Big laws, small catches: global ocean governance and the fisheries crisis

Abstract

The world's fisheries are perceived to be in crisis, leading to livelihood and nutritional insecurity in fishery-dependent areas of developing countries. This paper reviews institutional responses to this crisis. Within the last decade, there has been a shift from emphasis on ‘hard laws’ regulating fisheries in sovereign-states' territorial waters, towards governance through ‘soft’ global voluntary codes of conduct, market incentives and partnerships between fisherfolk and governments. The new governance regime inherits daunting problems and will require sustained international political commitment to succeed. Given this political will, new enabling institutions and the ecological resilience of many marine species could restore and sustain the fisheries