Orthodoxy and the theory of fishery management : the policy and practice of fishery management theory past and present

Abstract

The thesis argues that the dominant theories of fishery management are rooted in an orthodox paradigm or persepctive that favours the more powerful industrial interests over the less powerful community based interests. The orthodox theories are assumed to be neutral, objective and value free, but in reality are biased, selective and opinionated. The thesis outlines the development of fishery management theory from the second half of the 19th century to the present and shows the consistency of the underlying assumptions and values which support them. The thesis reviews the liberal critique of orthodox theories made by welfare economists and maritime antropologists during the 1970s and 1980s and shows that despite these criticisms, orthodox theories continue to dominate as the most legitimate basis for managaing the fishery. The thesis compares the fishery management structures, policies and practices of Canada and United States and shows how the theory when it is translated into policy either does not solve fundamental problems (Canada) or cannot be fully imposed on fishery participants (United States). The thesis examines an alternative paradigm for understanding fishery management problems and concludes that a political economy approach offers new research and policy formulation directions that could lead to more appropriate theory and policies.