Negotiating equitable fisheries access agreements : a capacity-building and reference manual for developing coastal states

Fish and fish products provide important trade and livelihoods opportunities in many coastal developing countries. Fishing access agreements do not always result in fair and equal arrangements and may contribute to the overexploitation of resources and threaten the food security of these countries. This manual provides a practical, theoretically informed handbook to support the negotiation of bilateral fisheries access agreements. Typically such agreements are negotiated by a Coastal State Negotiating Team (CNST) and this manual seeks to provide the negotiating teams with guidance on process as well as content issues.