Introduction

In this chapter we discuss a number of principles that we think should guide fisheries governance at the meta-, normative, level. To outline their use in a conceptual manner, we apply the governance perspective as our model. We start with principles to be applied normatively to governing elements, followed by principles by which to judge modes of governance. We then discuss principles to evaluate governing orders. In each category, we formulate a general principle derived from governance theory, and three principles for each of the three governance components derived from fisheries. This gives us a list of twelve principles as a solid basis for an overall appraisal of meta-considerations for fisheries governance. Recently, others have formulated comparable lists (Costanza et al. 1998); the main difference between our list and the other lists is that these twelve principles are part and parcel of our governance approach, and form the meta-level thereof.

Before we discuss the principles to be applied to the components of governance, we briefly present what we see as their foundations (elements, modes, and orders – see chap. 1). Most of them are grounded in moral or ethical thought, with long histories behind them. Our normative notions for fisheries governance are not new, but are rooted in philosophical and religious thinking of yesterday and today. To discuss some of these foundations, we make use of what is known as ‘applied ethics’. This is a branch of ethical thinking that, in its approaches, comes closest to what meta-principles for fisheries governance might be about, and it is helpful in demonstrating how the principles can be put into practice. In the boxes in subsequent sections, we give a short overview of where to place the principles in the conceptual governance framework.

Applied Ethics and Meta-Governance

In the second half of the twentieth century, most ethical and philosophical scholarship was largely devoted to analytical or meta-philosophical matters (Almond 1995). In recent decades, however, interest in practical applications of ethics as a separate branch of philosophy has grown. Under the title of applied ethics, studies are now offered on socio-political topics that have strong ethical ramifications, such as ‘life and death’ issues.