New Books: International Regimes in China Domestic Implementation of the International Fisheries Agreements By Gianluca Ferraro (15 Jul 2013)

International Regimes in China

Domestic Implementation of the International Fisheries Agreements

By Gianluca Ferraro

Published 15th July 2013 by Routledge – 164 pages

Descriptions:

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, more than 80% of world’s fish stocks are fully exploited, over-exploited, depleted, or recovering from depletion. Although several international agreements have promoted more responsible fisheries, coastal states have usually maintained national policies that enable higher harvest levels rather than greater conservation of fish stocks, and international agreements for more responsible fisheries have generally experienced a weak domestic implementation.

Among the major coastal fishing states, China constitutes the largest fish producer and main exporter in the world, and therefore presents a fascinating case-study for the domestic implementation of international fisheries agreements. This book investigates the degree to which China has complied with the international agreements it has signed, and asks why it is failing to meet expectations. Crucially, it calls for greater emphasis on the political, rather than technical, issues involved in the implementation of international regimes. In turn, it examines how understanding the case of China can help us to develop solutions for improved international compliance in the future.

Providing an improved understanding of the implementation of international regimes, alongside an in-depth study of China’s political system, policy-making and compliance, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of Chinese studies, international relations, public policy, and international law and environmental studies. It will also be useful for policy makers working in the fields of environmental regulation and fisheries management.

Contents:

Introduction
1. Fisheries between international and national policy-making
2. Implementation in theory
3. The political system of the People’s Republic of China
4. China’s power centres and authority relations
5. Fisheries resources management and fishing licenses
6. Fisheries resources management and fishing quotas
7. Marine environmental protection and MPAs
8. Domestic implementation of the international fisheries agreements in China
9. International regimes in China
10. Conclusions

For more information: http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415643214/

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Publications: WorldFish Provides Economic Analysis of Adaptation in South-East Asia by WorldFish (18 Jul 2013)

WorldFish Provides Economic Analysis of Adaptation in South-East Asia

July 2013: WorldFish has released a publication that documents the cross-country economic impacts of three climate hazards, namely typhoons, coastal erosion and saltwater intrusion, as well as the costs of adaptation options and autonomous household responses in three Asian countries.

The report, titled 'Economic Analysis of Climate Change Adaptation Strategies in Selected Coastal Areas in Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam,' uses a range of qualitative and quantitative methods to document the confluence of risks affecting households. The study finds ecosystem-based approaches for reducing vulnerability to be more effective than hard infrastructure investments. It also stresses that planned adaptation efforts and external assistance reduce the amount of autonomous adaptation undertaken by private actors.

WorldFish is a member of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). [Publication: Economic Analysis of Climate Change Adaptation Strategies in Selected Coastal Areas in Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam]

For more information: 
http://climate-l.iisd.org/news/worldfish-provides-economic-analysis-of-adaptation-in-south-east-asia/209184/

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HK's Updates: WWF Launches Seafood Guide 2013 (11 Jul 2013)

WWF Launches Seafood Guide 2013

Posted 11 July 2013  |  en  |  zh

Hong Kong people are the second largest per-capita consumers of seafood in Asia, with every person consuming an average of 71.6kg of seafood per year. The popularity of seafood in Hong Kong places large demands on both local and overseas fisheries, to the extent that certain species are in danger of being wiped out forever and marine ecosystems around the world are deteriorating. To raise awareness about the need for sustainable seafood consumption, WWF-Hong Kong today announces the results of a sustainable seafood survey and launched an updated version of our popular Seafood Guide.

The survey was conducted between February and May 2013, when WWF visited 48 Chinese restaurants, seafood restaurants and supermarkets to count the number of sustainable and unsustainable seafood species present in these establishments’ water tanks. The survey found that a approxomiately 50% of the species found in these tanks were listed in our Seafood Guide’s “Red – Avoid” category.

