Abstract
Declining fish stocks have led governments over the years to deploy traditional top-down measures in fisheries management. This top-down model is generally held responsible for the failure of fisheries management, attributed to the state’s ignorance of environmental effects of decisions and the lack of participation of the people affected. A way forward is perceived to be the common formulation of the problem and the design of its most adequate solution strategies in a policy-making process in which state, market and civil society play a significant role. In search for alternatives, Dutch government is increasingly deploying the instrument of covenants in fisheries management. We will use the Dutch case to analyse the role and function of covenants in fisheries management and seek to translate the Dutch experience to the wider European context of the EU Common Fisheries Policy.
Highlights
Declining fish stocks have led governments over the years to deploy traditional top-down measures which have led to an economic inefficient and overcapitalised fishery, a remaining pressure on the resource and a fisheries management system in crisis
Because of dissatisfaction with the performance of fisheries management systems across the world, partly because of the increasing interest in the notion of ‘governance’ as a substitute for ‘government’ in a variety of policy sectors, van Hoof Maritime Studies 2012, 11:12 www.maritimestudiesjournal.com/content/11/12 and partly because of the growing popularity of the concept of stakeholder participation in all areas of governance and decision-making (Gray 2005). In fisheries governance this has resulted in a variety of new governance models and concepts that focus on interaction and participation, such as adaptive co-management (Armitage, et al 2009) and interactive governance (Kooiman, et al 2005)
A large part of these covenants are about creating a process of change in which the fishing industry together with Environmental NGO (ENGO) define a transition towards a more sustainable production
Summary
Declining fish stocks have led governments over the years to deploy traditional top-down measures which have led to an economic inefficient and overcapitalised fishery, a remaining pressure on the resource and a fisheries management system in crisis (van Hoof, et al 2007; Raakjær 2008). Covenants in Dutch fisheries management In a relative short period of time 3 covenants have been signed in the Netherlands between the fishing sector and government and, with the exception of one case, ENGOs. Following discussions between the Ministry responsible for fisheriesb and representatives of the fishing sector in the mid-2000s steps were taken to address issues of engine capacity management and the wider sustainability of North Sea cutter fisheries.
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