A Korean perspective

The adoption of the EEZ in the 1982 UNCLOS represents the culmination of an effort by some parts of the international community to separate “jurisdiction” over the natural resources in offshore waters from the “sovereignty” manifest in the territorial sea. It is clear that the EEZ is a zone that is neither territorial waters nor wholly high-seas. It is also a zone in which competencies are balanced between the need of coastal States to have sufficient authority to exploit and manage their economic resources and the need of all other States to retain high-seas navigation and communications freedoms and uses related to such freedoms. From South Korea's perspective, the EEZ is a sui generic zone in which military and intelligence activities are limited or not allowed without the consent of the coastal State. This is equally applicable in peace and war. Although several States stress that Article 58 of the 1982 UNCLOS permits such activities, increasing EW and IW capabilities may result in reinterpretation of certain provisions of the 1982 UNCLOS.     

Place-based ocean management: Emerging U.S. law and practice

Marine protected areas and marine reserves are being established in United States ocean waters under several federal and state laws. Relevant laws include the National Marine Sanctuaries Act, the Magnuson–Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management, the National Monument Act, the federal Submerged Lands Act, and the California Marine Life Protection Act. This article evaluates U.S. place-based ocean management from the perspectives of relevant international law principles and programs and foreign nation experiences relevant to the U.S. It then focuses on the challenges presented in managing multiple uses of U.S. ocean waters in the face of federal and state jurisdictional complexity. Integrating place-based management with fisheries management is given special attention.     

The international legal framework for marine spatial planning

Increasing demand for ocean resources, both living and non-living, have already lead to loss of biodiversity, habitat depletion and irreversible damage to the marine environment. Furthermore, introduction of new kinds of sea uses, spatial extension of ongoing sea uses and the need to better protect and conserve the marine biological diversity will result in increasing conflicts among the various users, as well as between the users and the environment. Marine spatial planning as a process to allocate space for specific uses can help to avoid user conflicts, to improve the management of marine spatial claims, and to sustain an ecosystem-based management of ocean and seas. This article explores the rights and duties towards exploitation and protection of the marine environment under the jurisdiction of coastal states as reflected in two important global conventions, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Convention on Biological Diversity. Both Conventions provide the main legal framework for marine spatial planning that have to be taken into account in planning at the regional and national level.     

Attainment of ecosystem based governance in European waters—A State property rights regime approach for Ireland

On Ireland's continental shelf, as well as within its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), there are significant biodiversity hotspots including those associated with Cold Water Corals (CWC). Some of these ecosystems enjoy little or no actual protection and are subject to the effects of open access. Sectorally driven initiatives, a recalcitrant attitude to environmental law and inadequate governance, have added to the conditions that have facilitated years of damage by fishers and other actors from many States. A review of the current governance regime, influenced primarily by the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), is presented. Failings of this regime are highlighted by the destruction of some biodiversity hotspots associated with vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs), an externality primarily arising from the effects of deepwater fishing. While exploring some of the principles relating to the institution of property rights, this paper makes a link between property rights, the public trust doctrine and sovereign rights. The paper suggests that such biodiversity systems are the property of citizens of the individual States in whose area of jurisdiction they occur. The paper argues for an Irish State property rights regime as part of an ecosystem approach within a nested institutional architecture. This has important implications for the governance of biodiversity such as that associated with CWC and for the development of an Irish National Oceans Policy.     

The arrest of ships in maritime zones beyond internal waters in Belgian maritime law

Opportunities may arise to arrest a ship in maritime zones beyond internal waters, e.g. in the territorial sea and the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). This paper examines the possibilities for arrest in those areas on the basis of jurisdiction ratione loci and ratione materiae. Under Belgian law the territorial sea is not part of the State's territory; accordingly, the Belgian Judicial Code does not provide for an attachment judge nor a bailiff to have jurisdiction in this area and a fortiori in the EEZ. The law of April 22, 1999 solved the problem of territorial jurisdiction in this respect. As far as a ship's arrest in the EEZ is concerned, it is not clear whether the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention (articles 73 and 220) combined with the requirement of a maritime claim, allows for an arrest at all.     

