Resource allocation in the marine environment is becoming an increasingly contentious issue and often the areas of dispute are on relatively fine spatial scales. Therefore it is important to develop tools which allow analysis of information on a small spatial scale in a way which can be understood by a variety of stakeholders, often from very different backgrounds. The visual nature of GIS make it an ideal tool to effectively engage all stakeholders, while spatial statistics allows spatial data to be analysed in a spatial environment. Although GIS spatial statistical methods require a high level of expertise, the visual nature of these techniques allows stakeholders to understand the results in a more intuitive way and engage more fully in the decision making process.

We present a case study from the Timor Sea between fishers and two gas companies where these methods assisted in identification of the issues, what further research information was needed and what scope there was for modifying operations. These techniques could be equally applicable to other situations or fisheries.