Assessing Governability of Fisheries Using the Interactive Governance Approach:  Preliminary Examples from the Caribbean

Robin Mahon, Professor
Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES) University of the West Indies,
Cave Hill Campus, Barbados
E-mail: rmahon@caribsurf.com Phone (+246) 417 4570, Fax (+246) 424 4204

Abstract: The Interactive Governance Approach provides a holistic framework for exploring and addressing the many dimensions of fisheries governance. The concept of governability relates to the fit between the features of the fishery system and those of the governance system. The applicability of governability is explored for fisheries in the Wider Caribbean viewed as a large marine ecosystem (LME). The fit varies widely from fishery to fishery. The examples of fisheries for reef fish fishes and large pelagic fishes and conch are contrasted to illustrate the key issues. Lack of fit and thus inadequate interaction is found to be often scale-related, but also in some cases due to inappropriate images or instruments or weak capacity for action.

Key words: governance, governability, Caribbean, pelagics, conch, reef fishes, fisheries, transboundary, indicators



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