Duty of stewardship and fisheries governance: a proposed framework

Abstract

Fisheries often fall prey to overfishing and the exhaustion of stock. Fishing governance is an ongoing attempt to prevent such an outcome. Over time, fisheries regulation has generally moved from controls on inputs to controls on output, such as catch limits and Individual Transferable Quotas. Individual Transferable Quotas have reduced overcapitalization, and have in some cases allowed stocks to rebuild. However, because they enable market trading of catch shares which tends to concentrate fisheries in fewer hands. This paper proposes applying a duty of stewardship to the existing fisheries governance structure. "Stewardship" is an obligation to be responsible for taking care of another person's property. The concept of stewardship easily applies to fisheries, because fisheries are natural resources which belong to the public. Current regimes, such as Individual Transferable Quotas ("ITQs") do not do enough to prevent the employment of destructive fishing practices and place the burden of natural resource management on the government. Assigning a duty of stewardship upon fishers, whether they own or lease an ITQ, would require fishers to be stewards of common resources and use responsible fishing practices.

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

“…Teh and Pauly (2018) submit that smallscale fisheries, the majority of which utilize low-impact fishing gear and engage in responsible fishing, are an important segment that could ease some of the problems related to failing ecosystems. The stewardship ethics found in many small-scale fisheries are also an important trajectory for the conservation of marine resources [24], which is the main substance of SDG14. Alongside this exist the community values of fishing communities, which provide the backbone for collective action, economic growth and community viability [25], [26], all central components of the SDGs.…”

Practicing stewardship: EU biofuels policy and certification in the UK and Guatemala

“…The literature on environmental stewardship is diverse and fragmented. It has been interrogated by scholars of theology (Berry 2006;Horrell 2009Horrell , 2010, environmental law (Lucy and Mitchell 1996;Barritt 2014), and ecology (Chapin et al 2009(Chapin et al , 2015Soliman 2014). Beyond the academy, environmental stewardship is also a practice, and has found considerable traction in resource and land governance.…”

Fortalecendo o ecosystem stewardship na pesca artesanal: perspectivas para a América Latina e Caribe

“…O conceito foi inicialmente aplicado no meio rural (agricultura), o que gerou certa controvérsia, uma vez que afetaria a presunção de liberdade do proprietário da terra em utilizá-la da forma que julgar mais adequada. Por outro lado, no caso da pesca, geralmente os pescadores não são proprietários dos recursos pesqueiros nem do ambiente marinho, resultando em uma melhor adequação legal do conceito (a responsabilidade de cuidar da propriedade de outro) (Soliman, 2014).…”