The New Challenges in High Seas Fisheries Management: Dealing with Competition Across Institutional Venurs

One of todays most pressing marine governance issues is the how to effectively govern areas beyond national jurisdiction, on the high seas. This project will address two clusters of current challenges in high seas fisheries management: i) the adoption of trade measures to combat IUU-fishing (illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing), and ii) the adoption of environmental measures to protect biodiversity and vulnerable marine ecosystems in fisheries management. In both cases there is a potential overlap or conflict between the fisheries management regime and international agreements in the two other policy areas, trade and environmental conservation. The main research questions is how (potential) conflicts between different international regulations and institutions competencies are managed by the fisheries agencies, both at the international and national level, and furthermore what the conditions are for managing the interplay between potential competing institutional competencies successfully with a v iew to ensuring effective high seas fisheries management. By examining how these two conflicting issues of high seas fisheries management are handled at the national, regional and the global level, new knowledge will be generated on how competition across institutional venues are managed. The project will provide insight into national policy by focusing on the challenges related to coordination and cooperation between different agencies and the balancing of different national interests in three countries/ multilateral union (Norway, Canada and the EU), which will contribute to a better understanding of the processes and output at the regional and global level. A comparison of the two issue areas are expected to shed light on how the national interests and strategies of key actors are decisive for how (potential) conflicts between institution and competencies are managed.