title: Opportunity for marine fisheries reform in China.
abstract: China's 13th Five-Year Plan, launched in March 2016, provides a sound policy platform for the protection of marine ecosystems and the restoration of capture fisheries within China's exclusive economic zone. What distinguishes China among many other countries striving for marine fisheries reform is its size-accounting for almost one-fifth of global catch volume-and the unique cultural context of its economic and resource management. In this paper, we trace the history of Chinese government priorities, policies, and outcomes related to marine fisheries since the 1978 Economic Reform, and examine how the current leadership's agenda for "ecological civilization" could successfully transform marine resource management in the coming years. We show how China, like many other countries, has experienced a decline in the average trophic level of its capture fisheries during the past few decades, and how its policy design, implementation, and enforcement have influenced the status of its wild fish stocks. To reverse the trend in declining fish stocks, the government is introducing a series of new programs for sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, with greater traceability and accountability in marine resource management and area controls on coastal development. As impressive as these new plans are on paper, we conclude that serious institutional reforms will be needed to achieve a true paradigm shift in marine fisheries management in China. In particular, we recommend new institutions for science-based fisheries management, secure fishing access, policy consistency across provinces, educational programs for fisheries managers, and increasing public access to scientific data.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Oceanography, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.|Center on Food Security and the Environment, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: School of Marine Science, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: College of Fisheries, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China.
authors.forename: Shuanglin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: International Institute for Sustainable Development, Winnipeg, MB R3B 0T4, Canada.
authors.forename: Arthur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hanson
authors.affiliation: College of Ocean Sciences, Hainan University, Haikou 570000, China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security, University of Wollongong, Wollongong NSW 2522, Australia.
authors.forename: Duncan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Leadbitter
authors.affiliation: Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: David C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Little
authors.affiliation: School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11790.
authors.forename: Ellen K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Pikitch
authors.affiliation: South China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Science, Guangzhou 510300, China.
authors.forename: Yongsong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, Swire Institute of Marine Science, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China.
authors.forename: Yvonne
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sadovy de Mitcheson
authors.affiliation: Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada.
authors.forename: Ussif Rashid
authors.initials: UR
authors.lastname: Sumaila
authors.affiliation: AsiaPacific-FishWatch, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Meryl
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: KoGuan Law School, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
authors.forename: Guifang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.affiliation: Fish and Aquaculture Department, United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, 00153 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Yimin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.affiliation: College of Fisheries and Life Science, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China.
authors.forename: Wenbo
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: College of Marine Sciences, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China.
authors.forename: Yingqi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: East China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Science, Shanghai 200090, China.
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhuang
authors.affiliation: Center on Food Security and the Environment, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305; roz@stanford.edu.
authors.forename: Rosamond L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Naylor
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002681:China; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D017753:Ecosystem; D005398:Fisheries / Q000191:economics / Q000266:history / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D005399:Fishes; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D011640:Public Policy
keywords: China; Chinese characteristics; institutional reforms; marine fisheries