Transparency in 21st century fisheries management: Options for public participation to enhance conservation and management of international fish stocks

Effective implementation of international environmental and natural resource conservation agreements depends not only upon the cooperation of contracting parties, but also upon the ability of the agreement to win the continuing support and input of non-governmental stakeholders. This view, accepted and advocated by nations in the 1992 Rio Declaration, Agenda 21, and the recent Aarhus Convention on Public Participation, is now being incorporated into modern regional fisheries management organizations. These and earlier fisheries organizations can benefit from an awareness of how other multilateral agreements that adhere to the Rio Declaration and Agenda 21 tenets have enhanced sustainable development through their provisions for transparency and public participation. This article surveys how these regimes have implemented the principles of access to information, access to decision-making and access to justice, and makes corresponding recommendations to assist fisheries management organizations in achieving their goals.