Evaluating fisheries systems: A comprehensive analytical framework and its application to the EU's Common Fisheries Policy

Abstract

Despite regular reforms, problems under the EU's Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) persist. In order to identify priorities for future reforms of the policy, we developed an analytical framework consisting of 17 criteria and specifying indicators, derived from scientific, wider fisheries, and common resources literature. We applied the framework to the CFP governance system, its regulations, institutions, and processes at EU as well as member state level. The results show that the CFP does not fully meet any of the 17 criteria for an effective resource policy. Its performance was assessed as “neutral” regarding 10 criteria and “negative” regarding seven criteria. Trend analysis shows that there is a slightly positive trend regarding the CFP's performance, with five criteria trending positively, 11 showing a neutral trend and only one criterion trending negatively (simplicity of rules). The analysis identified five criteria which are performing badly and have not improved over time: simplicity of rules, user‐pays principle, resource efficiency, accountability, and compliance mechanisms. Future reforms of the CFP should first and foremost address these criteria while continuing efforts to improve the CFP's performance regarding other criteria. The evaluation of the CFP demonstrates the applicability of the analytical framework which can also be applied to other multilevel fisheries governance systems. Moreover, the results can inform reforms of Regional Fisheries Management Organisations. Like the CFP, these institutions manage transboundary fisheries and have not effectively addressed the issues of resource rent capture and resource efficiency.

The Persistent Transboundary Problem in Marine Natural Resource Management

“…Although our sample is biased toward large, scientifically assessed fisheries, we found that, in our sample, Europe and other parts of the eastern Atlantic are predominant regions for transboundary fisheries. These are regions where intensive institutional endeavors to coordinate fisheries management (e.g., the Common Fisheries Policy in Europe) have continued to struggle to achieve sustainable fisheries management (Brooks et al, 2016;Belschner et al, 2019). While these sorts of institutions are required to guide the development of transboundary harvest policies, we have shown that solving the transboundary problem is not trivialindeed, the transboundary effect persists even among the world's best-studied and best-managed fisheries.…”

Reforming International Fisheries Law Can Increase Blue Carbon Sequestration

“…Evaluations of the implementation of ecosystem-based fisheries management tend to consider climate change only in terms of an external factor to which fisheries management has to adapt, not as a process that is and can be affected by fisheries management (Heenan et al, 2015;Townsend et al, 2019). Even recent scientific frameworks for comprehensive evaluation of fisheries systems mostly fail to include the sequestration of carbon as an objective (Stephenson et al, 2018;Belschner et al, 2019), thus indicating its low recognition as a factor under the current state-of-the art fisheries management.…”

Towards managing the United Kingdom's fisheries: A Brexit view from Scotland

“…The phased approach, with pelagic species included from 2015, some demersal species added in 2016 before the full coverage of all quota species by 1 st January 2019, acknowledged the increased levels of bycatch in the demersal sector (Sobrino & Sobrido, 2017). Despite these revisions, the CFP is seen as a failing to meet criteria for a successful resource policy and although there has been some improvement over time, against the 17 criteria it was measured as neutral for 10 and negative for the remaining seven (Belschner et al, 2018).…”