Fisheries policy, research and the social sciences in Europe: Challenges for the 21st century

Despite evidence of a broadening of the science base for European fisheries policy with the incorporation of an ecosystem approach and increasing use of economic modelling, the contribution of the social sciences to policy related research remains less conspicuous. Progress has occurred in the understanding of institutional structures and the theory of fisheries governance, but analysis of EU funded research in the 6th Framework Programme (2002–2006) points to the absence of social science except in multi-disciplinary projects. The diasporic nature of fisheries social science and the absence of clearly articulated social objectives from fisheries policy are among the more plausible explanations for this unconformity. Prospects for reform of the CFP in 2012—including a redistribution of responsibilities between central and regional institutions—offer enhanced opportunities for the social sciences in interdisciplinary and specialist areas of policy related research. Responding to the challenge will necessitate the building of stronger networks within the family of social sciences and across disciplinary boundaries with the natural and economic sciences.