**1. Fisheries Law and Regulations:**
– Territorial Use Rights for Fishing (TURF) programs prevent overexploitation and unsustainable fishing.
– TURF programs are community-based and allocate fishing privileges, managed by local fishermen under federal conservation guidelines.
– Successful examples of TURF programs exist in Chile and Japan.
– Villena and Chávez (2005) studied the enforcement of territorial use rights regulations.
– Christy and FAO (1982) defined territorial use rights in marine fisheries.
– Gelcich and Donlan (2015) discussed incentivizing biodiversity conservation in fishing communities.
– Nguyen Thi Quynh et al. (2017) reviewed the state of the art and future of TURFs in Marine Policy.
**2. Seafood Safety Regulations:**
– U.S. approved AquaBounty Technologies for genetically engineered salmon.
– FDA regulations on misbranding and misleading labeling are in place.
– Canadian regulations under Health Canada and CFIA ensure truthful and non-misleading food labels.
– FDA issued an approval letter for AquAdvantage Salmon in 2015.
– FDA provides information on labeling and nutrition regulations.
– Draft Guidance for Industry on labeling genetically engineered Atlantic Salmon was released by the FDA.
**3. Biotechnology and GM Crops:**
– Canada is a top producer of GM crops.
– Health Canada and CFIA jointly responsible for labeling policies.
– CFIA sets truthful and non-misleading food label standards.
– Health Canada ensures the safety of novel foods for consumption.
– ISAAA shared the top 10 facts about biotech/GM crops in 2014.
**4. Fishery Science and Management:**
– Fisheries science encompasses wild fisheries and population dynamics.
– Understanding shifting baselines is crucial in fisheries management.
– Fish stock assessment methods are essential for sustainable fisheries.
– Fish mortality rates impact population sustainability.
– Standard weight and minimum landing size regulations are key in fisheries management.
**5. Conservation Strategies in Fisheries:**
– Territorial use rights play a role in biodiversity conservation in artisanal fishing communities.
– Business model innovation can incentivize conservation efforts.
– TURFs offer a framework for sustainable fisheries management.
– Effective stock assessment contributes to conservation strategies.
– Community engagement is vital for successful conservation initiatives.
Fisheries law is an emerging and specialized area of law. Fisheries law is the study and analysis of different fisheries management approaches such as catch shares e.g. Individual Transferable Quotas; TURFs; and others. The study of fisheries law is important in order to craft policy guidelines that maximize sustainability and legal enforcement. This specific legal area is rarely taught at law schools around the world, which leaves a vacuum of advocacy and research. Fisheries law also takes into account international treaties and industry norms in order to analyze fisheries management regulations. In addition, fisheries law includes access to justice for small-scale fisheries and coastal and aboriginal communities and labor issues such as child labor laws, employment law, and family law.
Another important area of research covered in fisheries law is seafood safety. Each country, or region, around the world has a varying degree of seafood safety standards and regulations. These regulations can contain a large diversity of fisheries management schemes including quota or catch share systems. It is important to study seafood safety regulations around the world in order to craft policy guidelines from countries who have implemented effective schemes. Also, this body of research can identify areas of improvement for countries who have not yet been able to master efficient and effective seafood safety regulations.
Fisheries law also includes the study of aquaculture laws and regulations. Aquaculture, also known as aquafarming, is the farming of aquatic organisms, such as fish and aquatic plants. This body of research also encompasses animal feed regulations and requirements. It is important to regulate what feed is consumed by fish in order to prevent risks to human health and safety.