Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Regulating the global fisheries: The World Wildlife Fund, Unilever, and the Marine Stewardship Council

  • Published:
Agriculture and Human Values Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This analysis uses an analytical frameworkgrounded in political economy perspectives of theglobalization of the agro-food sector combined with acase study approach focusing on the Marine StewardshipCouncil (MSC) to inform discussions regarding thecharacteristics of societal regulation in thepost-Fordist era. More specifically, this analysisuses the case of the emergence of the MSC toinvestigate propositions regarding the existence of,and location of, nascent forms of a transnationalState. The MSC proposes to regulate the certificationof sustainable fisheries at the global level throughan eco-labeling program. The MSC was created in 1996by the transnational environmental organization theWorld Wildlife Fund and the transnational corporationUnilever. The emergence of the MSC has generatedheated discussion in fisheries management circles thatis in general divided along North/South lines. Thisanalysis indicates that the case of the MSC providesvaluable insights into the possible characteristics ofsupranational regulatory mechanisms that might emulatethe role of the nation-State in the post-Fordist era.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aglietta, M. (1979). A Theory of Capitalist Regulation. London: Verso.

    Google Scholar 

  • Amin, A. (ed.) (1994). Post-Fordism: A Reader. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Antonio, R. and A. Bonanno (1996). “Post-Fordism: The poverty of market centered democracy, ” Current Perspectives in Social Theory 16: 3–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aquatic Network (1997). “Marine Stewardship Council underscores commitment to preserve global fisheries, ” Aquatic Network News, Seacoast Information Services, Inc. Jan. 6. <http://www.streetcar.com/aquanet/news/newslist/item1_ 1a.htm> 11/7/97.

  • Arce, A. (1997). “Globalization and food objects, ” International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food 6: 77–108.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arrighi, G. (1994). The Long Twentieth Century. Money, Power, and its Origins of Our Times. London: Verso.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bauman, Sigmund (1992). Intimations of Postmodernity. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonanno, A. (1991). “The globalization of the agricultural and food sector and theories of the state, ” International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food 1: 15–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonanno, A. (1992). “Globalization of the agricultural and food sector: The crisis of contradictory convergence, ” in A. Bonanno (ed.), The Agricultural and Food Sector in the New Global Era (pp. 25–50). London: Concept Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonanno, A. (1993). “The agro-food sector and the transnational state: The case of the EC, ” Political Geography 12(4): 341–360.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonanno, A. (1994). “The locus of polity action in a global setting, ” in A. Bonanno, L. Busch, W. H. Friedland, L. Gouveia, and E. Mingioine(eds.), From Columbus to ConAgra: The Globalization of Agriculture and Food (pp. 251–264). Lawrence: University Press of Kansas.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonanno, A. and D. H. Constance (1996). Caught in the Net: The Global Tuna Industry, Environmentalism, and the State. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonanno, A. and D. H. Constance (1998a). “The global economy and democracy: The tuna-dolphin controversy revisited, ” International Journal of the Sociology of Agriculture and Food 7: 67–112.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonanno, A. and D. H. Constance (1998b). “Global agri-food sector and the case of the tuna industry: Global regulation and perspectives for development, ” Journal of Developing Societies XIV(1): 100–126.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonanno, A., L. Busch, W. H. Friedland, L. Gouviea, and E. Mingione (eds.) (1994a). From Columbus to ConAgra: The Globalization of Agriculture and Food. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonanno, A., W. H. Friedland, L. Llambi, T. Marsden, M. B. Moreira, and R. Shaeffer (1994b). “Global post-fordism and concepts of the state, ” International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food 4: 11–29.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buttel, F. H. (1992). “Environmentalization: Origins, processes, and implications for rural social change, ” Rural Sociology 57(1): 1–27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buttel, F. H. (1994). “Agricultural change, rural society, and the state in the late twentieth century: some theoretical obser-vations, ” in D. Symes and A. J. Jansen (eds.), Agricultural Restructuring and Rural Change in Europe (pp. 13–31). Wageningen: Agricultural University of Wageningen.

  • Constance, D. H. and A. Bonanno (1999a). “The contested terrain of the global fisheries: Dolphin-safe tuna, the Panama Declaration, and the Marine Stewardship Council, ” Rural Sociology 64(4) (forthcoming).

  • Constance, D. H. and A. Bonanno (1999b). “CAFO controversy in the Texas panhandle region: The environmental crisis of hog production, ” Culture and Agriculture 21(1): 14–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Constance, D. H. and W. D. Heffernan (1991). “The global poultry agro/food complex, ” International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food 1: 126–142.

