Impacts of international trade policy on fisheries-dependent coastal communities: a Newfoundland case study

Daly, Jack Ryan (2019) Impacts of international trade policy on fisheries-dependent coastal communities: a Newfoundland case study. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

This thesis examines how international trade policy impacts fisheries and local fishing communities. The case study for the research is the Canada-European Union (EU) Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which came into effect in 2017. The study region is the Great Northern Peninsula (GNP), on the northwest coast of Newfoundland, Canada, where fishing communities depend on the export-oriented fisheries. By means of interactive governance theory, an institutional analytical approach is employed to examine the change in the fisheries and the governing system that CETA may bring, as well as the compatibility between the policies and principles of CETA with those governing the case-study region. Subsequently, informant interviews were conducted with fish harvesters, community members, and local and provincial governments to gauge initial responses to CETA and the change that it has already induced. Results indicate that CETA impacts governing interactions in the case-study region by first, expanding market access, and second, by weakening regionally specific protections of the inshore fishery. Furthermore, initial responses show that current stressors facing the region, including lack of adequate resource access and processing sector vulnerability, may be exacerbated, rather than mitigated, by CETA. This research highlights the importance of an early appraisal of the overall impact of trade policy from the governance perspective and according to local communities that are directly and indirectly affected by such policy. Specifically, the research offers: (1) a methodological approach to assess international trade policy through a governance lens; (2) an illustration of interactions between international trade and coastal communities; and (3) a broadening of discussion about implications of the seafood trade and international trade policy at all levels.

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