Abstract

The UK commercial fishing industry operates within a complex web of stakeholders, technologies, and environmental pressures that challenge traditional approaches to sustainability and resource management. This research develops a comprehensive framework for understanding how technological advancement in UK fisheries creates unintended consequences that threaten long-term sustainability. Through a mixed-methods approach combining PESTLE analysis, grounded theory methodology, stakeholder mapping, case study investigation, this study introduces the "By-Product and Excess" theoretical framework to explain how fishing technologies generate two critical outcomes: by-products (undesirable environmental impacts such as CO₂ emissions, microplastics, and ecosystem damage) and excess (enhanced capacity to harvest beyond sustainable limits).The research employed purposive sampling to conduct surveys and interviews with 30 industry experts across political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental domains. Using NVivo 12 software, a comprehensive visual model was developed mapping stakeholder relationships across the entire UK commercial fishing network. This model was validated through expert interviews and tested using six detailed case studies examining quota management failures, by-catch challenges, emissions from vessel propulsion, microplastic pollution, and emerging technologies including PISCES light systems and SumWing gear modifications.Key findings reveal that current fisheries management systems operate reactively rather than proactively, allowing species collapse before detection. The research demonstrates how technologies designed to improve efficiency or address environmental concerns often create new challenges, establishing a cyclical relationship between innovation and unintended consequences. Economic barriers frequently prevent adoption of sustainable technologies, while regulatory frameworks lag behind technological change.The study makes significant theoretical contributions by reconceptualising PESTLE factors within three overarching categories (Social Construct, Technology, and Environment) and providing the first comprehensive stakeholder mapping of the UK commercial fishing industry. The by-product and excess framework offers a new lens for evaluating technology-environment interactions in resource extraction industries, challenging assumptions about innovation as inherently beneficial.The research concludes that achieving sustainability requires fundamental shifts in how technologies are designed, evaluated, and regulated. Future innovation must prioritise addressing by-products and excess rather than simply enhancing efficiency. The visual mapping methodology and analytical framework provide decision-support tools for policymakers and industry leaders, enabling systems-based approaches to complex challenges. While geographically constrained to the UK, the framework has broader applicability to other resource extraction industries facing similar technology-sustainability tensions.

Awarding Institution(s)

University of Plymouth

Supervisor

John Summerscales, Ross Pomeroy, Richard Pemberton

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Date

2026

Deposit Date

June 2026

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