BLUE GOVERNANCE IN THE ARCTIC AND ANTARCTIC : private fisheries certification and the law of... the sea

This book discusses to what extent the precautionary approach to fisheries management is reflected in the MSC Fisheries Standard and in the certification of four clusters of fisheries in polar waters. Certification according to private sustainability standards (ecolabelling) has become an important addition to public fisheries management in recent years. The major global ecolabel in terms of comprehensiveness and coverage is the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Fisheries Standard. Becoming and remaining certified requires continuous behavioural adaptation from fisheries through a fine-meshed system of improvement conditions attached to certification. Focus is on how certification has influenced fisher behaviour and state practice. In the Southern Ocean krill and toothfish fisheries, MSC certification has generated new scientific knowledge about the stocks. In the Barents Sea cod and haddock fisheries, fishing companies have voluntarily adapted their behaviour to reduce the fishery’s impacts on endangered, threatened and protected species and bottom habitats. In the local lumpfish fisheries in Greenland, Iceland and Norway, measures have been introduced to reduce the effects on seabirds and marine mammals. In the Northeast Atlantic mackerel fisheries, impacts have been more modest. Private certification is no panacea, but it seems to have found a niche as a supplement to national legislation and international agreements. Preface 6 Contents 8 List of Abbreviations 10 List of Figures 12 List of Tables 13 1 Introduction 14 Questions to Be Asked 15 Sources and Methods 19 Outline of the Book 21 References 22 2 The Precautionary Approach, Implementation and State Practice 24 The Precautionary Approach in International Law 25 The Precautionary Approach to Fisheries Management 28 Implementation, Target Behaviour and State Practice 33 References 38 3 The MSC Certification Scheme and the Precautionary Approach 41 Procedural Requirements: The MSC Fisheries Certification Process 42 Substantive Requirements: The MSC Fisheries Standard 46 The Precautionary Approach in the MSC Certification Scheme 50 References 53 4 MSC Certification of Antarctic and Arctic Fisheries 54 Krill and Toothfish in the Southern Ocean 55 Cod and Haddock in the Barents Sea 65 Mackerel in the Northeast Atlantic 68 Inshore Arctic Lumpfish in Greenland, Iceland and Norway 72 References 77 5 Influence on Target (Fisher) Behaviour and State Practice 81 Performance Enhancements Following MSC Improvement Conditions 82 Precautionary Outcomes of MSC Certification 89 An Iterative and Evolving Implementation Mechanism 92 References 97 6 Conclusions 102 Operationalizing and Implementing the Precautionary Approach 103 Private Certification as a Subsidiary Implementation Mechanism 104 State Practice Revisited 107 References 109 Introduction -- The precautionary approach, implementation and state practice -- The MSC Certification Scheme and the precautionary approach -- MSC certification of Arctic and Antarctic fisheries -- Influence on fisher behaviour and state practice -- Conclusion