The aim of the SAF21 project was to understand how to manage socio-ecological complex systems better. This knowledge is hoped to be useful when developing innovative management strategies, particularly to address a shift to new regulatory regimes, which is necessary for the success of future complex pan-European initiatives. The research and development was undertaken by a group of 10 early stage researchers, managed by the SAF21 consortium, which was a mix of academic and commercial organisations. What is unique about the SAF21 project is the way the research and training programme was structured. The SAF21 network offered a practical, collaborative approach to learning, combining research with developing transferable skills through training and secondments. The aim of this doctoral program was to improve the commercialisation of R&D results, increase the employability of the researchers, expand the impact of such projects through education, outreach and communication to wider communities, as well as enabling more effective fisheries management. Exploring the fisheries models used in fisheries science, the SAF21 early stage researchers discovered that these models are not properly documented (e.g. data and code are not available), which hinders their transparency and reproducibility. Moreover, social aspects of fisheries (e.g. trust, compliance) are modeled through economic (e.g. profit) and environmental (e.g. stock size) variables. In addition, an analysis of more than 48.500 articles published in 21 scientific journals during the last 26 years indicates that the human dimension of fisheries is heavily under-researched, including in modelling. Another analysis showed that most commonly used definitions of fisheries extensively address the natural components of the fisheries system and only partially the human and management components. Among the fisheries management case studies that some of the SAF21 early stage researchers worked with during the project there are Iceland, Ireland, and Spain. If researchers or decision-makers are interested in facilitating interdisciplinary social-ecological system research in practice, SAF21 suggests using the dedicated framework developed during the project.
