Coastal Services Center

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How Many Different Stakeholders and User Groups are There? Approximately How Many Individuals Are in Each Group?

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For any given marine environment the list of stakeholders can be lengthy, consisting not only of user groups and organizations but also of interest groups.

Managers need to determine not only how many members are in each group but also the identity of these groups, their objectives, their interests, their activities, and how influential their members are within the community.

How Can Knowing This Help Me?

Identification of stakeholders and their issues may help MPA managers

• Focus on management strategies
• Make more informed decisions. For example, knowing how particular user groups affect the marine environment can help target an education and outreach campaign or encourage involvement in collaborative processes
• Lessen disagreement and compliance issues that might have arisen if stakeholders were not consulted
• Efficiently allocate resources to address problems or potential problems

What Are Some Tools I Can Use?

• Observation
• Secondary Data Analysis
• Focus Groups
• Content Analysis