Research audit of social sciences fisheries research

The FRDC Social Research Coordination Program (SSRCP) called for an audit of research that has been undertaken in Australia between 1995 to present in the social sciences domain of NRM, with a focus on fisheries. The audit was framed around five statements proposed by the SSRCP. Themes covered integrated decision making, social carrying capacity, adoption of innovations and new technologies, adaptation, role of social values in fisheries management and polices, and social aspects specific fishing industries. A literature search was conducted using a wide variety of databases and data sets. The references were collected, annotated and stored in Endnote (bibliographic data storage and retrieval software). The references were sorted and synthesised according to the five themes and research questions identified by individual papers and reports were collated. These findings were analysed and research gaps identified. Both the research questions and suggestions of prior studies and identification of gaps will assist in the development of targeted research effort in the future