Improving the economic performance of fisheries is becoming increasinglyimportant in fisheries management, and in some cases, maximum economic yield (MEY) isset as a key management target. However, associated with MEY is a level of fishing activitythat is lower than would otherwise occur, even...

In the last two decades, the fisheries of the North Sea have experienced substantial declines in the population of a number of commercially harvested species. The fisheries have also experienced the development of considerable overcapacity as a result of ineffective management and subsidies....

Improving the economic performance of fisheries is becoming increasingly important in fisheries management, and in some cases, maximum economic yield (MEY) is set as a key management target. However, associated with MEY is a level of fishing activity that is lower than would otherwise occur,...

The failures of traditional target-species management have led many to propose an ecosystem approach to fisheries to promote sustainability. The ecosystem approach is necessary, especially to account for fishery-ecosystem interactions, but by itself is not sufficient to address two important...

Using examples from more than a dozen fisheries, we highlight the failures of ‘command control’ management and show that approaches that empower fishers with the incentives and the mandate to be co-custodians of the marine environment can promote sustainability. Evidence is provided that...