Decentralization and fisheries management in the Brazilian Amazon: Resource rights and accountability

Abstract

Decentralizing management is often mentioned as a good strategy to make fisheries sustainable. Prior to evaluating the consequences of the decentralization process, there is a need to consider the degree to which decentralizing the management and decision-making of fisheries is happening. This article presents case studies of inter-organizational management of fisheries in the Brazilian Amazon to examine how effective the decision-making power of local institutions and smallholders over fisheries resources is. We propose a method for mapping relevant patterns of decision-making rights, property rights, and accountability. We highlight the fact that while the government maintains significant control over fisheries resources through regulating extraction, local institutions have growing control over fisheries management decisions.