D.D. Hupperi 13 Comments on the role of objectives in fisheries management.

The paper by Marasco and Miller contains four basic messages. First, fishery management objectives are multifaceted, include political and economic factors, and are not "scientific " per SE. Decisions, and therefore management objectives, are political. Science can inform decision-makers but does not establish the objectives. The second message is that Councils do not establish polished and unambiguous objectives at the outset of a planning process, but rather objectives emerge as outcomes of the plan development process. Written objectives at the initial stage of Fishery Management Plan development tend to be, like those in the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MFCMA), grandly stated, but vague and inconsistent. The authors provide a realistic description of Regional Fishery Management Council decision-making, noting that management problems are "ill-structured, that Council members operate under conditions of limited rationality, and that many of the management decisions involve shifting benefits among competing groups. Third, drawing upon the theory of organizational decision-making, Marasco and Miller argue that the classical view of technical decision-making, which makes a clear statement of objectives the first order of business, is not applicable to thc decision envii onment of Fishery Management Councils. The authors contend that fishery councils cannot, and should not be expected to enunciate clear objectives to guide evaluation and selection of alternative management approaches. Finally, they submit four propositions for applied fisheries science which, they claim, would assist applied fishery science to play a major role in helping fishery managers to "muddle through". They recommend that scientists (a) use a multidisciplinary (holistic) approach, (b) L 14 Coritriiettta y assign proper disciplinary expertise to research topics, (c) avoid inter-disciplinary bickering, and (d) stick to the role of finding and interpreting facts rather than assuming the role of policy maker. On the whole this paper presents a useful critique of the notion that fishery management is technical decision-making. It also realistically describes the context and content of th