Ten lessons from the frontlines of science in support of fisheries management ICES Journal of Marine Science

As a research scientist shifting into a scientific administrator role in marine fisheries, I am often asked: “what is your biggest challenge?”. My answer is simple: small-p-politics. I use small-p to indicate that my challenge is not ideological nor political. Rather my challenge comes from the recognition that marine fisheries management focuses on a public natural resource, which is man- aged through debate, conflict, and resolution, and involves a number of stakeholders (Underlined words are defined in the terminology section.), each with their own goals, values, needs, and objectives. In this sense, my challenge reflects a shift in my definition of fisheries science from a technical, relatively narrow natural science to a transdisciplinary science associated with the complex socio-ecological system that is marine fisheries (sensu Ostrom, 2009).