METHODS article
Front. Sustain. Food Syst.
Sec. Aquatic Foods
How Much is Too Much Information? Testing the Effects of Digital Feedback on Fisher Behavior and Governance in Coastal Small-Scale Fisheries
Provisionally accepted
- 1Wildlife Conservation Society, New York, United States
- 2WorldFish, Bayan Lepas, Malaysia
- 3Marine research, WorldFish (Malaysia), Penang, Malaysia
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The proposed research protocol aims to evaluate the effects of digital information on behaviour change in small-scale reef fisheries. The study addresses the challenges of sustainable fisheries management, particularly in environments where collective action is necessary but difficult to achieve due to diverse stakeholder behaviours and preferences. Utilizing the Knowledge-Attitude-Practice framework, the study will implement and test the WorldFish Peskas digital monitoring system across various Beach Management Units (BMUs) in Kenya. The experimental design includes five intervention levels, ranging from a control group with minimal information feedback to treatments providing increasingly localized and aggregated data. These interventions will be assessed using a Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI) approach. The study will test three heuristic models of human behaviour: the information deficit model, the self-interested actor model, and the neighbourhood interested actor model. These models will guide the interpretation of outcomes, which include changes in fishing practices, governance participation, and socio-economic benefits. The research will run over a two-year period, with data collection on variables such as fishing patterns, compliance with regulations, and community well-being. Ultimately, this study seeks to inform policy on the effectiveness of digital tools in promoting sustainable fishing practices and improving livelihoods in coastal communities. The findings will provide governments and conservation organizations with a communication framework to better balance ecological sustainability with community needs.
Keywords: small-scale fisheries, behavioral intervention, governance, Digital feedback, information use, value of information
Received: 20 Aug 2025; Accepted: 11 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 McClanahan, Kosgei, Longobardi and Tilley. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Alexander Tilley, alex.tilley@gmail.com
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