Paper Explores Fisheries Reform in China
China has a momentous opportunity to restore its wild fisheries and protect marine ecosystems, according to a 2017 study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In China’s 13th five-year plan, launched in 2016, the central government for the first time explicitly listed social equity and environmental protection as priorities on par with economic development. Achieving that vision in the ocean, however, will require serious institutional reforms. Based on three years of discussion among an interdisciplinary team of experts, the study recommends six such measures that fall into the categories of:
- Regional, science-based governance
- Incentives to increase incomes, not catch
- Marine protected areas
- Consistent management and enforcement across the nation
- Opportunities for scientists and managers to learn from the successes and failures of other nations
- Public data sharing and transparency
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Cao, L., Y. Chen, S. Dong, A. Hanson, B. Huang, D. Leadbitter, D. C. Little, E. K. Pikitch, Y. Qiu, Y. S. de Mitcheson, U. R. Sumaila, M. Williams, G. Xue, Y. Ye, W. Zhang, Y. Zhou, P. Zhuang, and R. L. Naylor. (2017). Opportunity for marine fisheries reform in China. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114 (3), 435-442. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1616583114.
