Fisheries Governance Affecting Conservation Outcomes in the United States and European Union. Issue 5 (3rd September 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Battista, Willow; Kelly, Ryan P.; Erickson, Ashley; Fujita, Rod
• Is Part Of: Coastal management. Volume 46:Issue 5(2018)
• Page Start: 388
• Page End: 452
• Publication Date: 2018-09-03
• Subjects: Fisheries management -- fisheries policy -- governance -- institutions -- rights and responsibilities; Coastal zone management -- Periodicals; Shore protection -- Periodicals; 627.58
• DOI: 10.1080/08920753.2018.1498711
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0892-0753

Abstract

Abstract: Fisheries management in the USA, as governed by the Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA), has been decidedly more successful at meeting its conservation goals than has fisheries management in the EU, as governed by the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). In an effort to explain the different outcomes in these two systems that share many management attributes, we evaluated them against a list of effective governance attributes gleaned from the literature. We also examined the distribution of rights and responsibilities within each system, and the resulting stewardship incentives. Five effective governance attributes are fully realized under the MSA but have historically been absent from the CFP system: adequate regulatory authority, effective enforcement mechanisms, science-based decision-making, conservation-oriented goals and clear objectives, and directives. These governance system gaps, along with uneven distributions of rights, responsibilities, and incentives, may be responsible for the observed difference in conservation outcomes.