Fisheries co-management, past and present: From the Plan Castellón (1961–1966) for Spanish Mediterranean trawling fisheries to the current EU fisheries policy

Abstract

Fisheries co-management systems suppose, in theory, an ample participation of stakeholders in the management of marine resource extraction activities. The Plan Castellón (1961–1966) is an early example of an officially recognized and institutionalized co-management system for Spanish Mediterranean trawling fisheries off southern Catalonia and northern Valencian Autonomous Communities, in Spain. Within its 5 years of duration, the Plan Castellón reverted the declining catch trend previously observed for the main commercial species fished in the region. First, this paper critically recounts the development of the Plan, its evolution and ending. Second, by highlighting the dynamics that allowed for or refrained stakeholders participation, we debate how this bottom-up initiative for fisheries management could/has developed in the militarized and highly authoritarian national administration (1939–1975) of Francisco Franco. Thirdly, we discuss the likeliness of replicating and expanding experiences similar to that of the Plan Castellón, by contrasting it to the efforts and challenges for a greater participation in actual fishing co-management arrangements under the frame of the EU Common Fisheries Policy.