The next 10 years are considered a critical decade for fisheries. Declining fish stocks in combination with mounting climate pressure are likely to lead to significant and adverse socio-ecological impacts, threatening sustainability. Responding to these challenges requires modes of governance that are capable of dealing with the complexity and uncertainty associated with the world’s fisheries and their ecosystems. While a range of governance frameworks exist, the concept of polycentric governance has gained prominence in the environmental sector and is posited as a key principle underpinning the resilience of complex socio-ecological systems. However, the application of polycentric governance to fisheries management has been seldom explored. To examine this prospect, we review the literature on polycentric governance to elucidate its potential value in improving the outlook for fisheries and their associated ecosystems. We highlight a number of unique characteristics that overcome known limitations in other forms of governance—polycentric systems are highly participatory and promote the broadest levels of stakeholder involvement, they increase policy freedom at the local level, and they improve the spatial fit between knowledge, action and socio-ecological contexts to ensure that governance responses are implemented at the most appropriate scale. Through fisheries case-studies, we demonstrate that these characteristics are important in helping fisheries respond to complex challenges. Finally, we articulate key knowledge gaps that should be addressed through future research to understand the conditions under which polycentric governance systems are most suited, and the ways in which they can be operationalised most effectively.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	governance, fisheries, learning, networks, research needs, stakeholder participation
Research Division:	Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences
Research Group:	Fisheries Sciences
Research Field:	Fisheries Management
Objective Division:	Environment
Objective Group:	Environmental Policy, Legislation and Standards
Objective Field:	Coastal and Marine Management Policy
Author:	Cvitanovic, C (Dr Christopher Cvitanovic)
Author:	Hobday, AJ (Dr Alistair Hobday)
Author:	McDonald, J (Professor Jan McDonald)
Author:	Van Putten, EI (Dr Ingrid Van Putten)
Author:	Nash, KL (Dr Kirsty Nash)
ID Code:	120979
Year Published:	2017
Web of Science® Times Cited:	6
Deposited By:	Oceans and Cryosphere
Deposited On:	2017-09-05
Last Modified:	2018-11-26
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