Managing International Fisheries: Improving Fisheries Governance by Strengthening Regional Fisheries Management Organizations

Regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) are central to solving the international fisheries crisis. By bringing together coastal states and fishing nations, RFMOs now manage the majority of the world's marine fish resources.

However, RFMOs have so far failed to live up to their promise - there are very few examples of RFMOs sustainably managing their target stocks. They need to be strengthened so that they can manage whole ecosystems, allocate quotas fairly and responsibly, and engage developing countries to allow their equitable participation in fisheries.

RFMO members need to tackle several challenges affecting RFMOs' performance, including lack of compliance with international rules, lack of enforcement capability, excess capacity and inappropriate subsidy of fishing fleets, and lack of political leadership to engage effectively in multilateral cooperation.

RFMO reform needs to be considered in the context of wider discussions around global governance of fisheries, which include new strategies to manage and conserve biodiversity and a new paradigm for allocating fishing rights.

RIIA: Briefing Paper, May 2007: Best Practices for High Seas Fisheries Management: Lessons Learned http://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/public/Research/Energy,%20Environment%20and%20Development/rfmo0807.pdf

RIIA: Briefing Paper, May 2007: Enhancing the Effectiveness of Regional Fisheries Management Organizations through Trade and Market Measures http://www.chathamhouse.org/publications/papers/view/108484

---