From RACs to Advisory Councils: Lessons from North Sea discourse for the 2014 reform of the European Common Fisheries Policy

• NSRAC participants developed cooperative discourses 2004–2008.
• But pre-existing conflicts undermined NSRAC׳s capacity to influence policy.
• The new CFP will provide more opportunities to influence decision-makers.
• Influence depends on consensus. Cooperative discourses are critical.

From RACs to Advisory Councils analyses the discourse of stakeholders engaged in Europe׳s Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) in a tier of governance known as RACs (Regional Advisory Councils) from 2004 to 2008. The analysis demonstrates a shift towards discursive sharing by participating stakeholders. This fostered inclusion but did not effect a redistribution of the power held by Europe׳s inter-governmental institutions. This more substantive change would require more, and more consistent, discursive consensus from stakeholders. With a reformed CFP for 2014, this paper considers the possibility of a future in which regional stakeholder-based fisheries governance becomes a reality.