Governing ‘Spaces of Interaction’ for Sustainable Fisheries

This paper introduces the concept of ‘spaces of interaction’ to determine how existing market‐based governance tools improve participation and deliberation between actors along fish value chains. Exploring these linkages through the sociology of environmental flows and interactive governance theory the paper discusses: (1) how market‐based governance tools facilitate interaction within national and international value chains; (2) which links they target; and (3) what key actors they involve. Three market‐based governance tools are compared − Das Fisch‐o‐Meter , the Scottish Sustainable Haddock Project and the Marine Stewardship Council − to illustrate the structure and function of different market‐based spaces of interaction. The paper concludes that by understanding the kinds of interactions that are facilitated by market‐based governance arrangements we can determine their potential for fostering changes in consumption and production practices which ultimately lead to sustainable fisheries.