What is good for the fishermen, is good for the nation: co-management in the Norwegian fishing industry in the 1990s

This paper analyses the concept of ‘co-management’ and tries to explain why co-management has recently become important to different types of fisheries administration. A preliminary analytical framework is sketched, before going on to describe the Norwegian co-management system, known as ‘centrally directed consultation’, where fishermen's representatives are established on a wide range of organisations that exert a direct influence on fisheries policy, including not only quota management but grant aid, sales, research and education. The final section is devoted to the lessons that may be learned from the Norwegian experience, bearing in mind the particular background of Norway and its historical setting.     

The Common Fisheries Policy of the European Union and fisheries economics

The revision of the Common Fisheries Policy of the European Union in 2003 was communicated in a ‘Roadmap’, including the opinion of the EU Commission on how to reform the fisheries policy. This paper reviews the Roadmap and confronts the opinion and initiatives proposed by the Commission with the ‘conventional’ bioeconomic theory. The purpose is to assess to what extent the lessons of the theory could be found in the Roadmap. Having in mind the complexity of the EU fisheries, the Roadmap, in particular, focuses on fleet management policy with the aim of reducing overcapacity on a community level. This applies as a supplementary means to the conventional fish stock conservation measures. In conclusion, the EU Commission is aware of the lessons learned from the bioeconomic theory.     

Figuring fish and measuring men: the individual transferable quota system in the Icelandic cod fishery

This article discusses inequality in the Icelandic cod fishery, focusing on changes in the actual distribution of fishing quotas and the ways in which Icelanders currently talk about equity and ownership. The individual transferable quota (ITQ) system, introduced in 1984, divided access to an important resource among those who happened to be boat owners at that time. Statistical findings with respect to the cod fishery - based on a database (the ‘Quotabase’) constructed using detailed information on all vessels that have been allotted ITQs from the onset of the system - show that ITQs have been increasingly concentrated in the hands of the biggest companies. Many of the small-scale boat owners that still hold ITQs are increasingly compelled to enter into contracts that involve fishing for larger ITQ holders. It is suggested that the distribution of ITQs, as well as their evaluation in social discourse, represents an important field of research. In Iceland, public discontent with the concentration of fishing rights and the ensuing social repercussions is increasingly articulated in terms of loaded metaphors, including ‘profiteering’, ‘tenancy’ and ‘lords of the sea’. It is argued that the ultimate efficiency of management programs may be jeopardized if managers ignore the history and culture of the fisheries involved and the likely social and ecological consequences of their programs.     

A commentary on the views of environmental groups on access control in fisheries

This paper assesses the views of various environmental groups on access control in fisheries, as stated in documents prepared by these groups. The views range from outright opposition to tentative promotion. Differing views on the definition of conservation, the appropriate make-up of the fishing industry and the likely make-up with and without access control, and the appropriate nature of property rights for fisheries are highlighted. An important aspect of the last issue is the concern over potential ‘takings’ problems under the Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution when management is imposed in rights-based fisheries regimes.     

Law and fisheries reform: Legislative and policy developments in South African fisheries over the decade 1994–2004

Following the enactment of the Constitution in 1996, the South African government undertook a process of legal reform in the fishing sector. This led to the publication of a new fisheries policy endorsing equity and sustainability, as reflected in the Marine Living Resources Act. This paper examines efforts to implement the policy, particularly the objective of “transformation”, against the background of law reform in fisheries over the last decade. The discussion is located within the context of related domestic legal developments and current trends in international fisheries law. Methods for enhancing effective implementation of the new fisheries policy are highlighted.     

The precautionary principle in fisheries management

The precautionary principle has become a reference rule for public actions and policies. Two conceptions coexist under this principle. The first one, based on the strengthening of the concept of environmental protection, aims to promote a prevention proportional to the potential risks. The second one looks for the eradication of risks and it may even require the “proof demand” of innocuousness. The application of the precautionary principle in the fishing sector became established as a reaction in view of the state of resources and the lack of efficacy to guarantee the sustainability of the exploitations. This document tries to stress the application of the precautionary principle in the framework of fisheries. First, it examines the concept of precaution, then it evaluates the concepts applied in the community policy, and thirdly, it concludes by pointing out the problems derived from its implementation.     

