Project

The focus of the project is governance in fisheries with special emphasis on the role of management institutions in the decision-making process and the conditions under which management institutions work effectively and cost-efficiently. Associated questions of participation and representation of interests in fishery management, levels of decision‑making, factors influencing compliance/ non‑compliance behaviour, legitimacy and what is considered a valid knowledge base for management will be addressed by focusing on the following five research questions:

User-groups or broader stakeholder involvement - how are stakeholder interests voiced and mediated in management institutions?
The rationality of fisheries management - what is the overall rationality of the management institutions in terms of managing society's utilisation of its natural resource base and sharing access for interest groups?
The cost-effectiveness of fisheries management - how are transaction costs reflected in the design of management institutions?
The embeddedness of management institutions - to what extent are management institutions consistent and integrated with the cultural and social references of user and stakeholder groups?
The cognitive basis for management - how is knowledge about the resource system and other systems (e.g. the policy system) generated and used in management institutions, and what constitutes the social validity of such knowledge?

The research will eventually lead to submission of an anthology entitled: "Governance in fisheries - an institutional approach to management of fisheries" undertaking a structured analysis of the 5 research issues mentioned above. The aim is to disseminate the results to both the scientific community and policy‑makers in order to improve the performance of fisheries management systems in both developed and developing countries.

The overall objectives of the project were to identify and understand specific shortcomings in the European fisheries policy and its implementation, which have contributed to the problems evident in several European fisheries, and to devise means for their rectification. The project focused on the knowledge production and decision-making within the fisheries management system, the interrelationships between these processes and the role played by stakeholders.

The vision of MareFrame is to significantly increase the use of ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management (EAFM) when providing advice relating to European fish stocks. A more widespread use of EAFM is encouraged through development of new tools and technologies, development and extension of ecosystem models and assessment methods, and development of a decision support framework that can highlight alternatives and consequences. I addition, a widespread use of EAFM depends not only on collaboration with stakeholders in general, but on close integration and co-creation with stakeholders in all development phases, to ensure that ownership lies with them, and to increase the chance of acceptance and uptake of the project outcomes.

The MERCES project is focused on the restoration of different degraded marine habitats, with the aim of: 1) assessing the potential of different technologies and approaches; 2) quantifying the returns in terms of ecosystem services and their socio-economic impacts; 3) defining the legal policy and governance frameworks needed to optimize the effectiveness of the different restoration approaches. Specific aims include: a) improving existing, and developing new, restoration actions of degraded marine habitats; b) increasing the adaptation of EU degraded marine habitats to global change; c) enhancing marine ecosystem resilience and services; d) conducting cost-benefit analyzes for marine restoration measures; e) creating new industrial targets and opportunities.

The project investigates the green transition to fisheries and fisheries technologies that are sustainable in a life cycle perspective. The project intends to combine knowledge on fisheries policy, management, and technology with data and methods from industrial ecology and product environmental assessment to obtain a deeper and multidimensional understanding of the impact of fisheries and improve decision making for stakeholders and policymakers in this sector.

The project has two key objectives: 1) to develop new methods that accurately assess the climate impacts of fisheries accounting for constraints in supply, 2) to identify the trade-offs between fisheries practices that promote sustainable harvesting of stocks and the more recent drive to fish in a climate-friendly way.

The project combines expertise, tools, and methods from three different research domains: life cycle assessment, fishing technology, marine governance.

The objective of PERMAGOV is to assess and improve the performance of marine policies in supporting the implementation of the EU Green Deal goals. PERMAGOV does so by developing Multi-Layered Collaborative Marine Governance Strategies together with stakeholders. Project partners in PERMAGOV study institutional barriers, fragmented planning processes and insufficient possibilities for stakeholder involvement, which hinder the implementation of the EU Green Deal.

Focusing on specific cases within the four thematic fields of Maritime Transport, Marine Plastics, Marine Energy, and Marine Life, PERMAGOV is dedicated to improving the performance of marine governance at different scales. The project partners apply participatory research methods to enhance existing formal and informal dynamics and to leverage the use of relevant digital tools. Altogether this will facilitate stakeholder engagement and knowledge and information exchange. PERMAGOV provides a key contribution to the EU Green Deal for several marine domains by delivering actionable insights for better informed decision making by policy makers, by increasing public awareness of marine affairs, and by contributing to an improved conceptualization of problems and solutions in multi-layered marine governance.

Staff members from Centre for Blue Governance are broadly involved in the different aspects of the project.

PERMAGOV is funded by the EU's Horizon Europe programme.