Total Catch of a Red-Listed Marine Species Is an Order of Magnitude Higher than Official Data

Accurate information on total catch and effort is essential for successful fisheries management. Officially reported landings, however, may be underestimates of total catch in many fisheries. We investigated the fishery for the nationally red-listed European lobster (Homarus gammarus) in south-eastern Norway. Probability-based strip transect surveys were used to count buoys in the study area in combination with catch per unit effort data obtained independently from volunteer catch diaries, phone interviews, and questionnaires. We estimate that recreational catch accounts for 65% of total catch in the study area. Moreover, our results indicate that only a small proportion (24%) of lobsters landed commercially were sold through the legal market and documented. Total estimated lobster catch was nearly 14 times higher than reported officially. Our study highlights the need for adequate catch monitoring and data collection efforts in coastal areas, presents a clear warning to resource managers that illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fisheries in coastal areas should not be ignored, and shows the potential impact of recreational fisheries

Interplay management: enhancing environmental policy integration among international institutions

Environmental Policy Integration, International Environmental Governance, Institutional interaction, Institutional interplay, International environmental policy, International institutions, Interplay management, Multilateral Environmental Agreements,

Interaction between EU carbon trading and the international climate regime: synergies and learning

EU climate policy, Emissions trading, ETS, National allocation plans, Kyoto Protocol, Clean Development Mechanism, Interaction,

Order and accountability in governing transforming environments

The Paris Agreement 2015 was mostly a success, given ongoing challenges to reconcile contests between the functions and capacities of sovereign states and the need to establish effective climate governance mechanisms. Sovereignty privileges states’ internal interests over external demands and limits their readiness to see themselves as accountable for climate change contributions. Climate governance mechanisms can be thwarted when states maintain their privileged status, but sovereignty also provides states with inherent responsibilities to protect. Accountability might therefore be regarded as the fulcrum for order as environmental transformations driven by climate change take them into uncharted governance territories. A regime complex is a step in the right direction for states as they confront new uncertainties regarding the sustainability of their societies and systems