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Private water ownership and fisheries governance in Finland

By Pekka Salmi and Riku Varjopuro

ABSTRACT

Coastal and inland water bodies in Finland have traditionally been in private ownership in conjunction with possession of land. Most of these water areas are managed jointly by the individual owners. In the late 20th century, authoritative top-down management and regional decision-making layers were constructed and added to the system of the local private water ownership. The demands for reorganization of the management regime were supported by the small and scattered structure of privately owned areas, in addition to arguments of inequity between user groups and demands for increasing efficiency of the system and rationality of fisheries policy.

In this paper we study changes in the decision-making regime of the Finnish fisheries and conflicts connected to these. We will focus on the property right issues from different perspectives, with special attention to the significance and problems connected to private ownership of fishing waters. Conflicts commonly include tensions between owner's and user's rights. Typically, local water owners have restricted the access of commercial or recreational fishermen to its area, but the state authorities and legislation have supported the rights of the user groups. The authorities argue for equity and rational utilization of fish resources, while the water owners cannot understand why they are marginalized in the decision making of their own property. The conflicts reflect tensions concerning cultural values and practical knowledge of the rural population, use of scientific knowledge and urbanization.

KEYWORDS: Property rights, Private water ownership, Fisheries governance, Fishing conflicts


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