ecological, economic, social, technological, and management dimensions. The indicators were modified from appropriate tools such as Rapfish and other reference studies. The determination of the importance of sustainability indicators was performed based on local stakeholders’ opinions in the Persian Gulf, Iran. Three groups of stakeholders in this field have included fishers, managers, and researchers. Also, cognitive mapping as a soft methodology was applied to useful tools, for the assessment of the perceived linkage among indicators. The result of the assessment was analyzed and provided an overview for understanding the decision-making process and how to achieve sustainable fishery management in Iran.