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The requirement that States manage their
resources sustainably is included in the United
Nations Law of the Sea of 1982 in which it is
stated that (Article 61):
"The coastal State, taking into
account the best scientific evidence available
to it, shall ensure through proper conservation
and management measures that the maintenance of
the living resources in the exclusive economic
zone is not endangered by
over-exploitation."
The institutional implications of this duty are
explicitly stated in the voluntary FAO Code of
Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, where it is
stated that (Para 7.1.1):
"States and all those engaged in
fisheries management should, through an
appropriate policy, legal and institutional
framework, adopt measures for the long-term
conservation and sustainable use of fisheries
resources".
Achieving sustainable fisheries is hindered by
several problems including biological and
ecological uncertainty and the tendency to pursue
short-term social and economic objectives at the
expense of longer-term sustainability objectives.
In fisheries circles, institutional problems are
also frequently referred to as being a fundamental
problem, but there is considerable uncertainty as
to the exact nature of these problems or, in fact,
what exactly is meant by the term "institution".
One definition of an institution is, "simply the
set of rules actually used by a set of individuals
to organise repetitive activities that produce
outcomes affecting those individuals and
potentially affecting others" (quoted in OECD,
1997). However, an alternative definition that is
perhaps more useful within the context of fisheries
is: "An institution is not only the rules
themselves, it includes the process and
organisations (public and private, formal and
informal) that develop and implement the rules
(management measures) affecting use of the fishery
resources." (OECD, 1997).
Based on this framework, a set of institutional
features essential for effective fisheries
management can be identified. This includes the
following.
- A fisheries management authority which is
the legal entity which has the mandate within
the State (or States in the case of an
international authority) to perform specified
fisheries management functions. Commonly a
national fisheries management authority would be
in the form of a Ministry, a Department within a
Ministry or an agency. While many fisheries
management authorities are government bodies,
they could be government, parastatal or
private.
- The fisheries management authority should
have the capacity for, or recourse to services
which provide, the following functions:
- the collection of detailed information on
the fishery, including: data on catches such
as total landings and discards and the
species composition of these and the size or
age structure of catches; data on the nature,
timing and distribution of fishing effort;
and information on the social and economic
characteristics of the each fishery and its
sub-units;
- the analysis of the relevant information
to identify trends in the resources and
ecosystem, and in the performance of the
fishery to allow for the appropriate
modification of the management measures to
ensure that the objectives for the fishery
are being achieved;
- consideration of all relevant information
in a decision-making process, which must
include appropriate participation by the key
stakeholders, in order to select appropriate
management measures and ensure effective,
sustainable management (developing the
rules);
- monitoring, control and surveillance,
designed to encourage compliance with the
management measures and, where necessary, to
enforce the regulations (implementing the
rules);
The institutional implications of this duty are
explicitly stated in the voluntary FAO Code of
Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, where it is
stated that (Para 7.1.1):
"States and all those engaged in
fisheries management should, through an
appropriate policy, legal and institutional
framework, adopt measures for the long-term
conservation and sustainable use of fisheries
resources".
In fisheries, two institutional weaknesses have
been identified as being particularly important.
These are the widespread existence of inappropriate
mechanisms and approaches for regulating access to
a particular fishery, and the failure to include
the key stakeholders in the management process.
Much of the emphasis in improving fisheries
management in recent years has been on addressing
these two features.
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