Transnational Fisheries Governance

Abstract

In the past few decades, the production and consumption of fish and seafood products have increased dramatically exacerbating overfishing concerns and accelerating the endangerment of marine ecosystems. Simultaneously, the growth of aquaculture activities further intensified the destruction of coastal zones, mangroves and wetlands by impairing their function as natural spawning grounds and nurseries for marine species. As the oceans approach or cross natural boundaries, the need for effective institutional responses becomes a challenge for scientists and policy-makers alike. As a response to these concerns, new forms of governance such as private transnational rule-setting organizations emerged at different geopolitical scales. These organizations create rules for certification that can be seen as private market-based instruments to govern environmental problems. While the relevance of these types of instruments has increased during the last years their effects and associated explanations regarding the diversity of such effects are a matter of debate. This panel aims to bring greater coherence into this rapidly emerging field of transnational environmental governance. It explores the diverse types of effects that can be attributed to private transnational rule-setting organizations in the area of fisheries and aquaculture, ranging from problem-solving to the creation of broader structural (i.e. changes in markets and power relationships among actors in global supply chains), cognitive (i.e. changes in perceptions about environmental problems and their solutions) and regulatory effects (i.e. changes in public regulation, including the endorsement of private institutions). In addition, the panel investigates the causal relationships that link different types of effects with the underlying mechanisms of private and public governance in this field. In this context, the panel seeks explanations from different perspectives and philosophical traditions, including institutionalism, sociological approaches and IPE. Accordingly, the panel fosters deeper knowledge and understanding of an extremely salient topic of transnational environmental governance.

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