Reconstructing governability: How fisheries are made governable
Authors: Andrew M. Song (TBTI cluster coordinator), Jahn P. Johnsen (TBTI contributor) and Tiffany H. Morrison (TBTI contributor)
This paper develops a broadened understanding of what it means to have a fishery that is considered governable and clarify how such a governable state could be achieved. For example, it elucidates the three renditions of governability – 'impeccable control', 'seamless fit' and 'coherent assemblage'. The paper also articulates the methodological dilemma currently experienced in assessing governability, which has so far limited its applicability, and propose a more workable analytic approach based on relational epistemology. In doing so, we bring together general systems theory, interactive governance perspective and Ostrom's social-ecological system framework. Overall, the paper paves the way for a deeper recognition of how we govern fisheries and aims to encourage a more pragmatic application of fisheries governance and governability.