Spatial conflicts in New Zealand fisheries: The rights of fishers and protection of the marine environment

New Zealand fisheries legislation provides commercial fishing rights to holders of individual transferable quota (ITQ). The settlement of fisheries claims against the Crown by Mäori, New Zealand's indigenous people, brought about the transfer of ITQ holdings to Mäori, and an obligation on the Crown to recognise and provide for indigenous (customary) fishing rights over fishing grounds and other areas that have been of special significance to Mäori. Some types of customary fishing areas exclude commercial fishing and could affect recreational fishing. Fisheries legislation requires that regulatory measures be put in place to avoid, remedy or mitigate the adverse effects of fishing. The Government also aims to protect marine biodiversity by having 10% of New Zealand waters in some form of protection by 2010. The legislative processes for protecting the marine environment and establishing customary fishing areas include assessment of effects on fishing rights. This paper explores the conflicts that arise from legislative obligations to uphold the rights of fishers, to sustain fishstocks and to protect the marine environment. The paper concludes that inconsistent legislative obligations and their disparate processes have led to spatial conflicts and a race for the allocation of space. Legislative obligations need to be integrated to maintain a balance between use of fisheries resources and protection of the marine environment.     

Private rights,public benefits: Industry-driven seabed protection

New Zealand has a large exclusive economic zone (EEZ) that contains a variety of marine habitats and commercially-important species. The commercial fishing industry operating within New Zealand's EEZ is of significant value to the economy and fisheries resources are managed through the extensive use of Individual Transferable Quotas (ITQs). One of the benefits of ITQs has been to better align some of the private incentives of quota owners with the public interest. These incentives contributed to an initiative proposed by the fishing industry to close large areas of New Zealand's EEZ to protect the seabed from trawling. These closed areas are termed benthic protection areas (BPAs) and protect the benthic biodiversity of about 1.1 million square kilometres of seabed—approximately 30% of New Zealand's EEZ. A significant proportion of New Zealand's known seamounts and active hydrothermal vents are protected by these closed areas. We describe and discuss the criteria used to select BPAs and some of the criticism of this marine protection initiative. We argue that the assignment of strong property rights in fishing resources was an important precondition to an industry initiative that has a significant public benefit. Where private and public interests are well aligned, government can adopt an enabling and facilitation role, ceding direct control of processes in order to get the results the align with the public interest.     

Perspectives on effects-based management of New Zealand exclusive economic zone resources

Adoption of effects-based management, environmental effects-based management (EEM) or ‘learn as we go, is essential to open up access to all of New Zealand’s Maritime Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) resource base into the future. Utilising knowledge gained from ‘learn as we go’ and combining it with the integration of sectarian agendas and establishment of a central government EEZ agency empowered by an Act of Parliament will ensure future food and energy security is met. To achieve this integration of environmental effects management with security of access and stakeholder buy in is needed. Government hierarchies should not limit integration under EEM, policy should be non-separatist, and regions should be defined using ocean zoning. Future food and energy security can then be thought of in terms of environmental carrying capacity, moving away from regimes overly focussed on regulating for development. Ocean zoning could be used to assign property rights, with all activities subject to EEM regulation and enforcement of adaptive environmental standards through a central government EEZ Ocean Affairs agency. An overarching strategy to provide a framework guiding the development of New Zealand’s EEZ organisational infrastructure and decision making is needed to achieve this.     

The Magnuson-Stevens act (1976) and its reauthorizations: Failure or success for the implementation of fishery sustainability and management in the US?

The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (1976), opened a new era of federal fishery management in the United States. It was enacted primarily to establish a system for conserving and managing fisheries in the new 200-mile (EEZ). The US assumed exclusive authority for managing all fisheries within the EEZ, except for highly migratory species such as tunas and billfishes. Within the framework of the Act, eight Regional Fishery Management Councils (Regional Councils) were created, which are responsible for preparing Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs) in federal waters under their jurisdiction. Each FMP must meet a series of National Standards (NSs) for conservation and management. The Act was reauthorized in 1996 with the passage of the Sustainable Fisheries Act (SFA), which aimed at fine tuning the fishery regulatory apparatus that was established under the original Act. This "fine tuning" involved increased attention to biological concerns, and removal of ambiguities within it. The Act was reauthorized again in 2007, mainly to provide for more clear directives and regulations to end overfishing. After more than thirty years since the Act was passed into law, the debate among conservationists, commercial and recreational fishery representatives, and politicians on the effectiveness of the Act in achieving its purported goals it still continues. Is the Act delivering on its promises? Do NSs reflect the most important priorities for the US fishery resources, conservation and sustainable exploitation? Do the Regional Councils represent all parties that should be involved in the fisheries resources management? The aim of this paper is to provide a critical analysis to answer these questions. This paper begins with a review of the Act and its background, followed by discussion and analysis of the Act's benefits and flaws. Finally, suggestions for the implementation of its structure and future directions in fishery management strategies are made.     

