Many communities depend upon the seafood production for both food security and their livelihoods. Addressing infectious disease in this sector is crucial not only in reducing their economic impact, but the potential risks to human health. Effective management and mitigation strategies are essential to ensuring the sustainability and resilience of the seafood sector as well as the health of the humans involved in the production and consumption.
CEID members Megan M. Tomamichel, Richard J. Hall, Pejman Rohani, and James E. Byers are authors on a new paper aiming to address this challenge through a structured decision-making (SDM) framework integrating mathematical modeling. SDM involves a multistep process that is designed to help decision-makers think critically about their desired outcomes and the potential outcomes of their actions to select the best action. In the context of managing infectious diseases in fisheries, the authors outline a pathway towards SDM with the use of mathematical models to forecast these potential outcomes such that decision-makers have a greater understanding of the dynamics involved to choose more effective and sustainable strategies over the long term.
While the challenges of managing infectious diseases in seafood production are multifaceted and complex, this framework offers a path forward in addressing this complexity in an effective and structured manner.
For more, read the full publication here.