26th International Association for Management of Technology Conference - IAMOT 2017

**Introduction and purpose** - Italian fishing fleet is second in Europe for number of vessels and total power and fourth for gross tonnage (Cariola et al., 2014). The bottom trawling fishing with otter boards represents the 19% of the Italian fishing fleets and is the most impacting for the environment because is both a high energy intensive, with important fuel costs, and a high environmental impact fishing method. For this reason, starting from the European Project “Benthis” (WP7, Task 7.4. - Subtask 7.4.4. - Innovative management scenario’s - partly to be presented in another track of IAMOT conference 2017) the present paper extends the results of the costs and benefits analysis (CBA) concerning the substitution of traditional otter boards with innovative ones, carried on a singular vessel, to all the Italian fleet, designing new scenarios where all the trawling vessels would implement the same more sustainable technology, namely a new kind of new otter boards. They could bring both low environmental impacts and fuel efficient fishing activities, and their performance can be further improved thanks to a digital technology, matching them to wireless innovative acoustic technologies for bottom trawling nets monitoring, to control fishing gears performance and the amount of fish caught. The main purpose of this paper is to implement and analyze new scenarios for fishing sector where some key factors, impacting on the introduction of the new otter board technology, will be appraised: i.e. the fuel saving per day at seas, the consequent saving as monetary cost, but also the value of the environmental benefits obtained for example in terms of CO2 reduction. **Methodology and findings** – Starting from the results of the CBA analysis carried on the new otter boards technology, through the use of foresight techniques, new scenarios have been implemented and analyzed. The identified scenarios are referred to the variables that will most influence the introduction and spread of new fishing technologies in the coming years. Considering that most of the trawling vessels in Italy have characteristics similar to the vessel where the new otter board technology has been tested, the scenarios have included all the trawling vessels which could implement the same technology in Italy. Besides no more only the impact of direct monetary costs and benefits has been considered, but also indirect environmental cost and effects, as impact of CO2 reduction, trend in oil price and in legislation. From the scenario analysis, the variables that mainly will influence the introduction and spread of new fishing technologies in the coming years, have resulted to be the reduction in fuel consumption and the introduction of constraints / incentives at legislative level. **Closing** Already the simple Cost Benefit Analysis on one vessel had showed as the introduction of the new sustainable technology was cost-effective for the fisherman and permitted a fuel cost reduction in the short term. The construction of future scenarios, considering also other key factors and including all the Italian fleet, provides new elements in support of the positive future economic and social impact of the introduction of this more sustainable fishing technology. Notwithstanding the good results of this analysis, many difficulties in implementing technological improvements in the fishing sector are still present and could be related to shortage of information and to a lack of management in new fishing technology, just because is still a rather traditional sector.