Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: all
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

This paper aims to expand fisheries managers’ and scientists’ understanding of how the science of communication can facilitate effective fisheries management. To do this, in this paper we define and create distinctions around common but often conflated fisheries communication approaches: Outreach, Education, Social Marketing, and Engagement. Further, we explain key scientific principles that support each communication approach and offer practical examples of their application. Finally, we highlight different communication research fields that can produce science that practitioners can use in their fisheries communication. These explanations support our claim that communication is required to meet the professional needs of fisheries managers but must also meet the needs of their audiences.