Is the grass greener on the other side? A comparison of management preferences between stalked barnacle harvesters across Europe: Survey data

Because the surveys were conducted both before and during the Covid-19 pandemic (the column Covid indicates whether the data was collected before or during the pandemic), we had to make adjustments in our data collection methods. We provided the following options for survey completion (see the Recollection_of_data column): by hand in a written format, online, or via an oral interview conducted with the assistance of a scientist per telephone.

Results: In general, harvesters indicated a good understanding of the implemented strategies, however, some gaps were identified. Our results indicate that the majority of harvesters in the regions in Portugal and France were willing to make changes to current management strategies, reflecting their awareness of the need for improvement. In the fisheries with higher levels of governance and management success (Galicia and Asturias-West), this willingness was considerably smaller.

Based on the AIC model selection analysis results, the model with the single variable region explained 83% of the cumulative model weight. The variable region was the best predictor of the trends in management strategy preferences, and presented a highly significant goodness-of-fit result (p<0.001), suggesting that regional differences play a significant role in shaping these preferences. No clear trend emerged regarding a single "optimal" management strategy preferred by harvesters across regions.

Our findings emphasise the importance of tailoring management strategies to each region's specific practices, needs, and characteristics.