Institutional challenges for policy-making and fisheries advice to move to a full EAFM approach within the current governance structures for marine policies

The European Union is aiming to implement an Ecosystem Approach for the management of all human activities in the marine environment, hereunder the fisheries sector. Since the last reform of the Common Fisheries Policy in 2013, several analyses have highlighted the barriers and challenges to this aim. Despite the claim that much of the framework to support the implementation of an EAFM in Europe is in place, the findings point out to deterrent features within the governance system. Beyond the overall policy framework, this paper explores the implementation of the multiannual multispecies management plans as one of the real moves towards Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management. This is carried out on the basis of two case studies that address the design of multiannual multispecies management plans for the Baltic Sea and for the Atlantic Pelagic fisheries. The analyses strengthen with empirical evidences our understanding of the challenges ahead including, among others, an institutional gap between fisheries and environmental policy frameworks resulting in a limited integration of broader environmental concerns in one of the proposed plan and the standoff between decision-makers that delays the adoption and use of proposed management plans and creates frustration for the involved agencies.     

Natura 2000 and the European Common Fisheries Policy

The implementation of the Natura 2000 network of marine protected areas under the European Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) has far-reaching implications for fisheries. To date, no consistent approaches have been established to develop fisheries management measures in Natura 2000 areas, and no European member state has proposed any fisheries measures to the European Commission for consideration under the Common Fisheries Policy. Four key issues are identified in the relationship between fisheries and Natura 2000, and the possible role that the future Common Fisheries Policy could have in this context is discussed. There is a need (1) for a consistent framework to integrate scientific advice, stakeholder participation and management in the management process; (2) for a common methodology to prioritize conservation objectives, in particular for transboundary protected areas; (3) for a consistent framework to assess and evaluate fisheries impacts to define management measures; and (4) to define spatial properties for fisheries. The results from the projects EMPAS (Germany), FIMPAS (the Netherlands), and INDEMARES (Spain) and the Dogger Bank case are discussed.     

Venue shifts and policy change in EU fisheries policy

Over the past two decades profound changes have taken place in the European Union's (EU) fisheries policy. Partly these changes have occurred within the EU's Common Fisheries Policy itself, but partly policy change has been effected by the application of environmental legislation and policy instruments to fisheries issues. This article argues that the process of policy change in EU fisheries policy can best be understood in terms of the interaction of policy images and policy venues that is at the core of the punctuated equilibrium theory of policy-making. As a result of the rise of a biodiversity perspective on fisheries issues, environmental policy-makers have become active in fisheries issues, which has led to profound changes in both the content of fisheries policies and the institutional organisation around this issue area.     

EU marine policy on the move: The tension between fisheries and maritime policy

In the past decade, the European Commission has developed the Marine Strategy Directive and the Maritime Policy. Both policies aim at governing the marine environment; yet the two policies have a differing signature in policy formulation and implementation. From a fisher's perspective these policies present a change in institutional setting; major policy measures no longer descend from the EU Common Fisheries Policy alone, but increasingly are derived from general environmental policy developments. In this paper, the policy arrangement approach is used to analyse the differences between the two maritime policies, and the way in which they can affect fisheries management.     

‘Whose science?’ Precaution and power-play in European marine environmental decision-making

This paper explores the science–policy interface in environmental decision-making in the European Community as it moves towards its stated aims of implementing a precautionary and ecosystem-based approach to marine environmental management. Whilst recent EC case law has clarified some questions of Member State responsibilities under international environmental obligations, recent case studies at the crossing point between marine nature conservation and fisheries management in EC waters raise questions about the role of science in policy-making in Brussels. This has important implications for the developing EC Integrated Maritime Policy and Marine Strategy Framework Directive, and the concept of Maritime Spatial Planning as a whole. A new paradigm for bridging the science–policy gap is required in light of the developing legislative framework and given the complex nature of the marine environment.     

The use of fisheries licensing in environmental integration

Fisheries managers face the dual challenge of achieving sustainable fisheries exploitation, while doing so through ‘light’ regulation. This is particularly the case in the European Union, where there is an overarching ‘better regulation’ agenda and new environmental management requirements under the Common Fisheries Policy. This paper explores the potential for using fisheries licensing schemes for environmental purposes in the EU, and so demonstrates their value as an instrument for environmental integration in the sector. The current and potential use of licence conditions and licensing within strategic management planning and assessments is explored in EU and non-EU fisheries, as well as other sectors. While not necessarily the solution to all environmental management challenges, licences are evidently a potentially valuable tool that can be used for more than mere entry limitation.     