Fishing industry and related perspectives on the issues raised by no-take marine protected area proposals

In the face of growing calls for no-take marine protected areas (NTMPAs), the views of fishing industry representatives in south-west (SW) England on related issues are analysed. Only 23% thought NTMPAs were the way forward and a range of concerns were expressed, e.g. that the ‘terrestrial’ protected areas approach and related biodiversity conservation objectives will be extended to the seas, and that fish yield reductions from the loss of access to NTMPAs are very unlikely to be compensated for through spillover/export. Some interesting approaches to ameliorating these concerns emerged, such as being open and honest that NTMPAs are primarily intended to achieve biodiversity conservation benefits, reducing uncertainty concerning the potential for any secondary fisheries spillover/export benefits, justifying NTMPAs on an objective, rational basis rather than on a subjective, precautionary basis, and the quid pro quo streamlining of wider fisheries management approaches. This research reveals a more diverse range of perspectives amongst fishing industry representatives on the issues raised by NTMPA proposals than is often assumed.     

Fiji’s fisheries: their contribution to development and their future

The industrial fisheries of Fiji have had mixed fortunes. The fresh fish export industry has grown rapidly in importance so that fisheries is now the third most valuable export industry; its positive effect on the economy is mainly in the increase in the purchase of goods and services, such as air freight. The present ‘hands off’ policy by government in the fresh fish export industry should continue until the industry matures. In the longer run, ad valorem royalties should be considered as a mean of capturing resource rents. The government-owned export cannery has been in financial decline, and the maintenance of the social benefits of regional employment generated by the cannery has come at a high cost to government coffers. The future of the cannery, now leased to a private operator, is clouded by the uncertainty of the continuity of concessional access to European markets beyond the year 2000. The main task faced by government is the management of fisheries and fish stocks. The management of the inshore fisheries — vital to the needs of a large proportion of the population — needs additional resources. The capability for management of the industrial fisheries, necessary to maximise long term public benefits, would be enhanced by full cost recovery through a user pays policy. This article is based on a paper presented to the Fiji Update seminar, held at the National Centre for Development Studies, the Australian National University, Canberra, on 19 June 1998. The author wishes to thank Mr Krishna Swamy, Senior Fisheries Officer in the Fiji Fisheries Division, and Mr Grahame Southwick, Managing Director of the Fiji Fish Company Ltd, for their generous provision of information for the preparation of this paper; and Mr Joeli Veitayaki, Coordinator of the Ocean Resources Management Programme, University of the South Pacific, for helpful comments. Any errors or omissions are the author’s responsibility, however.     

Taiwan's response to international fisheries management after 2005 as influenced by ICCAT and fishers' perception

It is widely recognized that fishing states are obliged to exercise flag state responsibility over their vessels. In an attempt to become a responsible fishing actor, Taiwan has endeavored to manage its distant water fishing fleet in accordance with international fisheries management. However, the long-standing problems of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, fish laundering, and fishing overcapacity, which remained unsolved during the 1990s and early 2000s, brought its management capability into doubt. Failure to address these problems undermined the credibility of all management measures and ultimately resulted in a recommendation adopted by International Commission for the Conservation of the Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) in 2005. This recommendation significantly affected Taiwan's distant water fishing policy. This paper examines how Taiwan assimilated this outside force into its fishing policy as a new response to international fisheries management and how fishers perceived this response. It shows that Taiwan's efforts in controlling distant water fisheries marked a big change, specifically manifest in three noticeable actions - reducing excessive bigeye-targeted efforts, deterring IUU fishing, and strengthening fisheries management. The study advises that management of small tuna vessels be effectively exercised and recommends future actions on providing subsidies for fishers to partially offset costs incurred by rule compliance, streamlining their administrative work, enhancing communication with them, putting more enforcement and meaningful penalties in place. Finally, the study indicates the existence of an interaction in the international fisheries management scheme, potentially favoring Taiwan to bargain for fishing rights and a favorable status in the participation of regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) in the future if it continues to exercise effective control of distant water fisheries.     

