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Future advances in UK marine fisheries policy: Integrated nexus management, technological advance, and shifting public opinion

Future advances in UK marine fisheries policy: Integrated nexus management, technological advance, and shifting public opinion
Future advances in UK marine fisheries policy: Integrated nexus management, technological advance, and shifting public opinion
Having left the European Union, the UK Fisheries Act (hereafter referred to as the Act) provides a framework that may advance sustainable marine resource management. This requires the bias towards social-economic concerns to be recognised, and greater emphasis to be placed on securing the natural capital to support fisheries. A Joint Fisheries Statement (JFS) to be published in 2022 by the UK’s devolved fisheries authorities will set out how the objectives of the Act will be achieved. While recognising the value of principles of the Act, this article challenges the current management framework in light of the wider challenges in fisheries practice. It argues for more emphasis on ecological and fisheries regeneration, and maximising societal benefits rather than yields. Three recommendations are provided: (1) an integrated and more holistic Fisheries-Energy-Environment Nexus resource management approach would better utilise systems thinking to optimise trade-offs and synergies between competing domains to achieve fisheries, conservation and other environmental goals (e.g. delivering the national net zero strategy); (2) the use of best available technologies as is reasonably practicable to monitor compliance and facilitate enforcement should be a regulatory requirement under the JFS; (3) the fisheries and marine conservation science community should work with other stakeholders to change the media narrative, public opinion, and political direction away from a “business-as-usual” model that risks long-term degradation of the marine fisheries resource.
Environmental Awareness, Fisheries Act, Fisheries Economics, Food-Energy-Environment Nexus, Political Engagement, Remote Electronic Monitoring
0308-597X
Kemp, Paul
9e33fba6-cccf-4eb5-965b-b70e72b11cd7
Subbiah, Gowshika
2875f24d-8b5a-4f68-a546-3fb6939550fa
Barnes, Richard
9982d381-a080-4058-9a5b-30f827df07d8
Boerder, Kristina
c9f75b1f-2bdc-46c5-9f41-b2f9ac7b9288
O'Leary, Bethan
99b33890-3671-4e5f-a3e1-7c2bf362b408
Stewart, Bryce
288b5876-548c-4543-b56b-4e6b170b0df0
Williams, Chris
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Kemp, Paul
9e33fba6-cccf-4eb5-965b-b70e72b11cd7
Subbiah, Gowshika
2875f24d-8b5a-4f68-a546-3fb6939550fa
Barnes, Richard
9982d381-a080-4058-9a5b-30f827df07d8
Boerder, Kristina
c9f75b1f-2bdc-46c5-9f41-b2f9ac7b9288
O'Leary, Bethan
99b33890-3671-4e5f-a3e1-7c2bf362b408
Stewart, Bryce
288b5876-548c-4543-b56b-4e6b170b0df0
Williams, Chris
23264ea2-3d66-436d-84a1-8fcd4aa97f66

Kemp, Paul, Subbiah, Gowshika, Barnes, Richard, Boerder, Kristina, O'Leary, Bethan, Stewart, Bryce and Williams, Chris (2023) Future advances in UK marine fisheries policy: Integrated nexus management, technological advance, and shifting public opinion. Marine Policy, 147, [105335]. (doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2022.105335).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Having left the European Union, the UK Fisheries Act (hereafter referred to as the Act) provides a framework that may advance sustainable marine resource management. This requires the bias towards social-economic concerns to be recognised, and greater emphasis to be placed on securing the natural capital to support fisheries. A Joint Fisheries Statement (JFS) to be published in 2022 by the UK’s devolved fisheries authorities will set out how the objectives of the Act will be achieved. While recognising the value of principles of the Act, this article challenges the current management framework in light of the wider challenges in fisheries practice. It argues for more emphasis on ecological and fisheries regeneration, and maximising societal benefits rather than yields. Three recommendations are provided: (1) an integrated and more holistic Fisheries-Energy-Environment Nexus resource management approach would better utilise systems thinking to optimise trade-offs and synergies between competing domains to achieve fisheries, conservation and other environmental goals (e.g. delivering the national net zero strategy); (2) the use of best available technologies as is reasonably practicable to monitor compliance and facilitate enforcement should be a regulatory requirement under the JFS; (3) the fisheries and marine conservation science community should work with other stakeholders to change the media narrative, public opinion, and political direction away from a “business-as-usual” model that risks long-term degradation of the marine fisheries resource.

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Accepted/In Press date: 11 October 2022
Published date: 1 January 2023
Additional Information: Funding Information: We thank Griffin Carpenter for comments on an earlier version of the manuscript, and the reviewers / editor for constructive criticisms that helped improve the final version. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors
Keywords: Environmental Awareness, Fisheries Act, Fisheries Economics, Food-Energy-Environment Nexus, Political Engagement, Remote Electronic Monitoring

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 472750
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/472750
ISSN: 0308-597X
PURE UUID: 92085d26-d827-47f6-b5c3-4bf4261ca648
ORCID for Paul Kemp: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-4470-0589

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Date deposited: 16 Dec 2022 17:57
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 03:00

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Contributors

Author: Paul Kemp ORCID iD
Author: Gowshika Subbiah
Author: Richard Barnes
Author: Kristina Boerder
Author: Bethan O'Leary
Author: Bryce Stewart
Author: Chris Williams

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