The value of information in fishery management

Fishery management is often characterized by trade-offs among conflicting objectives. One important trade-off exists between investments in assessment (reducing uncertainty) and in implementation of management actions in a system. Resource-intensive assessment programs are often used to inform decision makers, and we argue that the value of these assessments should be measured not only in terms of the information they provide, but also relative to other management actions that could be funded in their place. In this article, we illustrate the importance of accounting for all aspects of the value of information using examples drawn from three critical areas of fishery management: invasive species control, commercial fisheries stock assessments, and marine protected area design. We discuss how experts have judged the value of assessment programs in the past, and provide suggestions as to how these methods could be expanded to examine the value of information in a more holistic manner.