Coastal management in Brazil – A political riddle

Brazilian legislation defines coastal zone as a national patrimony – the geographic space of interaction of air, sea and land formed by the counties directly influenced, but not necessarily by those located in the coastline; also included are those distant until 50 km from the coastline, holding activities of great impact for the coastal zone or its ecosystems. The definition includes also the territorial sea of 12 nautical miles. Coastal management is conducted by a national plan legally enforced, complemented by states and counties plans, and a coastal ecologic-economic zoning limited to small portions of the coastal zone. A resolution of the “Environmental National Council” defines as “permanent preservation areas”, of very restricted use, coastal ecosystems as mangroves, sand dunes, and reproduction sites of wild fauna. One could expect that the Brazilian coast should be more protected and properly managed than other countries where a national management plan is lacking (Argentina) or where the guidelines exist but are not yet legally enforced (South Africa). Notwithstanding, we note today in Brazil an intensification of conflicts opposing small-scale vs. industrial fishermen; shrimp farming vs. mangrove crab harvesting; resorts installation vs. native communities; oil and gas activities vs. NGOs; and conflicts on environmental permit between federal and state governmental agencies. This paper evaluates the possible reasons for the failure of the complex legal suite available in Brazil and suggests that participatory management and concerted actions with relevant stakeholders are the key elements for the successful cases.     

The exclusive economic zone: some perspectives

A brief presentation is made of the concept of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) adopted by the United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, and included as a major feature of the Law of the Sea. The potential of the EEZ for the small developing island countries is discussed, together with the possibility of using the EEZ to achieve a larger measure of equity among nations than the prevailing one. The role of the EEZ in obtaining improved ocean governance, more sustainable management of the marine resources and control of marine pollution is considered. The need for building an indigenous capacity to deal with the marine resources and issues is identified and the possibility of achieving this through regional cooperation. The possibilities inherent in the EEZ regime for oceanic islands are discussed, with focus on the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean and the central Atlantic Ocean.     

Institutional challenges for resolving conflicts between fisheries and endangered species conservation

Successful species conservation typically results in conflicts between wildlife protection and economic uses of natural resources as in fisheries and aquaculture. This article shows why managing these conflicts require a more comprehensive approach than currently pursued by endangered species conservation programmes. Against the background of several case studies focussing on wildlife conflicts in European waters this article derives two challenges for institutional response: First, the question of mandate—which societal actor initiates management related processes that require multiple actors to collaborate? Second, how can continuous processes of collaboration be sustained?     

Conclusions,regime building and the way forward

Military intelligence gathering activities in the EEZs are becoming more controversial and more dangerous due to increasing and changing demands for technical intelligence; robust weapons and electronic warfare; and widespread development of information warfare capabilities. There is agreement that freedom of navigation and overflight should not interfere with the coastal state's right to protect and manage its EEZ resources and environment. But there is considerable disagreement on the meaning of some key 1982 UNCLOS language, the means of resolving these disagreements, or whether there is a need to do so. Each alternative approach to resolving these disagreements has its advantages and disadvantages. Needed now is a common understanding of terminology and guidelines for military and intelligence gathering activities in the EEZ. What is being proposed is regime building, a process which has its own conditions for, and constraints to, success. Foremost among the conditions for success is the recognition of the necessity of co-operation, and agreement on its form such as the SUA Convention, or ocean management, which may have a spillover effect to enhanced multilateral security. Given the constraints, a loose blueprint for the way forward can be constructed in which the continuity of this informal dialogue plays a major role. Specific next steps include fact finding regarding previous incidents; production of a glossary of definitions of critical terms; categorization of activities in the EEZ as to which are allowed and not allowed; the manner of implementation of coastal states’ rights; the means and manner of enforcement of any agreed rules; and specific suggestions for policy.     