Specifically, 51.4% of the seafood found in the Chinese restaurants’ tanks, 50% of the species in the seafood restaurants’ tanks and 38.6% of the seafood in the supermarkets’ tanks came either from unsustainable fisheries, or had been over-exploited, caught or farmed in an ecologically-unfriendly way. A smaller proportion of the seafood surveyed fell into the “Green – Recommended” category: 24.3%, 33.3% and 17.5% in the respective establishments.

The survey also found that some of the species could not be categorized due to insufficient information being provided. This is indicative of a wider problem: generally, there is insufficient data available to the public on which types of seafood are sustainable and which are not; which in turn makes it difficult for the consumer to make the right choices. 

WWF-Hong Kong’s Senior Conservation Officer for Footprint, Dr. Allen To said, “Global studies indicate that in the past 50-100 years we've lost up to 90% of many large predatory fishes, such as some types of tuna, shark and grouper. However, this might only be the tip of the iceberg. Some scientists speculate that if nothing happens to turn the tide, by 2048 the world may run out of important commercial fish species entirely. The world’s oceans will not be able to supply the fishery resources we are so heavily dependent on.”

Adapting to the changes in the world’s seafood resources and to the dining habits of Hong Kong people, WWF has launched an updated version of our Seafood Guide. Compared to the 2007 edition, there has been a rise in the number of “Red – Avoid” seafood species. Some species which were listed as “Yellow – Think Twice” have been moved to the “Red – Avoid” category; one example being the Golden threadfin bream, which has been a very popular species with Chinese diners. More seafood species commonly chosen by Hong Kong people have also been added to the guide.

The 2013 Seafood Guide is indicative of the degradation of the world’s marine ecosystems. WWF hopes that the restaurants and supermarkets will use the guide to facilitate the development of an “Ocean-Friendly Menu”, which provides alternative seafood choices to the dining public, also to provide information on the species, origin and harvesting method so as to faciliate consumer to choose sustainable seafood. Seafood suppliers can also help improve the situation by sourcing and providing more seafood from “Green – Recommended” and “Yellow – Think Twice” categories. It is important that individual diners begin asking restaurants to provide more sustainable seafood.

Representatives from the restaurant and catering sector continue to show their support for WWF; Mr Ng, a seafood restaurant owner, said, “We have always opposed cyanide or fish bomb fishing in Southeast Asia, because it causes huge damage to the marine ecosystem; but some restaurants keep on buying fish from these fishermen. We have to pull the whole industry together to stop the problem.” Frozen seafood supplier Mr Tsui added, “We are glad to see that the sustainable seafood concept is getting more and more popular nowadays, the marine resources problem and sustainable seafood definitely need more promotion and awareness.”

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• More about the updated Seafood Guide

For more information: http://www.wwf.org.hk/en/?9680/WWF-Launches-Seafood-Guide-2013

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Seminar by Masayuki Komatsu: Fisheries Management and Trade in Fishery Products in Southeast Asia and the Pacific organized by ADB Institute on 18 Jul 2013

Seminar by Masayuki Komatsu: Fisheries Management and Trade in Fishery Products in Southeast Asia and the Pacific 

	Event Details
	Event: Seminar by Masayuki Komatsu: Fisheries Management and Trade in Fishery Products in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Venue: ADBI, Tokyo Date: 18 July 2013 Time of Event: 12:00 - 13:00 Contact: Yothin Jinjarak

Purpose

To disseminate results of a study on the status and outlook for fisheries and aquaculture in Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

Background

The study reviews the status of fisheries of ASEAN and Pacific region countries, as well as policy measures such as lifting tariffs and non-tariff barriers on fishery products. It will also provide advice on sustainable fisheries management and policy recommendations on trade in fishery products.

Objectives

• To discuss sustainable fisheries management policies
• To understand tariff and non-tariff barriers in fisheries trade
• To assess regional cooperation and system to support sustainable fisheries development

Outputs

ADBI working paper.

