Article: The scientific expert in the example of regional fishery management councils: a multi-faceted player in the decision-making process

Sophie GAMBARDELLA

Docteur en droit public

Abstract

The management and conservation of fish stocks require precise scientific knowledge, especially on the state of said stocks and their capacity for renewal. For instance, the setting of fishing “quotas”, which consists in the determination of the quantity of fish that can be taken in a given period, cannot be done at random since these allocations represent environmental and economic stakes. Thus, decision makers logically call upon experts to adopt informed decisions. Consequently, various regional fisheries Commissions created Scientific Committees, which were associated to their work to have available knowledge on a permanent basis. And yet, the institutionalisation of scientific expertise within regional fisheries Commissions led the expert to go beyond its traditional role of knowledge provider. Facing his usual context of scientific uncertainty, the expert has indeed acquired other responsibilities. Through this “micro-legal” study – in the sense that it results from an empirical analysis of the Mediterranean context – we will try to highlight the different functions of the expert associated with the decision process in the field of the management and protection of Mediterranean fish stocks.