D. G. Webster foreword by Oran R. Young The Dynamics of Atlantic Fisheries Management Adaptive Governance Adaptive Governance Global Environmental Accord: Strategies for Sustainability and Institutional Innovation Nazli Choucri, series editor A complete list of books published in the Global Environmental Accord series appears at the back of this book. Adaptive Governance The Dynamics of Atlantic Fisheries Management D. G. Webster The MIT Press Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England ( 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or informa tion storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from the publisher. For information about special quantity discounts, please email special sales@ mitpress.mit.edu This book was set in Sabon on 3B2 by Asco Typesetters, Hong Kong. Printed on recycled paper and bound in the United States of America. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Webster, D. G., 1975 Adaptive governance : the dynamics of Atlantic fisheries management / D. G. Webster. p. cm. (Global environmental accord) Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978 0 262 23270 8 (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN 978 0 262 73192 8 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Fishery management. 2. Fishery policy. 3. Intergovernmental cooperation. I. Title. SH328.W43 2008 338.3 0 727 dc22 2008017103 10987654321 In memory of Bob Friedheim, who introduced me to the study of global environmental issues, and Hayward Alker, who told me that I had to write this book. Contents Series Foreword ix Foreword xi Preface xv Acknowledgments xvii 1 Adaptive Governance 1 2 The Vulnerability Response Framework 17 I Tropical Tunas 47 3 Bigeye Tuna 51 4 Yellowfin Tuna 71 5 Skipjack Tuna 85 II Billfishes 107 6 Northern Swordfish 113 7 Southern Swordfish 133 8 Blue Marlin and White Marlin 151 III Bluefin Tuna 169 9 Western Bluefin Tuna 173 10 Eastern Bluefin Tuna 195 11 Conclusion 227 Appendix A Group of 18 255 Appendix B Comprehensive Vulnerability Classifications 257 Appendix C Summary of Evidence from the Cases 275 Appendix D Proxy Indicators for Competitiveness 291 Appendix E Proxy Indicators for Flexibility 297 Appendix F Delineating High-Flex and Low-Flex Phases for Gradually Vulnerable Countries 343 Notes 349 References 373 Index 381 viii Contents Series Foreword A new recognition of profound interconnections between social and nat- ural systems is challenging conventional constructs and the policy pre- dispositions informed by them. Our current intellectual challenge is to develop the analytical and theoretical underpinnings of an understand- ing of the relationship between the social and the natural systems. Our policy challenge is to identify and implement effective decision-making approaches to managing the global environment. The series Global Environmental Accord: Strategies for Sustainability and Institutional Innovation adopts an integrated perspective on na- tional, international, cross-border, and cross-jurisdictional problems, pri- orities, and purposes. It examines the sources and the consequences of social transactions as these relate to environmental conditions and con- cerns. Our goal is to make a contribution to both intellectual and policy endeavors. Nazli Choucri [...]... as the central decision mechanism adds several layers of complexity to the task of theorizing about adaptive governance in an international fisheries context One must seek out patterns of change and interactions that occur at different levels of analysis, including the economics of the fishing industry, the politics of domestic agenda setting, and the relations of international negotiations Each of these... is the culmination of many years of work on the problem of global environmental governance generally and the process of international fisheries management specifically Even so, it is a beginning rather than an ending While the ideas underlying the framework of vulnerability response have an intuitive appeal in many arenas, they are operationalized here only in the realm of international fisheries management. .. capable of accounting for the observed variance in the selection of management measures across species and time Because the voting members of this regime are states, she focuses on the behavior of states, treating them for the most part as unitary actors that have relatively well-defined interests regarding the management of highly migratory species And because the regime focuses on the pursuit of maximum... for fleets targeting either swordfish or bigeye tuna Finally, part III includes the two stocks of Atlantic bluefin tuna, which are some of the most expensive and beleaguered fish in the sea Note that both the framework and the cases focus on national policy positions rather than adaptive governance as a complete theory of international fisheries management The aggregation process the way in which different... adaptive governance Readers who would like to explore the data used in this analysis can find it at http://mitpress .mit. edu /adaptive governance Acknowledgments This book would not have been possible without the advice and assistance of many people First my thanks go to the Of eld Family Foundation, Paxson Of eld, and the University of Southern California’s Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies for their... half the stocks in their jurisdiction In spite of these warnings, six of the twelve major Atlantic HMS stocks were assessed as Adaptive Governance 7 overfished by the mid-1990s (ICCAT 1971–1994: 1994, 204; 1995– 2007b: 1995, 170; 1996, 46, 53; 1997, 34; 1998, 29) Table 1.1 lists the current status and utilization of those stocks as estimated by the SCRS in their most recent assessments All of these... could be certain of the impact of these measures on the stocks, their adoption was still quite an achievement in international cooperation 1.3 Management Innovations at ICCAT In fact, the measures adopted for bigeye and northern swordfish were part of a larger trend toward increased management for most of the Atlantic HMS stocks As shown in figure 1.3, only a few regulations were adopted by the commission...Foreword Adaptive Governance: The Dynamics of Atlantic Fisheries Management sheds light on an important aspect of international environmental governance that has largely escaped the attention of analysts bent on understanding the roles that environmental and resource regimes play both in causing problems and in addressing issues that arise in a variety of settings In the early years, students of environmental... empirical studies of the day-to-day operation of environmental and resource regimes are few and scattered Now, D G Webster has taken direct aim at this topic in the realm of international environmental governance Grounding her work in an in-depth assessment of xii Foreword the operation of the International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), she explores the selection of management. .. international fisheries management Furthermore, the cases themselves are drawn from a single regime, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) While comparison among multiple regimes would certainly be useful, the path of my research led to a choice between expansion to other management institutions or the inclusion of the last two cases, which cover Atlantic bluefin tuna Because . list of books published in the Global Environmental Accord series appears at the back of this book. Adaptive Governance The Dynamics of Atlantic Fisheries Management D. G. Webster The MIT Press Cambridge,. Oran R. Young The Dynamics of Atlantic Fisheries Management Adaptive Governance Adaptive Governance Global Environmental Accord: Strategies for Sustainability and Institutional Innovation Nazli. Choucri Foreword Adaptive Governance: The Dynamics of Atlantic Fisheries Management sheds light on an important aspect of international environmental gover- nance that has largely escaped the attention of