    Google Scholar 

  • Constance, D. H., A. Bonanno, and W. D. Heffernan (1995a). “The tuna-dolphin controversy revisited, ” Critical Sociology 21(2): 59–68.

    Google Scholar 

  • Constance, D. H., A. Bonanno, and W. D. Heffernan (1995b). “Global contested terrain: The case of the tuna-dolphin controversy, ” Agriculture and Human Values 12(3): 19–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooper, L. (1997). “Don't be harsh on the MSC, ” Samudraa. Report Number 18. July. <http://www.gmt2000.co.uk/apoints/ icfs/english/samudra/issue_18/content.htm> 11/ 07/97.

  • Eagleton, T. (1996). The Illusion of Postmodernism. Cambridge: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • FAO (United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization) (1997). The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture: 1996. UNFAO.

  • Friedland, W. H. (1991). “The transnationalization of agricultural production: Palimpsest of the transnational state, ” International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food 1: 59–70.

    Google Scholar 

  • Friedland, W. H. (1994a). “The new globalization: The case of fresh produce, ” in A. Bonanno, L. Busch, W. H. Friedland, L. Gouveia, and E. Mingioine (eds.), From Columbus to ConAgra: The Globalization of Agriculture and Food (pp. 210–231). Lawrence: University Press of Kansas.

    Google Scholar 

  • Friedland, W. H. (1994b), “Fordism, Post-Fordism, mass production, and flexible specialization: Whatever is going on in the world, ” Paper Presented at the Seminar “Restructuring the Food System: Global Processes and National Responses. ” Center for Rural Research, University of Trondeim, Norway. May.

  • Friedland, W. H. (1994c). “Globalization, the state, and the labor process, ” International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food 4: 30–46.

    Google Scholar 

  • Friedland, W. H. (1995). “Globalization, Fordism-Postfordism, agricultural exceptionalism: the need for conceptual clarity, ” “The Political Economy of the Agro-Food System in Advanced Industrial Countries. ” University of California, Berkeley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Friedland, W. H., L. Busch, F. H. Buttel, and A. Rudy (eds.) (1991). Towards a New Political Economy of Agriculture. Boulder: Westview Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Friedmann, H. (1992). “Distance and durability: Shaky foundations of the world food economy, ” Third World Quartertly 13: 71–383.

    Google Scholar 

  • Friedmann, H. (1993). “The political economy of food: A global crisis, ” New Left Review 196: 29–57.

    Google Scholar 

  • Friedmann, H. and P. McMichael (1989). “Agriculture and the state system: The rise and decline of national agricultures, 1870 to the present, ” Sociolgia Ruralis 29(2): 93–117.

    Google Scholar 

  • Giddens, A. (1994). Beyond Left and Right: The Future of Radical Politics. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goodman, D. and M. J. Watts (1994). “Reconfiguring the rural or fording the divide?: Capitalist restructuring and the global agro-food system, ” The Journal of Peasant Studies 22(1): 1–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goodman, D. and M. J. Watts (eds.) (1997). Globalizing Food. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harvey, D. (1989). The Condition of Postmodernity. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hechter, M. and W. Brustein (1980). “Regional modes of production and patterns of state formation in Western Europe, ” American Journal of Sociology 85(5): 1061–1094.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heffernan, W. D. and D. H. Constance (1994). “Transnational corporations and the global food system, ” in A. Bonanno, L. Busch, W. H. Friedland, L. Gouveia, and E. Mingioine (eds.), From Columbus to ConAgra: The Globalization of Agriculture and Food (pp. 29–51). Lawrence: University Press of Kansas.

    Google Scholar 

  • Humphrey, K. (1998). Shelf Life: Supermarket and the Changing Cultures of Consumption. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jameson, F. (1994). Postmodernism or the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism. Durham: Duke University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kenney, M., L. M. Labao, J. Curry, and R. Curry (1989). “Midwest agriculture and US Fordism, ” Sociologia Ruralis 29(2): 131–148.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lang, T. (1999). “The complexity of globalization: The UK as a case study of tensions within the food system and the challenge of food policy, ” Agriculture and Human Values 16(2): 169–185.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lash, S. and J. Urry (1987). The End of Organized Capitalism. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lash, S. and J. Urry (1994). Economies of Signs and Space. London: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lawrence, G. and F. Vanclay (1994). “Agricultural change in the semi-periphery: TheMurray-Darling Basin, Australia, ” in P. McMichael (ed.), The Global Restructuring of Agro-Food Systems (pp. 76–103). Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lipietz, A. (1987). Mirages and Miracles. London: New Left Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Llambi, L. and L. Gouveia (1994). “The restructuring of the venezuelan state and state theory, ” International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food 4: 45–72.

