The Future of Fisheries Co-Management in The Context of Sustainable Blue Economy and Green Deal: There Is No Green Without Blue !

Abstract

Appropriate governance structures, among other factors, are extremely important for the fishery dependent communities to develop integrated territorial development and adaptive capacity to change, including the climate one. This paper intends to assess to what extent fisheries co-management schemes (e.g Fisheries LAGs, being regional/local governance instruments in fishing communities on a pan-European scale) are strengthening sustainability, i.e improving energy efficiency, promoting RES, coping with climate crisis, minimizing environmental impacts, and promoting sustainable blue economy. Since blue growth potential is mostly produced in coastal, marine and insular spaces, the research lens focuses on the Greek FLAGs and their capacity of aligning climate adaptation, blue economy and Green Deal targets. Therefore, a co-development process with FLAG managers is used to map their efficiency in pursuing Green Deal objectives. The findings reveal the scarcity of sustainability and blue economy related strategies. The paper concludes that transition to a post-carbon blue economy on a local level, requires the understanding of the evolutionary character both of fishery dependent local communities, due also to their bonding with marine ecosystems, and of fisheries co-management schemes. The latter as coherent, multi-sectoral schemes dedicated to their region’s integrated territorial development, may boost dialogue and cooperation towards an effective Maritime Spatial Planning, promoting harmonization between local development strategies and EU policies. MSP as an evolutionary governance process itself, can be a driver for making FLAGs evolve, towards strengthening commonization and blue justice and equity for fishers.