Rule of Law in the Progress of Sustainable Fishery Governance

Dear Colleagues,

The future of the ocean depends on sustained and effective changes in the governance of natural resources. Over the last couple of decades, ocean governance has turned its focus on several key approaches, such as the creation and enforcement of protected marine areas and the implementation of sustainable fisheries governance. The voluntary guidelines for securing fisheries in the context of food security and poverty eradication are the first international instrument dedicated entirely to the fisheries sector. While its implementation will require legal and regulatory adjustments beyond national fisheries legislation to ensure political and legislative coherence and to fully reflect the breadth of their provisions, the fundamental function of fisheries law in the sustainable use, management, and development of small-scale fisheries is indisputable. Appropriate fisheries legislation provides the strongest possible framework for inclusive, participatory fisheries governance and resource management by providing a coherent basis for implementing and enforcing the related international and regional agreements and commitments. Legislation can therefore be a tangible way to support fishers, fish workers, and their communities, and contribute to broader development goals, including the progressive realisation of the right to food, poverty eradication, equitable development, and sustainable resource utilisation, as well as governance. This Special Issue aims to provide (social) scientists and legal experts with an opportunity to provide an overview of recent works carried out in the areas of fisheries research and governance, coupled with the rule of law. Papers on topics concerning the rule of law in connection with fisheries governance, sustainable fisheries, fisheries biology and ecology, and aquaculture environmental policies, are welcomed for submission.

Prof. Dr. Yen-Chiang Chang
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Fishes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.