    Google Scholar 

  • Llunggren, D. (1996). “Unilever, WWF unite in bid to save fish stocks, ” Reuters: 2–21. <http://www.elibrary.com/getdoc.cgi ?id=164677611x127y57637w0&OIDS=0Q001D014&Form =RL&pubname=Reuters&puburl=http∼C∼∼S∼∼S∼www. online.reuters.com&querydocid=523470@library_d&dtype= 0∼0&dinst=0> 11/13/97.

  • Long, N. and A. Long (1992). Battlefields of Knowledge. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marsden, T. (1992). “Exploring a rural sociology of the Fordist transition: Incorporating social relations into economic restructuring, ” Sociologis Ruralis32(2/3): 209–230.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marsden, T. (1994). “Globalization, the state, and the environment: exploring the limits and options of state activity, ” International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food 4: 139–157.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marsden, T. and S. Whatmore (1994). “Finance capital and food system restructuring in comparative and global perspective, ” in P. McMichael (ed.), The Global Restructuring of Agro-Food Systems (pp. 107–128). Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) (1998a). “Homepage, ” Marine Stewardship Council (Feb. 2). <http://www.msc. org/homepage.html> 11/9.98.

  • MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) (1998b). “The Marine Stewardship Council addresses marine fishing crisis, ” Marine Stewardship Council. <http://www.msc.org/crisis.html> 11/ 9/98.

  • MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) (1998c). “The Marine Stewardship Council signatories and supporters, ” Marine Stewardship Council. <http://www.msc.org/cgi-local/signatories/ cgi/sign.pl> 11/9/98.

  • MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) (1998d). “New scheme is a milestone for responsible fishing, ” Marine Stewardship Council (June 12). <http://www.msc.org/cgi-bin/ library/articles/cgi/view_article.pl?section=2&area=1&id= 897658290&html=template.html> 11/9/98.

  • MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) (1998e). “Principles and criteria for sustainable fishing: Arlie House meeting report, ” Marine Stewardship Council (April 1). <http://www. msc.org/cgi-bin/library/articles/cgi/view_article.pl?section= 2&area=1&id=891616876&html=template.html> 11/9/98.

  • McMichael, P. (1991). “Food, the state, and the world economy, ” International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food 1: 71–85.

    Google Scholar 

  • McMichael, P. (1993). “World food system restructuring under a GATT regime, ” Political Geography 12: 198–214.

    Google Scholar 

  • McMichael, P. (1994). “Global restructuring: Some lines of inquiry, ” in P. McMichael (ed.), The Global Restructuring of Agro-Food Systems (pp. 277–300). Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • McMichael, P. (1996a). “Globalization: Myths and realities, ” Rural Sociology 61(1): 25–55.

    Google Scholar 

  • McMichael, P. (1996b). Development and Social Change. A Global Perspective. Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • McMichael, P. and D. Myhre (1991). “Global regulation vs. the nation-state: Agro-food systems and the new politics of capital, ” Capital and Class 43: 83–106.

    Google Scholar 

  • Murray, D. L. and L. T. Raynolds (2000). “Alternative trade in bananas: obstacles and opportunities for progressive social change in the global economy, ” Agriculture and Human Values 17(1): 65–74.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neis, B. L. (1996). “Cut adrift, ” Samudra. Report Number 16. Nov. <http://www.gmt2000.co.uk/apoints/icfs/english/ samudra/issue_16/art8.htm> 11/07/97.

  • O'Connor, J. (1994). “Is sustainable capitalism possible?, ” in M. O'Connor (ed.), Is Capitalism Sustainable (pp. 152–216). New York: The Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • O'Connor, J. (1998). Natural Causes: Essays in Ecological Marxism. New York: The Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • O'Riordan, B. (1997). “Second-best solution?” Samudra. Report Number 18. July. <http://www.gmt2000.co.uk/ apoints/icsf/english/samudra/issue_15/sam18_2.htm> 11/07/ 97.

  • Raynolds, L. T. and D. M. Murray (1998). “Yes, we have no bananas: re-regulating global and regional trade, ” International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food 7: 7–43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ritchie, M. (1998). “Purchasing power: Consumer choices and environmental protection, ” Pyramid Communications and Creative Insite (April). <http://www.explorebd.ord/ newsviews/nv_ritchie1.html> 11/9/98.