System evaluation of sustainability in the Norwegian cod-fisheries

Overcapacity in the fishing fleets is considered as the most serious threat to sustainable fisheries. More effective fishing vessels and catching gear contribute to increased catch capacity. Increased catch capacity causes environmental problems such as overexploitation and calls for larger quotas. The problem of overcapacity indicates the need for a stronger integration of technological aspects into fisheries management. This article assesses the differences in sustainability between the Norwegian ocean and coastal fishing fleets in the cod fisheries, by using systems engineering methods. Attributes of sustainability in the Norwegian cod fishing fleets are investigated, as well as acceptance criteria and performance indicators. The results show that there are huge differences in the performance between the vessel groups, and that the results of an evaluation of sustainability in the fishing fleets are dependent on which attributes are explored. Thus, the discussion may contribute to a better decision basis and improved sustainability in fisheries management.     

Selecting and assessing social objectives for Australian fisheries management

This paper details Australian research that developed tools to assist fisheries managers and government agencies in engaging with the social dimension of industry and community welfare in fisheries management. These tools are in the form of objectives and indicators. These highlight the social dimensions and the effects of management plans and policy implementation on fishing industries and associated communities, while also taking into account the primacy of ecological imperatives. The deployment of these objectives and indicators initially provides a benchmark and, over the life of a management plan, can subsequently be used to identify trends in effects on a variety of social and economic elements that may be objectives in the management of a fishery. It is acknowledged that the degree to which factors can be monitored will be dependent upon resources of management agencies, however these frameworks provide a method for effectively monitoring and measuring change in the social dimension of fisheries management.Essentially, the work discussed in this paper provides fisheries management with the means to both track and begin to understand the effects of government policy and management plans on the social dimension of the fishing industry and its associated communities. Such tools allow the consideration of these elements, within an evidence base, into policy arrangements, and consequently provide an invaluable contribution to the ability to address resilience and sustainability of fishing industries and associated communities.     

Property rights in fishing: from state property towards private property?: A case study of three EU countries

Fishing limitations to protect fish stocks can develop to different types of property rights. A move towards full private rights is promoted by some authors. The article questions whether such a move is desirable and it also investigates whether private rights are indeed becoming more important in EU fisheries. A study on property rights in the Danish, Dutch and UK fishery (WP Davidse, ed., Property Rights in Fishing, LEI-DLO, The Hague, 1997, OV159) sector forms the background of this approach.Bromley’s definition of property rights (D W Bromley, Environment and Economy: Property Rights & Public Policy, Blackwell, Oxford, 1991), including ‘a right to a benefit stream’, has been used to identify rights in these three EU fishing sectors. These property rights regimes vary from a domination of state property, the Danish one, to a complete system of individual rights, the Dutch case. The UK position is between these extremes, showing characteristics of common property, apart from kinds of state- and individual property of fishing rights.The article ends with a consideration of the review of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) in 2002 from the viewpoint of property rights. Negotiations in the run up to 2002 will demonstrate conflicts between views on state property and on private property rights. This regards the tension between the principle of relative stability of quota allocations and the EU principle of free movement of capital, goods and services. Finally, two possibilities are suggested to combine both these principles.     

Competitive policies for commercial sea ports in the EU

The globalisation of the economy and the need for sustainable growth are having a strong influence on international sea freight transport and its infrastructures. Commercial sea ports, faced with the loss in ‘loyalty’ of their traffic and the appearance of ‘new rules in the game’, are developing new strategies in order to achieve the loyalty of their clients. The present paper is a reflection on the findings generated in recent years in the area of competitive port policies. The main focus is on the formulation of commercial and technological strategies, the new legislative framework and its consequences for the European Union in the context of the future ‘Common Ports Policy’.     