Fisheries development in Vietnam: A case study in the exclusive economic zone

Pursuant to statement issued by the Government of Vietnam on 12 May 1977, on the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and the continental shelf of Vietnam, and according to the provisions of the LOS Convention, the EEZ of Vietnam extends principally up to 200 NM from the baseline, and the area of EEZ amounts to about one million square km including the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands [The declaration of the Government of Vietnam on the territorial sea, contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, Hanoi, 1977]. The establishment of EEZ has significantly changed circumstances for the fisheries sector in Vietnam.Recently, even though the adaptation of new techniques and technologies to the fisheries sector has been somewhat successful and resulted in the limitation of effective exploitation opportunities, sea fishing is still very important to the economy of Vietnam. In fact, fisheries development in Vietnam has the following important objectives, whether pursued in marine or fresh water: foreign exchange earnings; protein for local diets and feeds for live stock; provision of employment. However, a matter of concern is that the outdate fishing methods and uncontrolled fishing are damaging the marine environment and living resources. These problems have been recognized and courses of action have been formulated. A prerequisite condition for resolving this issue is to have a mechanism for synchronized policies which are guaranteed by appropriate macro management. The main purposes of this paper are a review of some aspects of fisheries sector development and management in Vietnam in the light of the new regime of the EEZ, represented in the LOS Convention. An important objective of the paper is the emphasis on the problem of policy-relevant research for fisheries sector management in the future.     

Guiding ecological principles for marine spatial planning

The declining health of marine ecosystems around the world is evidence that current piecemeal governance is inadequate to successfully support healthy coastal and ocean ecosystems and sustain human uses of the ocean. One proposed solution to this problem is ecosystem-based marine spatial planning (MSP), which is a process that informs the spatial distribution of activities in the ocean so that existing and emerging uses can be maintained, use conflicts reduced, and ecosystem health and services protected and sustained for future generations. Because a key goal of ecosystem-based MSP is to maintain the delivery of ecosystem services that humans want and need, it must be based on ecological principles that articulate the scientifically recognized attributes of healthy, functioning ecosystems. These principles should be incorporated into a decision-making framework with clearly defined targets for these ecological attributes. This paper identifies ecological principles for MSP based on a synthesis of previously suggested and/or operationalized principles, along with recommendations generated by a group of twenty ecologists and marine scientists with diverse backgrounds and perspectives on MSP. The proposed four main ecological principles to guide MSP—maintaining or restoring: native species diversity, habitat diversity and heterogeneity, key species, and connectivity—and two additional guidelines, the need to account for context and uncertainty, must be explicitly taken into account in the planning process. When applied in concert with social, economic, and governance principles, these ecological principles can inform the designation and siting of ocean uses and the management of activities in the ocean to maintain or restore healthy ecosystems, allow delivery of marine ecosystem services, and ensure sustainable economic and social benefits.     

Offshore marine protected areas: Divergent perceptions of divers and artisanal fishers

Thorough comprehension of the perceptions of offshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) by different local social actors is lacking, especially in developing countries. This study aims to analyze the perceptions and socioeconomic characteristics of divers and artisanal fishers of an offshore MPA, located in Brazilian waters. Data on the perceptions, conflicts, and management of the MPA were gathered through questionnaires and interviews with local actors. The results show that scuba divers and fishers consider the MPA to be very important for biodiversity. They also consider their collaboration in participative management to be of considerable importance, even though they do not form part of the administration. For local actors, the area helps foster the preservation of the marine environment and benefits recreational diving, tourism, and artisanal fishery in local communities. Divers and fishers use the resources and space of the offshore area differently, which results in diverging perceptions and conflicts. Divers propose restricted protection (No-Take Zones), while fishers propose that the MPA should be used exclusively by the poor local communities for artisanal fishing. Conflicts arising from inefficient public administration (lack of environmental zoning, management plans, and participative management) and illegal use of the MPA were also identified. Data stemming from the local actors themselves are central to reducing the conflicts and improving public policies on offshore marine conservation.     

Integrated ocean management and the collaborative planning process: the Eastern Scotian Shelf Integrated Management (ESSIM) Initiative

In its capacity to lead and facilitate the development and implementation of integrated management plans under the 1997 Oceans Act, Fisheries and Oceans Canada is working with a range of stakeholders through a collaborative process—the Eastern Scotian Shelf Integrated Management (ESSIM) Initiative—to develop and implement an integrated ocean management plan for the eastern Scotian Shelf off Nova Scotia. Stakeholders include federal and provincial departments, aboriginal communities, municipal and local planning authorities, ocean industry and resource use sectors, coastal communities, environmental interest groups, and university researchers. This large ocean management area possesses important living and non-living marine resources, high biological productivity and diversity, and increasing levels of multiple use and competition for ocean space and resources. The ESSIM vision is to achieve environmental, economic, social/community, and institutional sustainability in the eastern Scotian Shelf.The ESSIM Initiative is building a collaborative planning process that involves all interested and affected parties. Ongoing information sharing and dialogue with stakeholder groups is providing capacity building and important input to current proposals for a collaborative planning structure and the ocean management plan. A joint federal-provincial working group has been established to move the Initiative forward within government and to address policy and regulatory coordination for ocean management. The future ocean management plan will include a balanced set of environmental, social, economic and institutional objectives, indicators and management strategies, as well as spatial and temporal planning approaches to address multiple ocean use.This article provides an overview of the ESSIM Initiative, including an assessment of ocean use, ecosystem understanding, and ocean management and planning requirements. The design of a collaborative management and planning structure and process will be discussed, as well as the key elements of the future integrated ocean management plan.     

