This article highlights the initial results of a trans-disciplinary and multi-partner research programme that provides solutions for the management of a recreational activity, crab gathering on rocky foreshores, to stakeholders in the territory of Oléron Island detailed analysis of the territory and of all the components of the "crab gathering system" enabled researchers to suggest appropriate responses to the territory's situation. We address the issues of how a combination of different disciplines with complementary methodologies can support territorial management; and how social science methodologies, and geography in particular, can contribute to the decision-making process.