Bluefin tuna fishery policy in Malta: The plight of artisanal fishermen caught in the capitalist net

The bluefin tuna fishery has undergone a major shift in Malta, moving from an open access artisanal nature to a privatized and industrialized activity dominated by the purse seining fleet and the BFT ranching industry. The shift has been exacerbated by the national implementation of an individual transferable quota system, which has enabled the concertation of quotas into fewer hands. The main objective of this article is to understand how privatization has evolved within the sector and the way the Maltese artisanal fishermen are experiencing the shift. This study takes an exploratory mixed-method approach to quantitatively and qualitatively understand how policy underpinnings interplay with the sustainability dimension of the small-scale fishing sector. Results show that the transition of the bluefin tuna fishery from artisanal to industrial has generated a legitimacy crisis over fishing rights, decreased profitability amongst most of the artisanal fleet, and led to a series of socio-ecological impacts on the artisanal fisheries system at large. It is concluded that the neo-liberal trajectories of industrialization have directly undermined the continued sustainability of artisanal fishing communities.     

The hard choices of sustainability

Sustainable fisheries are the main objective of Norwegian fisheries management. Despite powerful management tools, sustainability in the fisheries sector is not an easy task. There is no formal definition of the concept, and operationalization is vague. In recent years, private actors and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have increased their impact on defining sustainability in the fisheries, which has reduced the power of the traditional fisheries management to determine its content. The lack of a clear strategy for fisheries management to increase sustainability makes it timely to address three research questions: (i) what is meant by “sustainable fisheries”, (ii) to what extent has the institutionalization of the Norwegian fisheries management channeled the sustainability concept towards specific trajectories, and (iii) what are the options and hard choices available to increase sustainability in the Norwegian fisheries in the future? These questions are investigated in this article.     

The 1995 FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries: Adopting,implementing or scoring results?

The paper presents the results of a major assessment of Code adoption and implementation in nine fishing countries in Asia (China, Thailand, Vietnam), Africa (Senegal, Guinea Bissau and Guinea) and in the Caribbean (Jamaica, Dominican Republic and Trinidad & Tobago), which are part of the international research project ECOST. The main findings are that the Code as an international policy instrument remains relevant and adaptable to the current international fisheries context, and that its guiding principles and provisions have been endorsed and adopted in almost unanimous fashion by the countries covered, and integrated into fisheries policy letters and legal frameworks. However, results also suggest that tackling the truly difficult issues in fisheries, such as combating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing or adjusting fishing overcapacity has been a lot less successful. The design and implementation of necessary measures often remains very weak in domains with important economic and political dimensions. The causes for this are attributed to a mix of administrative inertia, lack of political will and stamina, and short-sighted economic considerations.     

Sovereign rights and responsibilities: Applying public trust principles to the management of EEZ space and resources

Since the United States proclaimed its 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone in 1983, US agencies have given little attention to the need to develop effective management principles and strategies for the resources of this vast ocean area. Instead, they have relied upon existing programs and authorities to oversee the development of ocean energy and fisheries. This approach has been criticized by marine policy analysts because it perpetuates the existing, fragmented single-sector ocean regime characterized by inconsistent policies and endemic use conflicts.This paper proposes the adoption of certain principles deriving from the common law public trust doctrine in the management of EEZ resources and space. Historically, the public trust doctrine protected the public's rights and interests in nearshore resources and uses (commerce, navigation, and fishing). These traditional public rights were held by the crown or the government in trust for the people and could not be readily destroyed even though shorelands and coastal waters subject to the public trust might be conveyed into private ownership. In modern times the doctrine has been expanded in the United States to protect public rights in other uses and activities (e.g. conservation, scenic and ecological values, and preservation of open space and habitat) and extended geographically to apply to inland rivers, streams, and lakes.The public trust doctrine already applies in many states to the space, resources, and uses of the territorial sea. Because of the overlap of EEZ and territorial sea resources and uses, this paper considers the advantages of applying public trust principles and concepts to managing the EEZ. These principles include the need to preserve trust lands, waters, and resources for public use and benefit. The doctrine also provides a basis for distinguishing between, and ranking, public uses of trust resources, and imposes both substantive and procedural standards against which the conduct of the govermental trustees of trust, resources may be measured.The authors contrast the public trust doctrine with the ‘public trust’ deriving from the property clause of the US Constitution, and conclude that the broad discretion afforded federal officals under the latter is inconsistent with effective environmental management. Finally, the authors recommend a set of ‘presumptions’ derived from public trust principles that federal courts might follow to resolve serious EEZ space and resource-use conflicts.     

