Analyzing Information and Interaction Network among Active Actors in Aquaculture Activities Management in Alborz Dam Watershed in Mazandaran Province

Aquaculture is one of the agricultural sub-sectors, whose development is of great importance. In the sustainable aquaculture management, social and ecological dimensions are interdependent, and should be considered as a system. In present study, management activities in the form of information exchange, coordination and participation networks among 27 organizations, which are active in aquaculture in Alborz watershed in Mazandaran province are studied using social network analysis. The needed data for social network analysis was gathered through a questionnaire. The data were analyzed by using Ucinet6 which is one of the popular software for analyzing social network data. Based on the results, organizations such as the Mazandaran Fishery Department, Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center and Governor had suitable situation in receiving and delivering information and knowledge, cooperation and participation with other organizations, which indicate mentioned organizations are active and dynamic in the network. In addition, the results showed that governmental organizations have more power and centrality (authority) in information exchange, cooperation and participation networks compared to Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). In the other side, investigating the NGOs’ out-degree (Social influence) and in-degree (reputation and authority) centralities showed that out-degree centrality is more than in-degree centrality, which indicate that responsible organizations haven’t paid attention to local and NGOs’ knowledge and information related to aquaculture. The results of the role of network activators and analysis of the effect size on restrictions represented that Mazandaran Fishery Department could be considered as a powerful knowledge and information producer with attracting participation and cooperation of other organizations in the network.