Co-management proposals and their efficiency implications in fisheries management: the case of the Grand Sole fleet

In the last two decades there has been a broad literature within the field of fisheries economics and other social sciences about the usefulness of delegating management responsibilities to resource users (co-management). The line of argument of these proposals is that a greater user involvement in designing and implementing management policies will help to obtain the economic efficiency in exploiting fishing resources. In this article, we will analyse in depth the factors and requirements that make co-management structures promote efficient allocation of resources. Taking this analysis as a base, we will focus on the economic performance of the Spanish fleet in the Community waters at Grand Sole and the process of management decentralisation that this fishery has undergone in the last years.