Home

Table 6. A proactive precautionary fisheries management policy orientation may combine a variety of approaches and regulatory tools (adapted and modified from Garcia, 1994; Olsen, 1999) as follows:

• Adopting the sustainable development principle;
• Adopting the principle of precautionary management, with the degree of ‘precaution’ negotiated on a case-by-case basis;
• Using the best available science as evidence;
• Adopting a broader range of management benchmarks and reference points more directly related to recruitment) reproduction capacity (safe biological limits, minimum spawning biomass, etc.);
• Developing a set of criteria;
• Taking a risk-averse policy position (e.g. requiring an environmental impact assessment (EIA) before authorizing any increase of fishing intensity beyond maximum rates of exploitation);
• Agreeing on acceptable levels of impacts (and risk) (e.g. negotiations between stakeholder interest groups, and within an appropriate institutional and legislative framework will be necessary);
• Basing management decisions on combined stresses on resources and environment (e.g. insert fisheries in the context of coastal zone/areas integrated management, for the U.S., within the scope and parameters of ‘federal consistency’ of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 as amended);
• Improving management response time (e.g. adaptive management techniques, reproductive capacity, risk level);
• Improving participation of ‘non-fishery users’ in fisheries management bodies for more ‘transparency’ in fisheries management decision-making;
• Improving decision-making procedures (e.g. voting procedures and public comment periods);
• Introducing prior consultation procedures comparable to an EIA report for constituency comments;
• Strengthening enforcement monitoring, control and surveillance and raising penalties to deterrent levels.