Producing nature and enacting difference in ecosystem-based fisheries management: An example from the Northeastern US

The science and management of marine resources is increasingly grappling with the use of ecosystem-based fisheries management. Though ecosystem-based fisheries management seeks to unite biological and sociocultural concerns into a holistic framework, people are often seen simply as external drivers of change. The technical questions that are often posed, such as the delineation of boundaries or the strategies of governance, are however more broadly questions concerning the social production of nature. This paper explores these issues by analyzing both the spatial fishing practices of different fishermen and the results of a series of workshops held in New England to solicit opinions about ecosystem-based fisheries management. The paper emphasizes teasing apart the human dimensions of fishing embedded in predominant notions such as fishing effort through more explicit consideration of spatially based resource dependencies and mutual constitution of society-nature.     

Towards sustainable fisheries subsidies: Entering a new round of reform under the Common Fisheries Policy

On 22 April 2009 the European Commission published its ‘Green Paper on the Reform of the Common Fisheries Policy’. The Green Paper points out a contradiction in policy, noting on one hand that public financial support to the Community's fisheries sector is substantial, but on the other hand such support is often incompatible with other Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) objectives, particularly the need to reduce overcapacities. Providing an analytical framework to better understand the effects of subsidies as well as an overview of existing funding schemes under the CFP, this article aims at answering some of the questions posed by the European Commission within its Green Paper. Answers are based on two ideas: the exploitation of marine capture resources ultimately depends on the level of available fish stocks and that a large share of subsidies fuels the race to fish by inducing investment incentives for the fisheries sector. Policies that have ignored this tend to encourage inefficient and unsustainable fishing as well as the misallocation of public funds. Although support schemes under the CFP have changed in recent years, some problematic support schemes persist. A future reform will have to continue the course taken towards sustainable and efficient approaches to supporting the fisheries industry.     

Distribution of the burden of fisheries regulations in Europe: The north/south divide

The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is a priority area of the European Union's Better Regulation agenda. Understanding the spatial variation in the application of the policy and the reasons behind these differences would provide insights into policy making in different socioeconomic and cultural settings that will assist in better regulation. The CFP aqcuis (the body of European Union law accumulated thus far) was analysed by creating a database composed of pre-defined elements from each obligation. Distinct differences are apparent in the ‘burden’ imposed by regulations in the Northern and Southern waters. However, a combination of a timeline of fish landings and the accumulation of the CFP regulations shows that despite the increase in the number of regulations this has not led to the anticipated reduction in landings. Historical, biological and geopolitical differences between the two major marine regions of the EU are discussed in terms of the impact they have had on the formation of the different fisheries management models in the different regions. Finally, the elements forming these models are discussed in terms of successes and failures in the context of the 2012 CFP reform.     

Expanding fisheries co-management to ecosystem-based management: A case in the Shiretoko World Natural Heritage area,Japan

Fisheries co-management in the Shiretoko World Natural Heritage area was expanded to ecosystem-based management, in which the fisheries sector plays an essential role in management. A marine management plan was drawn up to define the management objectives, strategies to maintain major species, and methods for ecosystem monitoring. A network of coordinating organizations from a wide range of sectors was established to integrate policy measures. Experience from this case could inform ecosystem-based management in other countries where large numbers of small-scale fishers take a wide range of species under a fisheries co-management regime.     

The marine and coastal access act—A hornets' nest?

The Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 is now enacted into law. This paper looks at predictions made about new law by one of the authors, Peter Jones, in his paper The Marine Bill: Cornucopia or Pandora's Box [1] and assesses how successful the Act has been in turning aspirations into law. The paper focuses on the following areas: ecosystem protection, stakeholder engagement, marine spatial planning and the provision of a network of highly protected marine reserves, and raises concerns that the ecosystem approach has progressively been dropped in the drafting process of the legislation. Concerns are raised that the new Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities have similar inherent conflicts of interest to those exhibited by Sea Fisheries Committees, which they sought to replace. The effectiveness of marine planning is questioned, as there appear to be inbuilt loopholes for public authorities to avoid complying with the marine plans. The draft marine policy statement (MPS), published in July 2010, includes appropriate environmental safeguards, but the MPS has not yet been formally adopted. The absence of a concrete target for highly protected marine reserves means there is a danger that designations under the Act may have little effect on the ground. In conclusion the Act provides some new mechanisms for marine protection, but arguably does not yet provide a framework for implementing the ecosystem approach and is not an end in itself.     

Evolution and perspectives of the Fisheries Structural Policy in the European Union

In 2011, the European Commission will make its legislative proposal for the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy public. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the direction the possible reforms to be implemented in the Fisheries Structural Policy will take. In order to do so, we will look at the recent results of the policy and its current situation, and study its trends. The main conclusion we can draw is that the future EU fisheries policy will not undergo major changes, neither in its fundamental principles nor with regard to its main goals or priority action axes. Eventual progress and any adjustments made to such reforms will take place within the ambit of the policy’s specific action measures via the European Fisheries Fund.     

