Governance, Policy and Economics

Addressing the human dimensions of management interventions and issues such as who can fish, traditional fishing rights and what incentives for fishing exist all create new demands for fisheries managers. Increasingly, the challenges of competing interests within the fishing sector as well as across and between sectors, e.g. tourism, conservation and energy, need to be addressed. These challenges require new thinking and new roles for stakeholders, through approaches such as; co-management, integrated water resource management, river basin management and coastal zone management. MRAG works in a variety of ways to develop approaches, tools and measures that can improve fisheries governance and managements at scales ranging from the local to the global. Examples of the types of work conducted include evidence reviews, engaging in issues of rights, undertaking critical analysis and understanding the nature of fisher livelihoods and the role and contribution of fish and fishing to these and to local and national economies. Supporting these are practical engagements in fisheries to build capacity, facilitate participation and support the realisation of robust institutional and legal frameworks to regulate fisheries, including formal and less formal (e.g. community-based) regulation of fishing activities.