The challenge for fisheries governance is to resolve, as effectively and equitably as possible, the conflicts that result from seeking to simultaneously pursue the goals of maintaining a healthy ecosystem whilst continuing to derive social benefits from it. Social benefits from the ecosystem include the preservation of sustainable livelihoods and social justice for those associated with the sector, and meeting income and food security requirements for the wider community. A basic requirement for resolving conflicts over the use of aquatic ecosystems is understanding the context in which they are played out. This part of the volume concerns the aspect of that context that we label the ‘fish chain’: the production, distribution, and consumption of aquatic products. Part III focuses on the human institutions that organise and regulate the human interactions around the chain.

Although the term ‘fish chain’ has been used elsewhere (most notably Kooiman et al. 1999) its scope has, nonetheless, not been clearly defined in the extant literature. We use the term ‘chain’ to suggest connectedness – one link fits in with, and influences, the next in sequence, as it is itself affected by the preceding link. It is generally conceived of in a ‘vertical’ sense, following a resource from the marine ecosystem, through capturing, processing and marketing phases, to the consumer. Figure 1 is a simplified depiction of the chain as a vertical series of linkages, showing changes in monetary values and resource transformation with each link. Key characteristics of the various stages of this fish chain exert influence on the whole. Consumer preferences may therefore come to affect fisher strategies, directing capturing activity towards certain target species. Likewise, the introduction of preservation schemes may determine whether a certain market can be serviced and a fish chain comes about or not. Finally, the particular characteristics of an ecosystem also influence whether a fishery emerges in a certain locality.

While a vertical notion of the fish chain is a useful tool for visualising the series of connections that link the ocean and the fish farm to the dining table, it may also be depicted in a manner that emphasises the interactions that underpin the chain. Figure 2 was drawn according to this idea of the chain.