Fisheries policy and the EEC: the democratic influence

This article gives a Parliamentary view of how fisheries policy in the European Community may develop now that Europe has a Common Fisheries Policy. The focus should now change from the tension of Council of Ministers meetings to the proper development of the European Commission's executive role and the effective monitoring of the bureaucracy by the democratically elected European Parliament.     

The changing environment of fisheries policy in Europe

This paper presents how environmental concerns emanating outside the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) are increasingly setting the stage for EU fisheries management. This is illustrated via what is termed the exogenous entrance of environmental concerns through the implementation of directives in EU policy. More endogenous entrance of environmental concerns occurs via stakeholder participation in Regional Advisory Councils (RACs) as well as market mechanisms, such as ecolabelling and traceability. This study discusses how these latter channels of environmental concern may have become a more potent and efficient way of reaching environmental goals, outside of the primacy of the CFP.     

Flexible management of fishing rights and a sustainable fisheries industry in Europe

Although overexploitation of commercial fish stocks in European waters has been in the public debate now for more than 20 years, the European Union has so far failed to implement sustainable fisheries management. Millions in subsidies paid to the fishing industry have led to significant excess capacity in the fishing fleet. Various feeble attempts to stop overexploitation of marine resources have failed. The cause is that fishing policy is highly dominated by short-term socioeconomic interests. There is an urgent need for a new fisheries management system in Europe that supports reductions in the fishing fleet, increases responsibility among fishers and guarantees long-term conservation of natural marine resources.Transferable rights to fish have proved a reliable and effective means of creating incentives to conserve marine resources. By strengthening individual fishing rights under flexible quota management systems, the EU Member States could, within the Common Fisheries Policy, make a significant contribution to conserving fish stocks, to reducing excess capacity and to raising the profitability of the fisheries industry. A closer look at existing reservations against a flexible management system shows most of the objections to be overstated or capable of resolution.     

Fisheries science and sustainability in international policy: a study of failure in the European Union's Common Fisheries Policy

Within the European Union, scientific fisheries research and advice is passed down a chain of central European institutions before being incorporated into policy. However, advice is often poorly or only partially implemented and the system has largely failed to achieve sustainable fisheries management.This paper aims to explain why, by examining the use of fisheries science within the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The problem is examined with respect to both the political system and fisheries science, to show that the factors in both the supply, and the subsequent use, of scientific data inhibit effective fisheries management.     

Exploring concepts of fisheries ‘dependency’ and ‘community’ in Scotland

There is a growing argument that the biological priorities of Europe's Common Fisheries Policy – to halt the depletion of commercial fish stocks – are not a straightforward solution to the problems currently facing international fisheries management and that social objectives need to be incorporated into policy. However, existing notions of fisheries ‘dependency’ and ‘community’ remain poorly understood and leave decision-makers struggling to address social and cultural issues. By investigating further concepts of ‘dependency’, ‘community’ and some of the social issues facing Fisheries Dependent Areas in Scotland, this research explores the complex shape of coastal fishing communities and the conditions of dependency on fishing that coastal areas face. In this paper preliminary findings from an in-depth case study of Fraserburgh in the north east of Scotland are presented to explore the potential meaning and justification of social objectives in fisheries policy.     

Evaluating tradeoffs among ecosystem services to inform marine spatial planning

A central challenge for natural resource management is developing rigorous yet practical approaches for balancing the costs and benefits of diverse human uses of ecosystems. Economic theory has a long history of evaluating tradeoffs in returns from different assets to identify optimal investment strategies. There has been recent progress applying this framework to the delivery of ecosystem services in land use planning. However, despite growing national and international interest in marine spatial planning, there is a lack of parallel frameworks in the marine realm. This paper reviews an ecosystem service tradeoff analysis framework and provides a more comprehensive synthesis for how it can be applied to marine spatial planning and marine ecosystem-based management. A tradeoff analysis approach can reveal inferior management options, demonstrate the benefits of comprehensive planning for multiple, interacting services over managing single services, and identify ‘compatible’ services that provide win–win management options.     

Collaborative fisheries management in the Northeast US: Emerging initiatives and future directions

The nature of participation by fishing organizations in fisheries management in the Northeast US is changing. Evidence of this is the number of groups that are actively seeking opportunities for group governance of marine resources. This article explores emerging collaborative or co-management arrangements in this region (a process whereby decision-making is shared between federal/council level and fishery stakeholder groups) and the shift towards an ecosystem-based approach to the management of marine fisheries.This research suggests that it is an opportune time for the development of a regional policy in the Northeast that provides an enabling environment in support of decentralized governance of federally managed marine fisheries. It also suggests that these initiatives can play a key role in operationalizing ecosystem-based management.