The gentleman’s agreements: a fisheries management case study from the Southwest of England

This paper assesses the unique ‘gentlemen’s agreements’ that exist between the crab fishermen of South Devon and trawlermen from the UK and other EU member states. The reasons for the success of the arrangements are discussed, particularly as the agreements apply to fisheries that are currently characterised by over-capacity, rent dissipation and non-compliance with regulations. The agreements are analysed in relation to other common-property resource-management systems, and their compatability with the principles of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is established. Finally the agreements are compared and contrasted with the concepts of subsidiarity and co-management.