This paper describes the cooperative relationships developed over 25 years between the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER) and several research universities in the continental USA as they relate to freshwater reservoir fisheries. Puerto Rico has few native freshwater species and all are diadromous. | Journal of Fisheries science and Technology Special issue - 2015 A CASE STUDY ON COOPERATIVE ADAPTIVE FISHERIES MANAGEMENT AND RESEARCH: 25 YEARS OF UNIVERSITY-AGENCY COLLABORATION IN PUERTO RICO J. Wesley Neal1 ABSTRACT Integration of university-based research with agency-based resource management is a cost-effective means to provide the scientific knowledge required for effective conservation. This paper describes the cooperative relationships developed over 25 years between the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER) and several research universities in the continental USA as they relate to freshwater reservoir fisheries. Puerto Rico has few native freshwater species and all are diadromous. Dams eliminated these species from reservoirs and upstream reaches, and nonindigenous fishes were introduced into reservoirs to create sport fisheries. The fish communities created were unique, with representative species from three continents and both temperate and tropical climates. This combination posed significant management challenges for DNER, which began collaboration with university scientists in 1991 to address these challenges. This cooperative approach has shaped fisheries management over the past quarter century, and the factors that have led to the success of the collaboration are discussed. Keywords: Adaptive management, freshwater fisheries, Puerto Rico, collaboration I. INTRODUCTION Effective conservation and ecosystem management must be soundly based on scientific knowledge (Christensen et al. 1996). In fisheries management, this entails accurate data on the organisms, their habitats, and socioeconomic outcomes associated with management activities (Krueger and Decker 1999). Unfortunately, management entities often lack the comprehensive data required to make informed decisions, and must therefore manage resources with the best information available and accept a certain degree of uncertainty in the outcomes (Neal et al. .
