Opening a new ocean: Arctic Ocean fisheries regime as a (potential) turning point for Canada’s Arctic policy
| Date | 01 March 2018 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0020702018764753 |
| Published date | 01 March 2018 |
| Subject Matter | Policy Brief |
Policy Brief
Opening a new ocean:
Arctic Ocean fisheries
regime as a (potential)
turning point for
Canada’s Arctic policy
Mathieu Landriault
School of Political Studies, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
Abstract
This policy brief focuses on the opening of the Central Arctic Ocean and the subse-
quent questions this poses to regional governance. This change has the potential to
radically alter the nature of Arctic governance as non-Arctic states will have to play a
significant role in the rules that will apply in the Arctic high seas. Talks about a regional
fisheries regime will define the future of this region. The creation of a coordinating
agreement would have the benefit of not challenging Arctic states too fundamentally
while at the same time incorporating non-Arctic states in a meaningful way in the
regional governance infrastructure.
Keywords
Arctic governance, Canada’s Arctic policy, resource management, Arctic Council,
Central Arctic Ocean
In our lifetime, we will experience a reality that no human being ever has: the
opening of a new ocean. Indeed, with global warming, the receding ice cover in
the Arctic Ocean (once thought eternal) will give way and allow for further human
exploration and exploitation. This change carries the potential to profoundly alter
Arctic governance by shifting fundamental geopolitical and economic realities.
Moreover, circumpolar politics has so far centred on national jurisdictions and
issues focused within the territorial seas or exclusive economic zones of coastal
International Journal
2018, Vol. 73(1) 158–165
!The Author(s) 2018
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DOI: 10.1177/0020702018764753
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Corresponding author:
Mathieu Landriault, School of Political Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, 120 University, Ottawa, ON,
K1N 6N5, Canada.
Email: mlandria@uottawa.ca
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