Social network analysis as a tool to inform sustainable multi-sectoral management in complex marine socioecosystems

In complex marine socioecosystems, where multiple sectoral activities coexist, management can be especially complicated. This is the case of the coupled Guadalquivir estuary - Gulf of Cadiz (Ge-GoC) system. The Guadalquivir estuary (SW Spain) plays a central role in the whole Gulf of Cadiz since many fish species use these waters as a nursery area. Therefore, not only fisheries management is important but also the environmental status of the estuarine waters. The latter will have an effect on the adult populations via recruitment. Human activities that directly or indirectly influence the estuary include fishing, agriculture, shipping, saltworks, tourism or aquaculture among others. Conflict among them are common. In this context, we have used social network analyses as a first step to create an analysis and decision-support framework to achieve balanced socio-ecological ecosystem based management (EBM) to the Ge-GOC