Jurisdiction and offshore petroleum in Australia: creating symmetry between the Commonwealth and states by sharing benefits and avoiding costs

This article examines the federal legislative regime for governing offshore oil development in Australia. Adopting an evolutionary perspective, the article considers how the Australian petroleum regime has been able to avoid the ‘asymmetry of costs and benefits’ which have shut down the offshore oil leasing program on the US west coast. To this end, it is shown that the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act has overcome jurisdictional issues by creating a partnership between the federal and state governments, enabling both to share in the benefits of policy making. This joint decision-making structure is narrowly focused upon exploitation, though, and does not deal with environmental issues outside of its original scope. The absence of a complementary regime to fill this policy gap permits environmental costs to go unaccounted in petroleum development. This shortcoming notwithstanding, the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act provides a useful model by which federal/state jurisdictional limitations can be overcome. Ocean and coastal issues are currently receiving political attention in Australia, and it is timely for the cooperative governance model to be revisited and also extended to other marine policy sectors. Moreover, joint authority approaches could be considered by other federations struggling with offshore jurisdiction issues.     

Sustainable development and integrated coastal management

Agenda 21, the 40-chapter action plan, agreed to by all nations participating in the 1992 Earth Summit represents an ambitious effort to provide policy guidance across the entire spectrum of environment, development, and social issues confronting mankind. In the area of oceans and coasts (Chapter 17 of Agenda 21), the Earth Summit underscored that the management of oceans and coasts should be ‘integrated in content and anticipatory in ambit.’To assist those responsible for implementing the Earth Summit guidelines on ocean and coastal management, this article first reviews the fundamental shift in paradigm reflected in the Earth Summit agreements as well as the specific recommendations contained in Chapter 17. Next, the article examines the central concept of ‘integrated management,’ noting both its importance and its limits. A general or ‘synthesis’ model of ‘integrated coastal management’ is then presented, addressing such questions as management goals, what is being managed, where, how, and by whom.In a concluding section, methods are proposed whereby the general or ‘synthesis model’ can be tailored to diverse national contexts, involving varying physical, socio-economic, and political conditions.     

Assessment of eco-labelling schemes for Pacific tuna fisheries

Developments in fisheries governance in recent decades—notably the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and its implementing agreements—have established a framework of principles, standards, institutions and regulations that is broader and more complex than traditional fisheries management, which has generally focused on individual target species. As this framework has evolved, a number of seafood eco-labelling schemes have also developed. These schemes aim to identify well-managed fisheries and give competitive advantage to their products, thus translating the environmental awareness of consumers into direct support for sustainable fishing practices. This paper evaluates a number of these schemes in the context of international fisheries governance principles and considers the conservation benefits that may result from sustainability certification of Pacific tuna fisheries. The paper briefly summarises developments in eco-labeling of Pacific tuna fisheries in relation to the evolution of fisheries management, where focus has shifted from the maximum sustainable yield of individual tuna species to ecosystem-based approaches that directly consider the broader environmental impacts of fishing. The paper discusses two different ‘Dolphin Safe’ eco-labels, the third-party scheme of the Earth Island Institute and the intergovernmental scheme of the Agreement on the International Dolphin Conservation Program, and two broader eco-labels offering sustainability certification of fisheries, ‘Friend of the Sea’ and the ‘Marine Stewardship Council’. The role played by seafood-industry associations with sustainability claims, such as the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation, is also considered.