Institutions in fisheries: what they are, what they do, and how they change

‘Institution’ is a concept with many definitions and interpretations. Yet it is a key concept in the fisheries management discourse, as it is through institutions that management systems work. Hence the efficacy of fisheries management is largely a question of institutional design and dynamics. In this paper, I argue that we need to clarify what we mean by institutions, what functions they have, and how they develop over time. How we perceive institutions determines what we can and must do in order to make management systems operate more effectively, as our perspectives define the range of options for intervention in the management process. Drawing on classical and modern social science literature, I claim that we need a broader concept of institutions than is currently in fashion among fisheries social scientists inspired by rational choice. We need a concept that includes the social and cultural underpinnings of management systems and one that captures the social processes and governance mechanisms that are essential to fisheries management in the broadest sense. If not, our visions of the challenges that fisheries management represents, and what needs to be done in order to make fisheries more sustainable, become too restricted to make any long-term impact.