Multiple-Use Management Strategy Evaluation for Coastal Marine Ecosystems Using InVitro

The general objective of the multiple-use Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE) framework is to develop and demonstrate practical science-based methods that support, under existing statutory arrangements, integrated regional planning and management of coastal and marine ecosystems. Multiple-use MSE has, so far, focused on four sectors: oil and gas, conservation, fisheries and coastal development. For each sector, a selection of development scenarios, provided by the relevant interest groups, is represented. These scenarios include prospective future sectoral activities and their impacts, and the sectoral response to management policy and strategies. The agent-based modelling software InVitro is well placed for analysing prospective social and ecological impacts of multiple-use management strategies in a riskassessment framework such as MSE. An illustrative example is provided to demonstrate the tradeoffs that can be recognised and quantified using the MSE framework. The example explores the implications of a change in management strategy. This change not only has a direct impact on the targeted sectors, but also indirect impacts, not all of which are to be expected.