Opportunities for fisheries co-management in coastal systems within Brazilian legislation

Abstract

Co-management initiatives involving different stakeholders from government agencies to local users of common-pool resources has improved small-scale fisheries systems in different world regions. The incorporation of the local perspectives in formal regulations demands a legal institutional apparatus. In this study we conducted a contextual search in electronic portals of government agencies of Brazil for legislation that directly or indirectly influence coastal fisheries management. We then analyzed in which ones there were opportunities for participation of local users in decision-making processes of fisheries management using content analysis method. We found 175 legal documents at the federal level, promulgated between 1934 and 2012, of different normative natures. Of these, seven institutional arrangements provide some opportunity for artisanal fisheries co-management. However, the participation of users in these arrangements is mainly through its representations of class, which in some cases leads to issues of legitimacy of representations. Fisheries Agreement is the arrangement that allows greater user’s autonomy in decision-making and represents the instrument with the greatest opportunity for fisheries co-management.