Fisheries policies for a new era

There is a growing recognition that the fisheries policies of the past have been driven primarily by environmental and economic research agendas. This may have been due to the influence of the more powerful actors in the fisheries policy debate: foreign governments, conservation organizations, the scientific establishment, development bodies, and finance institutions. The actors without a voice at the table have been the millions of small-scale fishers, less educated, less organized, and with little economic or political weight. To help navigate the challenges of future fisheries reform and promote a broader and more inclusive set of policies based both on environmental and sociological criteria, four guiding principles are recommended.