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This thesis responds to the need to quantify social learning and its outcomes as it relates to natural resource management. Social learning enables individuals engaging in collective action to understand each other’s perspectives, encourages integration of diverse knowledge bases, and the creation of new knowledge (Keen, Brown, & Dyball, 2005). However, the concept currently lacks a clear operational definition in natural resource management. The lack of an operational definition for social learning has stymied attempts to validate its espoused ability to improve civic discourse and, ultimately, resource governance (Pahl-Wostl & Hare, 2004). This report is composed of three papers that collectively offer a way forward for this area of research. The first paper supplies an operational definition of social learning based on team cognition research in organizational psychology. One possible research framework for the assessment of social learning is provided. The second paper presents a case study using this framework. The case study takes place within the context of private forestlands management; a growing arena for collective action institutions. A pre-test and post-test quasi-experimental design is used to test for social learning resulting from a participatory research intervention. The third paper documents the results of the participatory research intervention, independent of the social learning framework.

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The Biden Administration has set aggressive offshore wind energy goals, aiming to have 30 gigawatts of offshore energy in place by 2030. This amount of energy has the potential to power 10 million homes (White House, 2022), helping the administration to reach larger clean energy goals. In Virginia, Dominion Energy aims to have 2.6 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2026, enough to power up to 660,000 homes (Dominion Energy). While the upcoming offshore wind energy development will create clean energy and green jobs, the ocean is no longer an open field for development and already supports a complex matrix of industries (Schupp et al., 2019). The number of competing uses for space is continually expanding, causing increases in conflicts between sectors (de Groot et al., 2014). From fisheries and offshore aquaculture to shipping channels and military use, the need for sustainably managed offshore development is greater now than ever before (Gill et al., 2020). This research uses European stakeholder knowledge and experiences to highlight opportunities for conflict mitigation in the United States. Europe is about 20 years ahead of the United States in offshore wind development (Gill et al., 2020), and due to the diversity in regulatory statuses across countries (Schupp et al., 2019), a multitude of case studies exist for examining strategies to deal with competing ocean uses.

Derelict fishing gear, particularly pots or traps, occupy waters worldwide and cause negative ecological and economic impacts. Derelict pots persist throughout Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the U.S., that supports a valuable commercial fishery for the blue crab Callinectes sapidus. Chesapeake Bay is responsible for 30-40% of U.S. commercial blue crab harvests. Yet, few studies have quantified the impacts of derelict pots on harvest or the perceptions of commercial fishers on derelict pot mitigation activities in this predominantly pot fishery. This thesis examined the impacts of derelict pots on harvest in a field experiment and worked with commercial fishers to develop and disseminate a mail survey that was used to quantify the preferences and decision-making of commercial fishers for addressing derelict pots. The field experiment simulated the presence of derelict pots near actively fished pots and found that derelict pots can reduce harvests by up to 30% during the summer, but not during the fall. Female capture rates were consistently lower when derelict pots were present, but male capture rates were not negatively affected. To better understand the perceptions of commercial fishers and their preferences for derelict pot mitigation actions (e.g., location and removal program, installation of identification tags on pots), a stated preference survey with a discrete choice experiment was distributed to all commercial fishers licensed to deploy hard pots in Virginia. There was a 42% response rate (430 of 1,032 fishers returned the survey packet), and most mitigation activities included in the survey were too costly for commercial fishers to willingly participate in. Management incentives (e.g., bushel limit increase, pot limit increase, season extension) alone were not enough to offset costs and encourage participation in activities that were disliked by commercial fishers. However, there was strong heterogeneity observed across the population, thus some segments of the population would be far more willing to participate in mitigation efforts than others. For instance, participants that perceived derelict pots to cause only negative impacts were 37% more willing to participate in any mitigation activity on average. Results from this study can be used to better inform resource managers and policymakers responsible for addressing the issue of derelict pots and other types of derelict fishing gear plaguing fisheries around the world.