Fisheries Management and Governance Dynamics

Fisheries management and governance dynamics encompass the array of institutional, social and ecological processes that underpin the sustainable use of marine resources. Historically driven by stock assessment and harvest control rules, modern governance increasingly addresses the complexities of transboundary species, shifting baselines under climate change and the diverse interests of commercial, artisanal and recreational fishers. At the national level, regulatory frameworks such as exclusive economic zones articulate rights and responsibilities, while regional fisheries management organisations facilitate cooperation on shared stocks. Simultaneously, customary and traditional fishing rights shape access and equity for small-scale communities. Recent years have seen a marked trend towards participatory approaches, integrating stakeholder knowledge through workshops, cognitive mapping and co-design of management measures. Quantitative tools, including catch per unit effort models, are being employed not only for stock assessment but also to anticipate social tensions linked to resource scarcity. Against a backdrop of market pressures, habitat degradation and demographic change, governance systems are adapting through enhanced transparency, more inclusive decision-making processes and legal innovations. The global significance of these developments lies in their potential to reconcile conservation objectives with food security, livelihoods and international cooperation, offering a blueprint for resilient socio-ecological systems and equitable resource allocation.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have mapped the extent to which commercially exploited species traverse multiple jurisdictions, revealing that a majority of target stocks cross bilateral and multilateral boundaries, thereby complicating management. By overlaying global species distributions onto maritime jurisdictional maps, researchers showed that nearly two-thirds of exploited marine taxa are transboundary, accounting for tens of millions of tonnes of annual catch. Evidence indicates that catches of shared species are declining more rapidly than those confined within single jurisdictions, underscoring the need for strengthened international agreements. These findings highlight the critical role of spatially explicit analyses in informing equitable and effective governance arrangements, calling for harmonisation of monitoring, data sharing and allocation principles across borders.

Fisheries Management and Governance Dynamics publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in fisheries management and governance dynamics across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ): A maritime zone extending up to 200 nautical miles from a sovereign coastline in which a state holds exclusive rights over marine resources.

Transboundary species: A fish species whose geographical distribution spans multiple national jurisdictions, requiring cooperative management.

Catch per unit effort (CPUE): A standardised metric of fish catch relative to the amount of fishing effort expended, used to infer stock abundance.

Participatory cognitive mapping: A collaborative method in which stakeholders visually represent their understanding of a socio-ecological system to inform management decisions.

References

1. Scarcity induces conflict in Puerto Rican fisheries. Environmental Research Letters (2024).
2. Stakeholder workshops on western Baltic cod fisheries–conflict and consensus in the face of a highly dynamic ecosystem. Biological Conservation (2025).
3. Revisiting Traditional Fishing Rights: Sustainable Fishing in the Historic and Legal Context. Sustainability (2023).
4. The transboundary nature of the world’s exploited marine species. Scientific Reports (2020).