  • Samudra (1996a). “New hope for marine fisheries, ” Report Number 15. August. <http://www.gmt2000.co.uk/apoints/ icfs/samudra/issue_15/sam15_1.htm#ART4> 11/07/97.

  • Samudra (1996b). “Whose labels? Whose benefit?, ” Report Number 15. August. <http://www.gmt2000.co.uk/apoints/ icfs/samudra/issue_15/sam15_1.htm#ART5> 11/07/97.

  • Samudra (1996c). “The mantle of Agoing green, ” Report Number 15. August. <http://www.gmt2000.co.uk/apoints/ icfs/samudra/issue_15/sam15_2.htm> 11/07/97.

  • Samudra (1996d). “A view from the Third World, ” Report Number 15. August. <http://www.gmt2000.co.uk/apoints/ icfs/samudra/issue_15/sam15_2.htm> 11/07/97.

  • Samudra (1996e). “Comment: Going green about the gills, ” Report Number 15. August. <http://www.gmt2000.co.uk/ apoints/icfs/english/samudra/issue_15/edit.htm> 11/07/97.

  • Schoon, N. (1998). “Environment: UN launches battle to save the oceans, ” Independent 1–13: 7. <http://www.elibrary. com/getdoc.cgi?id=164677611x127y57637w0&OIDS= 0Q001D012&Form=RL&pubname=Independent&puburl= http∼C∼ ∼S∼ ∼S∼www.independent.co.uk&querydocid= 1208650@library_e&dtype= 0∼0&dinst=0> 7/8/98.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smelly (1996). “WWF and Unilever to use market forces in bid to halt fisheries decline, ” <http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/ town/parade/ hw22/smelly.html> 07/15/98.

  • Sproul, J. (1998). “Sustainable fisheries certification and labeling protocol, ” Ocean98: Science and Research. <http:// www.ocean98.org/ocean98/Sproul.html> 7/8/98.

  • Sutton, M. and C. Whitfield (1996). “A powerful arrow in the quiver, ” Samudra. Report Number 16. November. <http:// www.gmt2000.co.uk/apoints/icfs/english/samudra/issue_16/ art7.htm> 11/07/97.

  • Unilever (1998). “Press pack, ” <http://www.unilever.com/ public/generic/presspack.doc> 7/20/99.

  • Walz, J. (1998). “Government-based eco-labels: Not MSC, ” Global Aquaculture Advocate (August) 1(2). <http://www. gaaliance.org/august98.html> 11/9/98.

  • Weddig, L. J. (1997). “The proposed Marine Stewardship Council – some concerns, ” National Fisheries Institute (April 15). <http://www.nfi.org/ weddigbrussels.html> 11/07/97.

  • WWF (1996a). “The WWF endangered seas campaign, ” World Wildlife Fund. <http://www.wwf-uk.org/species/ marine/fish6.html> 11/07/97.

  • WWF (1996b). “Worldwide interest in MSC grows rapidly, ” World Wildlife Fund. <http://www.panda.org/endangeredseas/ msc/vol2news/page2.html> 7/8/98.

  • WWF (1997a). “Sainsbury's is first retailer to register support for Marine Stewardship Council, ” World Wildlife Fund. <http://www.panda.org/endangeredseas/pressrelease9.html> 7/8/98.

  • WWF (1997b). WWF Annual Report.

  • WWF (1998a). “Fishery stakeholders endorse MSC, ” World Wildlife Fund. <http://www.panda.org/endangeredseas/msc/ vol3news/page1.html> 7/8/98.

  • WWF (1998b). “John Gummer appointed chairman of Marine Stewardship Council, ” World Wildlife Fund. <http://wwwuk. org/news/news58.html> 7/8/98.

  • WWF (1998c). “WWF and The Marine Stewardship Council: New hope for world fisheries, ” World Wildlife Fund. <http:// www.panda.org/wwfintlink/news/press/news_177fl.htm>11/ 9/98.

  • WWF (1998d). “Consumers have a role to play in halting the fishing crisis, ” World Wildlife Fund. <http://www. worldwildlife.org/500day/actionkit/msc.htm> 11/9/98.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas, USA

    Douglas H. Constance & Alessandro Bonanno

Authors
  1. Douglas H. Constance
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Alessandro Bonanno
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Constance, D.H., Bonanno, A. Regulating the global fisheries: The World Wildlife Fund, Unilever, and the Marine Stewardship Council. Agriculture and Human Values 17, 125–139 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007625606243

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007625606243

Search

Navigation