Participants

ADBI staff, outside researchers, government officials.

For more information: http://www.adbi.org/event/5793.fisheries.mngt.trade.southeast.asia.pacific/

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New Book: Good Governance, Scale and Power. A Case Study of North Sea Fisheries by Liza Griffin (29 Jan 2013)

Good Governance, Scale and Power

A Case Study of North Sea Fisheries

By Liza Griffin

Published 29th January 2013 by Routledge – 226 pages

Series: Routledge Studies in Ecological Economics

Description:

In recent years there have been several alarming predictions about the future of the planet’s fish stocks. As a result, many national governments and supranational institutions, including the European Union, have instituted reforms designed to mitigate the crisis.

This book examines the discourse and practice of ‘good governance’ in the context of fisheries management. It starts by examining the ‘crisis’ of fisheries in the North Sea, caused primarily by overfishing and failure of the European Union’s Common Fisheries Policy. It then goes on to analyse reforms to this policy enacted and planned between 2002 and 2013, and the proposition that collapse of fish stocks could occur as a result of deficiencies in new governing arrangements, i.e. failure to apply ‘principles of good governance’. The book argues that impediments to good governance practice in fisheries are not merely the result of implementation deficits, but that they constitute a more systematic failure. Governance theory addresses issues of power, but it does not recognise the many important spatially contingent and relational forms of power that are exercised in actual governing practice. For example, it frequently overlooks spatial practices and strategies, such as ‘scale jumping, ‘rescaling’ and the discursive redrawing of governing boundaries. This book exposes some of these spatial power relationships, showing that the presence of such relationships has implications for accountability and effective policymaking.

In sum, this book explores some of the ways in which we might better understand governance practice using theories of scale and relational concepts of power, and in the process it offers a critique and rethinking of governance theory. These reflections are made on the basis of an in-depth case study of the attempted pursuit of ‘good governance’ in the European Union via institutional reforms, focusing particularly on the thorny and fascinating case of North Sea fisheries management.

Contents:

1. Introduction: Plenty more fish in the sea?
2. The North Sea Crisis, the Common Fisheries Policy and its Reforms
3. Fisheries and the Principles of Good Governance: The tensions and contradictions
4. Fisheries and the Principles of Good Governance: Tensions and contradictions in the search for effectiveness and coherence
5. All aboard: Fisheries stakeholders, governance and power – Redrawing the boundaries of participation
6. Fish Scales: Rescaling and performing scale in the North Sea region
7. Red Herrings and Discourses of Scale in the North Sea
8. Reflections, Theorisations and Conclusions

For more information: http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415486231/

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10th International Seafood Summit, 6-8 September 2012, Hong Kong

10th International Seafood Summit

Date:	06-Sep-12 to 08-Sep-12
Location:	Kowloon Shangri-La / Hong Kong / China

Theme: Evolving Solutions for New Horizons / 新理念‭, ‬新时空

The sustainable seafood movement has collectively made great strides in the past few years, arguably the biggest paradigm shift ever witnessed in seafood markets, and the Seafood Summit is designed as a forum to cultivate such progress. This year’s theme of ‘Evolving Solutions for New Horizons’ asks proposals to be forward thinking and outcome-orientated. Set against the landscape of a changing world order – across global politics, markets and environmental change – in what ways can the seafood community continue the momentum and further advance sustainability solutions?

Who attends the Summit?

The Seafood Summit is attended by a diverse group of seafood industry professionals including producers, processors, distributors, buyers, retailers, chefs and restaurateurs, as well as conservation groups, policy makers, academics and the media. The Summit is the only event where all stakeholders come together around sustainable seafood. Over the course of the last five years, the Summit has grown exponentially, with the past two Summits being completely sold out, having exceeded capacity before registration closed.

Website: http://www.seafoodsummit.org/about-the-seafood-summit/

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