Study On The Decision-making Process Of The Regional Fishery Management Councils Of The United States

In the field of natural resources management,there are very few more complex than the fishery resources.Both Fishermen's composition with their diversity purposes and fishery resources with non-exclusive,competitive,migratory,volatility characteristics,may make the decision-making of the fishery resources management become more difficult.For the fishery resources management,the decision-making is the first step and the functions of other various management.The level of the fishery decision-making is directly related to the success or failure of the fishery management.At present,the government,the fishery experts,fishermen and other stakeholders are involved in the decision-making process of our country's fishery decision-making mechanism.But the government is in a dominant position,fishermen is in a passive position,and the scientific guidance of the fishery experts is lack of legal and mandatory.Coupled with support as a basis for the fishery decision-making,fishery law system,fishery statistics and fishery resource assessment are not suited for a scientific and democratic decision-making mechanism.All along,our scholars pay attention on the US fisheries management mechanism.In China,the research mainly focuses on the characteristics of fishery management,fishery legal system and fishery management mode.For the regional fishery management councils,it is just confined to the introductory level,not in-depth.In USA,the scholars focused on members of the composition of the regional fisheries management councils.The United States announced the establishment eight fishery management councils within 3-200 nautical in 1976 for the need of fishery management.It changes the fishery management model of the United States,from the government-oriented to the government and fishery stakeholder group to consult.It establishes a “government-scientistsfishermen” co-management decision-making mechanism.And the organization,the main functions,the decision-making procedures of the democracy,scientific fishery decision-making have been protected by the rule of law.To this end,this paper hopes to tap the characteristics of the decision-making process of the Regional Fishery Management Councils in the United States,and put forward to some suggestions to improve the decision-making mechanism in China.The role of the US regional fisheries management councils is to develop fisheries management plans for major fisheries and key fishing targets for 3 to 200 nautical miles.In view of this,the scope of this paper is only located in China's 200-mile exclusive economic zone of natural growth of fishery resources.This paper uses the system analysis,the literature method,and the comparative analysis to carry out the related research.Scientific decision theory,stakeholder theory,and public choice theory provide a reference and inspiration for ideological and methodological aspects.From the historical background of the establishment of the US regional fisheries management councils,the paper focuses on the analysis of the organizational structure,functions and decision-making procedures,as well as the characteristics and causes of the members' composition.Then,the paper introduces the contents of the fishery management plan,and finds the following characteristics of its decision-making mechanism: pay attention to the representative of the fishery decision-making body,establishment of a unified fishery decision-making standards,based on the principles of scientific decision-making,making public participation in safeguard measures.Through the report of the marine fisheries resources status in the United States,and Fish Stock Sustainability Index,to assess the effect of the fishery decision-making of the regional fishery management councils.Lastly,to improve our country's the decision-making of the marine fishery resources management,the paper makes the regional fishery management councils as the object of the contrast,and put forward the suggestions: shift the “ vulgar ” to “ refinement ” fishery management process,to establish adaptive management and preventive methods,make the decision-making process procedural requirements,sound the support mechanism and establish a way to ensure public participation,to improve the fisheries decision-making mechanism.