Insights for the process of policy reform in the fisheries sector

The case studies presented in this report provide a review of the process of reform in selected OECD countries. The case studies are not necessarily representative of the experiences of all OECD countries, but they do illustrate the variety of reform experiences that have occurred. The economic, environmental, social and political situations in the countries covered in this report vary widely. Yet each of the countries has undergone significant reforms in recent years. While the ambition, effectiveness and sustainability of the reforms differs from country to country, there are sufficient common insights that can be generalized to the process of policy reform in all OECD, and many non-OECD, countries. The purpose of this chapter is to draw out those common elements from the case studies and provide a number of policy lessons that may assist governments in their current and future reform efforts. The chapter focuses on four key stages of the reform process: identifying the need for reform the processes driving reform building support for reform and sustaining reform.