Prince Edward Island Lobster Fisheries

Broad Context

Fisheries management draws on fisheries science in order to find ways to protect fisheries resources so that sustainable exploitation is possible,” (FAO, 2005). Fisheries management also involves legal governance of the ocean activities at an international or national level (Jentoft,

Bavinck, Johnson, & Thomson, 2009). The Government of Canada created processes, tools, and systems to implement and monitor activities in the sea. For example, In 1867, the Federal

Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) was formed to issue licenses, create operational seasons, document catches, establish quotas, and enforce regulations regarding the quantity of those stocks fished and future total allowable catches (Campbell, 2017). Prior

Therefore, managing human activity on the ocean is very complex because there is competing objectives within the fishing industry. The ability to make sure economic efficiency, optimizing employment, and conservation standards has fisheries management objectives operating at an unequal balance. Some laws and regulations get more enforcement based on the influence created by the political agenda. Indigenous Rights includes self-governance and this is not the case in the Prince Edward Island lobster fishing

A folk law can be defined as cultural or social norms at a community level, which affect how different stakeholders will operate within the management of the fishing industry (Jentoft et al., 2009). The complexion of these overlapping laws that relate to some fishers in an area is important to note because Indigenous People have different rights than non-Native fishers. For people to be able to collaborate and work under these different laws co-management plays a role as to how negotiations and power sharing can be reached (Assembly of First Nations, 2011). Therefore, political power, social norms, and the diverse types of fishing creates the need for unique governance dynamics within fisheries