Turbot and Tempers in the North Atlantic 325 NAFO map, Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) 326 Turbot and Tempers in the North Atlantic

• Main Authors: Elizabeth R. Desombre, J. Samuel Barkin
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Canada; North Atlantic; Northwest Atlantic; Turbot
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.362.9980; http://www.iisd.org/pdf/2002/envsec_conserving_7.pdf

While the “Turbot War ” between Canada and Spain is an instance of violent conflict over an increasingly scarce resource, it represents a departure from traditional environmental conflict scenarios. Economic interests did not drive the dispute, since the resource in question was of marginal economic importance to both parties, but by broader national interest considerations, namely “environmental nationalism. ” Moreover, the conflict took place despite the existence of a multilateral environmental agreement that governed the management and harvesting of the resource in question. The failure of this agreement in addressing disputes over fishing rights and quotas led Canada to take enforcement measures into its own hands. The resulting crisis ultimately led to a greater protection of the resource by forcing parties to remedy institutional weaknesses. Conservation organizations can assist in preventing similar environmental resource disputes by providing a forum in which to air grievances and find solutions, by monitoring and identifying international agreements that are in trouble, and by building and disseminating information on the types of environmental degradation that lead to security issues. 329 Conserving the Peace: Resources, Livelihoods and Security