Existing Institutional and Legal Framework and Its Implications for Small-Scale Fisheries Development in Brazil

Abstract

Ineffective implementation of small-scale fisheries public policy seems to be related to existing institutional and legal arrangements, which affects the social and ecological sustainability of fishing communities in developing countries such as Brazil and the Latin American and Caribbean region more broadly. This dynamic has serious economic consequences for the sector, and, as a result, this lack of sustainability and institutional weakness can obstruct the implementation of public policies to enforce management measures. This chapter introduces a method of analysis and evaluation of Brazil’s institutional and legal framework for small-scale fisheries sustainability as a strategy to improve the development, control, and monitoring of fisheries rules and management measures at local, national, and regional levels. This framework is intended to facilitate the implementation of public policies for sustainable and responsible small-scale fishing. As a methodological approach, we argue that it is necessary to confront legal instruments and initiatives linked to fisheries at national and international levels, as well as the existing fisheries management system. This dynamic brings forth serious economic implications for the sector and, most significantly, may thwart the implementation of public policy intended to enforce measures needed for sustainable management. This analysis and evaluation of the Brazilian institutional and legal framework, although preliminary, is a proposition on the necessity to reach three goals for national management regimes: to stay attuned with international legal instruments, to examine existing small-scale fishing communities’ expectations and outlook, and to contribute to establishing an efficient and effective institutional and legal framework.