"Aquacalypse now" and the end of fish: an analysis of instruments of sustainable fisheries in Europe
Willems, Y. (2013). "Aquacalypse now" and the end of fish: an analysis of instruments of sustainable fisheries in Europe. MSc Thesis. KU Leuven, Faculty of Social Sciences: Leuven. 67 pp.
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Document type: Dissertation
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| Keywords |
Catch limit
Fisheries
Fisheries management
Policies
Sustainability
Marine/Coastal |
| Abstract |
This master’s dissertation deals with the issue of sustainable fisheries and the policy instruments that are used by the European Union in relation to the management of fisheries. The first part of the dissertation explains the societal relevance of the issue by applying the tragedy of the commons to fisheries. The second part sets out the research design, consisting of research questions, a conceptual and theoretical framework and the methodology. This dissertation attempts to find out what the characteristics, as well as the pros and cons are of the different policy instruments, which the European Union currently uses in order to increase the sustainability of fisheries in European waters. The focus will also be on the implementation of these instruments in Flanders. A conceptual and theoretical framework is provided as an assisting tool for answering the research questions. The conceptual framework comprises evaluation criteria, as well as policy instrument typologies of Hood, Salamon, Bemelmans and Howlett. A hypothesis is derived from the latter typology. In the third part of the dissertation the three most important policy instruments (catch restrictions, effort restrictions and technical measures) are explained and their characteristics are analysed by applying the instruments to the typologies from the conceptual and theoretical framework. The conclusion is that all of the instruments are regulatory and share a lot of characteristics. The main difference is that effort and catch restrictions are quantitative limitations (the first sets limits on the input, while the latter limits the output), while the technical measures are qualitative limitations. In the fourth and last part of the dissertation the three policy instruments are evaluated on the basis of six evaluation criteria, which also stem from the conceptual and theoretical framework. The main finding is that each instrument has its benefits as well as its flaws. All of the instruments are necessary elements of an effective fisheries management system, although their effectiveness could be improved. |
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