360
Overall, the round table discussion clearly
showed that in Japan, the sato-umi concept and
practice cannot be disconnected from a unique
and very original trait of fi shing right where local
communities and fi shermen comanage their
coastal and marine resources through fi sheries
and/or aquaculture (e.g., oyster farming) activities. Successful community-based management
or comanagement, when it involves both local
communities and local governments, has evolved
in many parts of the world including France
though in a much less systematic way. If traditional socioeconomic systems governed by customary practices and laws are allowed to
determine fi shery management plans and policies,
some of the environmental damage of large- scale,
industrial, mixed-stock fi sheries could be avoided.
In conclusion, going back to Gerard Romiti’s
statement at the opening of this round table,
because the protection of marine resources is an
integral part of overall environmental conservation including restoration, and because it is a particularly vital issue for fi sheries, the very
operators who are the fi shers must be cast as
major players in the environmental conservation
struggle.
In other words, fi shermen must realize that
they are the main components in the marine
resource use system and that they therefore must
actively participate in ecosystem-based fi shery
based on mutual agreements through existing or
to-be-created governance forms and procedures.
Because this issue concerns all the fi sheries
around the world and because of the unique system of fi shing rights in Japan, this is a model that
could inspire the French fi shery cooperatives
while developing sato-umi-like approaches in
marine and coastal waters.
Y. Hénocque
Overall, the round table discussion clearly
showed that in Japan, the sato-umi concept and
practice cannot be disconnected from a unique
and very original trait of fi shing right where local
communities and fi shermen comanage their
coastal and marine resources through fi sheries
and/or aquaculture (e.g., oyster farming) activities. Successful community-based management
or comanagement, when it involves both local
communities and local governments, has evolved
in many parts of the world including France
though in a much less systematic way. If traditional socioeconomic systems governed by customary practices and laws are allowed to
determine fi shery management plans and policies,
some of the environmental damage of large- scale,
industrial, mixed-stock fi sheries could be avoided.
In conclusion, going back to Gerard Romiti’s
statement at the opening of this round table,
because the protection of marine resources is an
integral part of overall environmental conservation including restoration, and because it is a particularly vital issue for fi sheries, the very
operators who are the fi shers must be cast as
major players in the environmental conservation
struggle.
In other words, fi shermen must realize that
they are the main components in the marine
resource use system and that they therefore must
actively participate in ecosystem-based fi shery
based on mutual agreements through existing or
to-be-created governance forms and procedures.
Because this issue concerns all the fi sheries
around the world and because of the unique system of fi shing rights in Japan, this is a model that
could inspire the French fi shery cooperatives
while developing sato-umi-like approaches in
marine and coastal waters.
Y. Hénocque