Community-based management of the Mediterranean coastal fisheries: Historical reminiscence or the root for new fisheries governance?

Abstract

Historical management experiences of Mediterranean community-based fisheries were particularly effective in fostering both social cohesion and sustainable utilisation of coastal resources. This figure contrasts with the current status of Mediterranean fisheries, where about 90% of stocks are overexploited. The key question then is: can past experiences guide our current approach to reshaping governance in the Mediterranean fisheries? In our effort to answer this question, we analyzed the main attributes of selected fishing governance systems in the Early and Mid-Modern period and their evolution through time. We focussed on the Spanish Cofradías, the French Prud'homies and the Venetian Fraglie (Italy). They were characterized by the establishment of territorial user rights system of management and governed technical aspects of the fisheries, market access, and restrictions. Fishers and their communities, through their corporations/organizations, were directly involved in legislating and enforcing management policies and regulations/rules. This approach to fisheries management differs from the one introduced by the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), established in the late 1970s, which was mainly top-down. Despite the systematic efforts to reduce fishing capacity and pressure on marine resources and to impose severe technical and restrictive measures, Mediterranean fisheries are still in bad conditions. To cope with this situation the EU recently reformed the CFP establishing, among other things, a new paradigm that seeks to foster the harmonization of the decision-making process in the context of the so-called "regionalisation" of fisheries management. However, this policy does not clearly establish a proper community-based approach and restricts participation to national fishers' associations in the context of the Advisory Council of the Mediterranean Sea. Without effectively linking local and regional fisheries management structures by engaging fishers and re-establishing a sense of community through providing community-based rights for fishing, this new effort will likely not succeed in achieving Mediterranean fisheries sustainability. Highlights ► Cofradías, Prud'homies, Fraglie were historical forms of fishers' organizations. ► They regulated fishing activities and access to fishery resources in coastal areas. ► Their role is now less relevant in Mediterranean fisheries management. ► The Common Fisheries Policy is now shifting towards a regionalized approach. ► These entities might play a role in linking local to regional fisheries management.

Light and Shade in Marine Conservation Across European and Contiguous Seas

“…It introduces a limited decentralization in fisheries management, with a regionalization process through the establishment of stakeholders' Advisory Councils. However, the goal of "all European fish stocks producing at maximum sustainable yield (MSY) by 2020" could be labored by complexity in setting the MSY (e.g., more than 100 species landed in the Mediterranean) (Lleonart and Maynou, 2003), lack of active participation of stakeholders to Advisory Councils (Raicevich et al, 2018), or failure to understand and implement substantial reforms (Salomon et al, 2014). Even if EBFM is complex, difficult to operationalize and with limited achievements, the progress is visible (Link and Browman, 2017).…”

Evidence for spatiotemporal shift in demersal fisheries management priority areas in the western Mediterranean

“…The western Mediterranean fishing fleet is characterised by small vessels, multiple landing sites, multi-species catches, and relatively high prices (Lizaso, Sola, Guijarro-García, Bellido, & Franquesa 2020). Excessive fishery effort seems to be driving the over-exploitation of most Mediterranean commercial species (Da-Rocha, García-Cutrín, Prellezo, & Sempere 2017), with about 90% of assessed stocks exploited above the maximum sus-tainable yield limits (Raicevich, Alegret, Frangoudes, Giovanardi, & Fortibuoni 2018). The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) stated that the Mediterranean and Black Seas had the highest percentage of unsustainable fished stocks among the 16 major seas in the world (FAO 2000).…”

Aligning the sustainable development goals to the small-scale fisheries guidelines: A case for EU fisheries governance

“…Without clear guidance, or obligation, of how allocation should be determined to realistically improve the situation of small-scale fishers and the communities, the 'social' criteria can become interpreted in different ways to suit political interests in the country. The structure and operation of participatory governance of countries and regional fisheries organizations and councils also has a role to play in this especially if the wide-ranging interests of smallscale fishers are not transmitted through the consultative processes [50]. A case in point are the regional advisory councils, which are often criticized for being overruled by the large-scale industry interests, giving less voice to small-scale fishers [51], [52].…”