Participatory governance in inshore fisheries co-management in England and Wales

First established in 1888, the Sea Fisheries Committees (SFCs) of England and Wales predate the concept of modem inshore fisheries management. However, their organisational structure, function and working practices are closely aligned with principles that are now commonly advocated and associated with good governance, not least because of the extent of participation that they provide to the fishing industry in a largely co-management system. In this chapter, I provide an outline of the institutional framework within which SFCs operate; explain their structures and functions; evaluate their governance credentials and, using my first hand experience of working at a senior level within a SFC, offer a critique of the effectiveness of SFCs as an inshore fisheries co-management model.