Changes in fisheries management in Mexico: Effects of increasing scientific input and public participation

In this article, we analyze a change in the role of federal institutions in charge of managing Mexican fisheries during the mid-1990s. During 30 years, the fishery policy in Mexico began by promoting an accelerated fishing effort. This worked through 1981, when the country recorded its highest landings (1.6 million metric tons), but landings have not increased subsequently whereas the number of fishermen has continued to increase. In 1995, the federal administration acknowledged the problems: biological over-exploitation; over-capitalization; monopoly in commercialization; failures in loan payments; failures in controlling effort; obsolete vessels and equipment; and social conflicts for the resources. In an attempt to resolve some of these problems, the administration implemented structural changes in management, science and enforcement institutions. This arrangement established goals and introduced instruments in fisheries management: it determined the biological status of most of the fisheries; applied the precautionary approach for those fully exploited or over-exploited fisheries; gave scientific advice an important role in decision making; and involved the users in decision making. This article evaluates these changes in management policy by document review, participation and interviewing management and scientists who participated in this process. We analyze, in particular, the use of science-based categorization of fisheries status, and the introduction of public participation. The interview data demonstrate that sustainable Mexican fisheries require an evolution to a more public participatory policy, in order to strengthen local institutions and fishermen over federal institutions, which should lead to a re-definition of regulation of fisheries resources.     

Angling management organizations: integrating the recreational sector into fishery management

This paper examines ways to reduce conflicts and improve the sustainability and value of marine recreational fisheries by fully integrating the recreational sector into the management of fisheries. One possibility involves a novel approach, here called angling management organizations (AMOs), which combines three of the more pervasive and promising trends in fishery management worldwide—management devolution, strengthened harvest rights, and co-management. AMOs are community-based organizations that are designed to conform to seven basic principles of integrated fishery management, which are described below. AMOs are loosely related to rights-based producer organizations in commercial fisheries, and are expected to strengthen resource stewardship, reduce enforcement and monitoring costs, alleviate management conflicts, and produce greater long-term net economic benefits in recreational fisheries. The other organizational structures considered here, including the management status quo, do not conform to all seven principles and are not expected to be as effective as AMOs.     

The convergence of Integrated Coastal Zone Management and the ecosystems approach

The primary role of the Integrated Coastal Zone Management model was to arbitrate conflicts between stakeholders in a living and natural resource environment characterized by a common property and open access doctrine. A chronology of events describes how the development and acceptance of an ecosystems approach policy began to converge and coincide with the spread and development of Integrated Coastal Zone Management. Those organizations that gave representation to the conservation ethic became internationally recognized as surrogate natural resource ‘users’, the interests of which possessed commonality with all stakeholder interests in general. The tenants of conservation policy were therefore largely employed to decide the merits of disputes over ocean and coastal resources.In the 1990s, scientists created a forum to debate, better define, and institutionalize a sound basis for ecosystem management theory and practice. Protocols were developed that embedded science in living and natural resources planning and management. These protocols were shaped and adopted to serve an evermore contemporary Integrated Coastal Zone Management model. Improvements in methodology include the use of adaptive management, ecological modeling and monitoring, appropriate temporal and spatial scales, salient indicators, and stakeholder participation. This contemporary approach is dependent upon recognizing the benefits inherent in utilizing instruments capable of managing resources on a holistic level.Bioregional planning and zoning accommodate the successful management of resources on this level. It is a direct outcome of the convergence of Integrated Coastal Zone Management and the ecosystems approach. Bioregional zoning schemes are capable of traversing the private property and common property doctrines that define the respective terrestrial and aquatic environments of the coastal zone.A comparative case study of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and the Belize Marine Protected Area Program is included as an annex, the analysis of which is predicated upon the principles espoused in the literature.