Managing resource and area conflicts in the coastal zone, exemplified by cod on the Skagerrak coast

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The utilization of common resources creates conflicts among industry segments competing for limited natural resources and areas in the coastal zone. An important example refers to cod in coastal waters of Norway, which is harvested by the commercial fi sh industry, the fish tourism industry, and by residents for recreational fishing. Coastal cod utilize near-shore waters as spawning and nursery areas, thereby overlapping with many other human activities and industries beside fishing. Such area usage overlap adds area usage conflicts to the aforementioned resource usage conflicts. Coastal cod has for years been in decline over large sections of its range and is presently targeted for restrictive fishery regulations, sharpening conflicts among sta keholders. However, it is largely unknown how important local spawning- and nursery areas are for coastal cod and to what extent coastal cod is structured into local demographic units (population) and how these relate to the offshore-spawning stock(s) i n the North Sea and open Skagerrak. In this project we will utilize the very latest advances in molecular biology (genomics) to clarify population components of coastal cod, their inshore habitat requirements, and to what extent the different segments of the industry harvest the same biological resource, or population. The findings will be used to evaluate existing and alternative management plans for coastal cod and coastal area usage. This will be done in cooperation with management planners and the industry, with the aim at generating and disseminating knowledge in support of the formulation of sustainable industrial policy in the areas of fisheries and tourism in the coastal zone.