Control of Foreign Fisheries: Developing Management Strategies to Maximise National Economic Benefits

Under the provisions of the United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), coastal states must provide for access to harvest the living resources within their EEZs. Where the state does not have the capacity to harvest the entire sustainable catch, it must grant other states access to the “surplus allowable catch” through access agreements. High global demand for fish products means there is continuing pressure for distant water fleets to maintain or increase fish supplies to international markets. Attendant economic incentives for foreign vessels to fish illegally are well known. Without sufficient means, developing coastal states are unable to enforce regulations putting the resource under increased pressure from over-exploitation. However, legitimate fishing can be encouraged given sufficient levels of surveillance, penalties and appropriate licence fees. Moreover, revenue generated from licensing foreign vessels can be used to fund monitoring, control and surveillance operations. The optimum terms and conditions that developing coastal states can expect from licensing foreign vessels can be determined. An earlier study to derive maximum economic benefits from foreign fishing for coastal developing countries has been applied to eight case studies around the world to provide specific management recommendations and policy advice to key stakeholders. A spreadsheet-based learning tool to assist the decision-making process was used at a regional workshop in east Africa. Here we detail the underlying issues governing the approach and its use to improve decision-making in developing countries.