National policy objectives and local management results: the economic, social and environmental performances of the shellfish farming institutions in the Mont-Saint-Michel Bay

Type Article
Date 2012
Language English
Author(s) Mongruel Remi1, Perez Jose1
Affiliation(s) 1 : IFREMER, Marine Econ Dept, UMR Amure, F-29280 Plouzane, France.
Source Society & Natural Resources (0894-1920) (Taylor & Francis Inc), 2012 , Vol. 25 , N. 4 , P. 352-367
DOI 10.1080/08941920.2011.560593
WOS© Times Cited 3
Keyword(s) aquaculture (shellfish-farming), co-management, institutional economics, policy and decision making, property rights (and institutional arrangements), social change (in coastal areas)
Abstract This paper examines the discrepancies between national policy objectives for the development of shellfish farming in France and the results of this policy at the local level. National legislation is claimed to favour a ‘people-oriented’ policy and the sustainable use of marine coastal resources. In practice, stakeholders implement this policy under local institutional arrangements. A case study in the Mont-Saint-Michel Bay compares the economic, social and environmental performances of both mussel and oyster industries. Local management arrangements have avoided overexploitation. Conversely, performances in terms of rent distribution, job retention and contribution to public budgets are inconsistent with national objectives. This suggests that the existence of conflicting interests, information asymmetries and unequal bargaining powers was not sufficiently envisaged when the national regulation framework was drafted. However, when combined with an opaque and weakly regulated system of transferable use-rights, those factors are likely to influence local management processes and their socio-economic results.
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