Incorporating stakeholder input into marine research priorities for the Aleutian Islands Rachael M. Wadsworth * , Keith Criddle, Gordon H. Kruse School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks,17101 Point Lena Loop Rd, Juneau, AK 99801, USA article info Article history: Available online abstract Resource management agencies are required to consider stakeholder input in the selection of preferred alternatives for proposed actions. Not only do stakeholders contribute unique perspectives on the impact of alternative actions and the desirability of various policy objectives, including stakeholders in the decision process adds to the perceived legitimacy of those decisions. However, gathering stakeholder input and incorporating it into decisions can be difficult. We solicited public input on research needed to improve marine resource management decision-making for the Aleutian Islands region. Stakeholders and an expert panel were asked to use the analytical hierarchy process to rank those research needs. Spearman rank correlation tests were used to search for statistically significant differences in the rank orderings between stakeholders and the expert panel. A high level of association was found between rankings by an expert panel and those by stakeholders. Moreover, the rank orderings were robust to the inclusion or exclusion of interest-group subsets of the stakeholders and expert panel. The expert panel and stakeholders assigned highest priority to new research designed to increase basic knowledge of the Aleutian Islands marine ecosystem. Agreement between stakeholder and expert panel rankings was closest for the most and least important research needs; most substantial differences in the rankings involved research needs identified as moderately important. These results suggest that an expert panel may provide input comparable to that which could be obtained from engaging in a more extensive stakeholder process. Furthermore, these results suggest that the analytical hierarchy process can serve as a useful mechanism for organizing stakeholder input for environmental planning and resource management. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Stakeholder engagement is a key component for sustainable management of the oceans and for implementing ocean policies, such as ecosystem-based management and coastal marine spatial planning (Costanza et al., 1998; Pomeroy and Douvere, 2008; CEQ, 2010; Halpern et al., 2012). In the United States, essential steps in environmental planning and resource management include gath- ering, weighing, responding to, and incorporating stakeholder input as required by, inter alia, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA), and the Endangered Species Act (ESA). However, processing and incorporating stakeholder input can be challenging because of its large volume and the self-selection of contributors. As defined in this study, stakeholders include those who have an interest in the science, use, and management of marine resources in Alaska (Pomeroy and Rivera-Guieb, 2006; Mackinson et al., 2011). This definition includes residents of the Aleutian Islands, state and federal resource managers, members of non-governmental orga- nizations, representatives of commercial enterprises, academic researchers, and other interested members of the public. While U.S. environmental acts such as NEPA include procedures that invite stakeholder participation (Bronstein et al., 2005), the influence of stakeholder input on decisions can be unclear to observers and participants alike. For example, in response to requests for public input regarding proposed actions, resource managers typically receive comments that express conflicting opinions about likely environmental, economic, and social impacts. Those comments may include multiple copies of form letters forwarded by members of interest groups, letters submitted on behalf of large numbers of * Corresponding author. Present address: 501 West Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, CA 90802, USA. Tel.: þ1 562 980 4036. E-mail addresses: rachael.wadsworth@noaa.gov (R.M. Wadsworth), kcriddle@ alaska.edu (K. Criddle), gordon.kruse@alaska.edu (G.H. Kruse). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Ocean & Coastal Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ocecoaman http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2014.06.003 0964-5691/© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Ocean & Coastal Management 98 (2014) 11e19