Document Detail


Adapting to regional enforcement: fishing down the governance index.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  20877460     Owner:  NLM     Status:  In-Process    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
BACKGROUND: Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing is a problem for marine resource managers, leading to depletion of fish stocks and negative impacts on marine ecosystems. These problems are particularly evident in regions with weak governance. Countries responsible for sustainable natural resource management in the Southern Ocean have actively worked to reduce IUU fishing in the region over a period of 15 years, leading to a sequence of three distinct peaks of IUU fishing.
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We reviewed existing public records relating to IUU fishing in the Southern Ocean between 1995-2009 and related this information to the governance capacity of flag states responsible for IUU vessels. IUU operators used a number of methods to adapt to enforcement actions, resulting in reduced risks of detection, apprehension and sanctioning. They changed fishing locations, vessel names and flag states, and ports for offloading IUU catches. There was a significant decrease in the proportion of IUU vessels flagged to CCAMLR countries, and a significant decrease in the average governance index of flag states. Despite a decreasing trend of IUU fishing, further actions are hampered by the regional scope of CCAMLR and the governance capacity of responsible states.
CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This is the first study of long-term change in the modus operandi of IUU fishing operators, illustrating that IUU operators can adapt to enforcement actions and that such dynamics may lead to new problems elsewhere, where countries have a limited capacity. This outsourcing of problems may have similarities to natural resource extraction in other sectors and in other regions. IUU fishing is the result of a number of factors, and effectively addressing this major challenge to sustainable marine resource extraction will likely require a stronger focus on governance. Highly mobile resource extractors with substantial funds are able to adapt to changing regulations by exploiting countries and regions with limited capacity.
Authors:
Henrik Osterblom; U Rashid Sumaila; Orjan Bodin; Jonas Hentati Sundberg; Anthony J Press
Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't     Date:  2010-09-17
Journal Detail:
Title:  PloS one     Volume:  5     ISSN:  1932-6203     ISO Abbreviation:  PLoS ONE     Publication Date:  2010  
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2010-09-29     Completed Date:  -     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  101285081     Medline TA:  PLoS One     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  e12832     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Fisheries Centre, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. henrik.osterblom@stockholmresilience.su.se
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From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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