Fishermen's tactical and strategic decisions: A case study of Danish demersal fisheries

The Danish demersal fisheries are heterogeneous, e.g. in terms of the size of vessel, target species, gear in use, geographical mobility, number of days spent at sea and trip duration. The Danish fishermen apply different investment strategies in their businesses and in their everyday fishing tactics.This article investigates these fishermen's tactical and strategic decisions by using both in-depth sequence interviews and a questionnaire. It shows that the fishermen often include an array of conditions in their decision-making process with reference to tactics or strategies—the degree of flexibility concerning geography and gear, expectations for time off (family and friends), safety, comfort and expectations for economic outcome or willingness to take financial risks. Further, three types of fishermen are identified. The paper concludes that there is scope for management to become more flexible in order to better accommodate the specific challenges facing the different fisheries.