Introduction

In this chapter we address a variety of issues related to vertical and horizontal relationships and conflicts within the chain of fisheries governance related to fish distribution, fisheries policymaking and resource management. Diversity constitutes a central issue in this scenario, due to the multiple activities and uses developed in many coastal areas like tourism, artisanal or industrial fishing, aquaculture, or even housing. However, a typical consequence of this multiplicity of activities is a reduction in the diversity of affected ecosystems (see chap. 4). Furthermore, the relationships between these activities have originated, in the last decades, a system of increasing complexity, as pressures on the shoreline and the marine ecosystems intensify and intermix in a changing situation. In this sense, the dynamics of these processes may be completely different in Northern or Southern countries, or in areas where tourism, aquaculture, or industrial fishing have developed rapidly. The dependency on natural resources that are affected by global processes, such as climate change, only increases this dynamic, further augmented as a consequence of trade liberalisation and globalisation. All these specifics need to be taken into account in the design of institutions and governance policies.

What follows is a presentation of some of the key ideas and challenges concerning institutional linkages. Interdependence in dynamic and complex situations causes vulnerabilities that the actors involved need to somehow address. The institutional and organisational options available must, however, be fine-tuned to the particularities of the diverse circumstances in fisheries. There are hardly any standard institutional responses to the needs of co-ordination that exist in fisheries regardless of the context. With that in mind, we shall start by attempting to conceptualise these linkages, and how they tend to be addressed institutionally in fisheries.

Conceptualising Institutional Linkages

Industrial Organisation and Institutional Linkages

As described in Part II, the ‘chain’ of distribution from capture to consumption is a highly institutionalised interactive system, where relations are structured and governed according to various modes and principles, with markets and hierarchies as the two extremes of the continuum. Sometimes we are dealing with independent, self-employed, small-scale entrepreneurs who specialise in one activity such as fishing or fish processing and buy and sell their produce in the open market.